Supply Chain Specific Investments and Enterprise Performance of SMEs: A Resource Orchestration Perspective

This study examined the impact of the supply chain specific investments (SCSIs) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on their enterprise performance (EP). In addition, the mediating role of supply chain financing capability (SCFC) and the moderating role of digital technology adoption (DTA) were also investigated. The valid representative sample for this study was drawn from 380 Chinese SMEs. Multiple regression analysis and a structural equation model were used to test the proposed theoretical model and research hypotheses. The analysis illustrated the positive influence of SCSIs (supply chain asset-specific investments (SCASIs) and supply chain relationship-specific investments (SCRSIs)) of SMEs on their EP. Furthermore, SCFC was found to mediate the relationship between SCSIs and EP, while DTA positively moderated the relationship between SCSIs and SCFC of SMEs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the impact of SCSIs on EP of SMEs based on resource orchestration theory (ROT). Additionally, this study innovatively sheds light on the internal mechanism and contextual mechanism on the effectiveness of SCSIs for SMEs, through the introduction of two factors, namely SCFC and DTA.