A supply chain management approach to the corporate reporting of business models

Abstract

This study aims to use a supply chain management (SCM) approach to develop a disclosure index for business model (BM) reporting. BM reporting focuses on how organizations create, deliver and capture value over time. To construct the index, this study draws on previous literature, recent examples of supply chain disruptions and interviews with managers from manufacturing and retail companies. Guided by the resource-based view (RBV), this study identifies the structure and resources of supply chains. The interviews further clarified supply chain structures and dynamics, as well as the impact of the pandemic. The resulting index was then tested using a sample of 67 UK manufacturing and retail companies for the years 2018 and 2021. The operationalization of the index revealed that BM disclosures increased during COVID-19, suggesting that greater transparency was needed amid the uncertainties in global supply chains during times of crisis. The index proposed in this study is expected to raise awareness among shareholders of the importance of value-creation activities in BM reporting from a supply chain perspective. The comprehensive disclosure index developed in this study provides a novel approach to the operationalization of BM reporting via a SCM lens. This underscores the practical implications of BM disclosures amid the uncertainties of a global supply chain disruption, such as that caused by COVID-19.