Digital Supply Chain Traceability and Supply Chain Resilience in Sri Lankan Apparel Exporters: The Mediating Role of Operational Decision-Making Speed

Abstract

Supply chain resilience has emerged as a critical capability for firms operating in increasingly fragile, uncertain, and disruption-prone global supply networks. For export-oriented industries such as apparel, the ability to respond rapidly and recover effectively from disruption is central to sustaining competitiveness. In this context, digital supply chain traceability (DSCT) has become an important digital capability because it enhances the capture, tracking, and retrieval of critical supply chain information across sourcing, production, and distribution activities. Yet, despite growing interest in digital transformation, existing research has paid limited attention to DSCT as a distinct organizational capability and has provided insufficient explanation of how it is associated with resilience outcomes. This study addresses this gap by examining the association between DSCT and supply chain resilience (SCR), with operational decision-making speed (ODMS) examined as a mediator, in apparel exporting firms in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. Drawing on Organizational Information Processing Theory and the Dynamic Capabilities View, the study examines the associations among DSCT, ODMS, and SCR. Survey data were collected from managerial and executive-level employees (N = 210) and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate significant positive associations between DSCT, ODMS, and SCR, with ODMS partially mediating the association between DSCT and SCR. These findings suggest that the strategic value of traceability extends beyond visibility and transparency, as DSCT is also associated with faster operational decision-making and stronger resilience. The study advances resilience literature by identifying a process-based explanation linking digital capability and resilience, while providing actionable implications for apparel exporters seeking to develop more responsive and robust supply chains.