Service supply chain fit: Consistency between operant resources and service supply chains

Firms are grappling with multiple challenges because of COVID-19, such as supply discontinuity, disruptions, irregular demand patterns, and service delivery issues, among others. The disruption brought by the pandemic has highlighted the relevance of responsiveness and agility in service chains in particular. The unprecedented nature of the pandemic, however, has made design of agile and responsive supply chains difficult, especially for services that draw on intangible, unique resources. In this paper, we develop relevant—and thus far largely absent—theory for the design of service supply chains through a model of service supply chain fit that will guide service firms to prepare better for COVID and future threats. Our model guides the identification of the right supply chain (responsive, efficient, or agile) for services based on their operant resources, which are the intangible resources that act on other resources. Using a qualitative study, we first draw on service-dominant logic and supply chain fit framework to develop the concept of service supply chain fit; that is, the strategic consistency between a service firm’s operant resources and its supply chain. We then validate our model using survey data. The results indicate that service supply chain acts as both moderator and mediator for the relationship between operant resources and firm performance. Our findings indicate that, unless managers view service supply chain fit strategically and invest in developing operant resources for the right supply chain, future COVID-like disruptions may continue to severely impact firm performance.