The role of digital transformation in improving collaborative planning to address unexpected crisis

ABSTRACT Unexpected crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic considerably influence business operations and supply chains worldwide. Therefore, many companies have adopted digitalization to address the rapidly changing environment. However, few studies have explored the mediating mechanism between digitalization and collaborative planning. Based on structural equation modeling, this study examines how digital transformation can improve collaborative planning through the mediating roles of management participation and information sharing. The results indicate that digital transformation significantly affects management and information sharing. Additionally, management participation and information sharing positively affect collaborative planning. However, this study reveals that digital transformation does not directly influence collaborative planning. Overall, owing to a lack of research exploring the mediating mechanism between digital transformation and collaborative planning, this study contributes to digitalization and manufacturing and provides valuable suggestions. Fundamentally, companies that want to develop digitalization and encourage collaborative planning should consider the effects of management participation and information sharing.