Biography
Dr. Amjad Alhussein is a Syrian Research Scholar at the Faculty of Management, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India. His academic specialization is operations management, particularly supply chain management and logistics. His research focuses on Syria, examining the role of humanitarian organizations in cold chain systems and vaccine delivery logistics in conflict-affected settings. He is particularly interested in management-oriented academic research addressing the challenges facing Syria. Through his scholarly work, he aims to demonstrate how effective logistics and supply chain management can contribute to protecting public health and strengthening healthcare resilience in fragile and conflict-affected environments.
Conference contributions 1
HOW DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES ENHANCE HUMANITARIAN COLD CHAIN PERFORMANCE
Evidence from Syrian Humanitarian Organizations
Humanitarian organisations encounter significant logistical and technical obstacles in sustaining temperature-sensitive medical cold chains, including those for vaccinations, pharmaceuticals, and blood supplies. The extensive implementation of digital transformation has transformed humanitarian logistics by providing novel solutions to address cold chain challenges; however, empirical evidence on how these technologies improve humanitarian cold chain performance, especially in the unpredictable circumstances of humanitarian operations, remains scarce. This study uses the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) to analyse the influence of contemporary technologies, namely the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology (BC), and artificial intelligence (AI), on the improvement of humanitarian cold chain performance (HCCP), while accounting for the mediating effects of supply chain collaboration (SCC) and supply chain agility (SCA). Data were collected via a standardised questionnaire disseminated to humanitarian and supply chain organisations functioning in Syria. Out of 272 received questionnaires, a total of 257 valid responses were retained after removing incomplete blank submissions and analysed via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with 5,000 bootstrap subsamples. The results demonstrate that AI (β = 0.280, p < 0.001; β = 0.233, p = 0.001), IoT (β = 0.293, p < 0.001; β = 0.176, p = 0.015), and blockchain technology (β = 0.217, p = 0.004; β = 0.214, p = 0.010) positively and significantly influence both SCC and SCA. Moreover, both SCC (β = 0.340, p < 0.001) and SCA (β = 0.436, p < 0.001) positively affect HCCP, with SCA exhibiting the strongest direct impact on performance (R² = 48.3%). Mediation analysis confirms that organisational capabilities (SCC and SCA) play a significant mediating role in translating digital transformation technologies into improved humanitarian cold chain outcomes across all six indirect pathways. This study contributes to the humanitarian logistics and supply chain management literature by extending the application of the Dynamic Capabilities View to humanitarian cold chain operations in conflict-affected environments. It also provides empirical evidence from Syria, a context that remains underrepresented in the existing literature. The findings offer practical implications for humanitarian organisations seeking to strengthen cold chain performance through investments in digital technologies.