Background: With the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), organizations can improve their supply chain performance and achieve higher levels of transparency, flexibility, and efficiency. However, technology complexity, high implementation costs, lack of technical knowledge, and cultural resistance are among the main barriers to adopting these technologies. Previous studies have shown that most implementations have remained at pilot stages and have not achieved full success. Therefore, this study analyzes the technological, organizational, and environmental barriers to the adoption of fourth-generation supply chain quality management (SCQM) using the TOE framework.
Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the barriers to the adoption of fourth-generation supply chain quality management using the TOE framework. In this regard, the first step was to identify the barriers to adoption within the TOE framework, the second step involved examining the importance levels and relationships among these barriers, and finally, the study aimed to investigate the similarities and differences between the perspectives of academic researchers and industry practitioners regarding the barriers to adoption of fourth-generation SCQM.
Methodology: In terms of execution and objective, this study is descriptive-survey research. To investigate the barriers to adoption of fourth-generation SCQM, the study was designed in two stages. In the first stage, barriers were identified and screened based on a literature review and the opinions of academic experts and industry specialists, and then classified according to the TOE framework. In the second stage, the internal relationships among the barriers were determined using the DEMATEL technique, and similarities and differences between the perspectives of the two expert groups were analyzed. Data