Designing an Entrepreneurial Supply Chain Model during Disasters in Iran

INTRODUCTION: Relief organizations, especially the Red Crescent, lack any specific entrepreneurial strategy and program for production, identification, and distribution of relief supplies. These organizations mainly focus on the preparation and distribution of supplies in times of crisis. In this regard, the present study aimed to design an entrepreneurial supply chain model with an emphasis on technology in 2020 in Iran. METHODS: The present study was conducted based on a qualitative and quantitative design. In the first phase, some indicators were obtained by observing the current situation and interviewing 30 experts. Following that, the final model was achieved by considering all indicators and categorizing the topics. In the Delphi process, experts' interviews and theoretical consensus suggested some hypotheses. In other words, in the second phase, structural equation modeling was used to finalize the model. In the next stage, the final questionnaire was provided to 186 Red Crescent employees. FINDINGS: After the analysis and extraction of the criteria from the interviews, components of the model were retrieved, and two questionnaires were designed. The first questionnaire was about supply chain management encompassing four main components of customer integrity, supplier integrity, internal integrity, and innovative orientation. The second questionnaire was related to technology, including seven components: personal characteristics, attitudinal factors, educational factors, technical factors, economic factors, environmental factors, as well as human and managerial factors. Considering the KMO value (˃0.7) and the significant value of the Bartlett Sphericity test, it can be concluded that the data are suitable for factor analysis. The model fit values all exceeded 0.9, indicating that the model has a “good fit. The path coefficients were significant for seven relationships at the level of 0.05. CONCLUSION: As evidenced by the obtained results, the supply chain in disasters requires experts' comprehensive approach and innovative perspectives. The tendency of countries to take innovative measures in disasters requires macro-policies at the national and regional levels. Therefore, all dimensions and aspects of the entrepreneurial supply chain in disasters must be considered in order to attain the final goal which is effective and efficient disaster management.