Unlocking competitive advantage with generative AI: a capability taxonomy for supply chains through the RBV lens
Mario Henrique Callefi, Léony Luis Lopes Negrão, Elza Magalhães, Moacir Godinho FilhoPurpose
This study conceptualizes the capabilities of Generative AI (GenAI) within Supply Chain Management (SCM) through the Resource-Based View (RBV). It examines how GenAI-enabled capabilities emerge from the combination of GenAI and complementary organizational resources, and, through the VRIO framework, assesses the resource bundles that underpin each capability and the conditions under which they may support sustained competitive advantage in increasingly volatile operational environments.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative multi-method design was adopted. A systematic literature review (SLR) identified 14 candidate GenAI-enabled capabilities, which were refined and validated by a panel of 20 SCM experts, yielding a final taxonomy of 12 capabilities. The RBV guided both the capability categorization and the VRIO-based assessment of the enabling resource bundles at a given point in time.
Findings
The validated capabilities are organized into three dimensions: Operational Efficiency, Operational Responsiveness, and Strategic. Each dimension is linked to a distinct causal mechanism through which resource bundles translate into performance, progressing from variance reduction (efficiency) through speed of adjustment (responsiveness) to knowledge-based value creation (strategic). Sustained competitive advantage arises primarily from the Strategic dimension, which relies on rare, path-dependent, inimitable, and organized-to-capture-value resource bundles, reinforcing that strategic value stems from resource heterogeneity rather than from the technology itself.
Originality/value
This study advances SCM theory by shifting attention from technology-centric applications to a resource-level reinterpretation of GenAI-enabled capabilities grounded in RBV. It systematically assesses the VRIO attributes of enabling resource bundles across three capability dimensions, providing managers with a conceptual diagnostic framework for identifying resource gaps and prioritizing investments that may foster defensible differentiation.