Supply Chain Agility: An Adaptation Perspective on the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tourism Entrepreneurs at Lad-Etan Island, Nakhon Pathom Province in Thailand

Abstract

This research aims to find the proper means of establishing supply chain agility for adaptation stemming from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism entrepreneurs. We developed structural equation model represented supply chain agility by using mixed method based on collecting data obtained from nine groups of related Thai people with Lad-Etan Island tourism group namely; 1) hotels, homestays, 2) restaurants, 3) transportation, cross-river boats, sightseeing boats, 4) shops, gift shops, souvenir shops, 5) merchants of riverside market, 6) tourist attractions, fruit and agricultural gardens, 7) tourists and related people (such as temple), 8) tour companies, and 9) tourist information units around the area. The number of population for this research is large and unspecified where we collected questionnaire samples from 400 people and interviewed samples from 12 people. The descriptive statistics,path analysis, and structural equation modeling are selected data analysis techniques implemented in our study. The major findings are; (1) the supply chain agility consists of four major parts, which are logistics, organization, sensitivity, and information system, (2) model development (SCA-Lad-Etan Island Model). According to the result obtained from structural equation model analysis, supply chain agility gives positive impact to firms’ performance in term of time, flexibility or responsiveness, reliability, and costs or costs reduction. Furthermore, critical capabilities that requiring urgent management attention to survive this severe situations are such as managing tourism supply chain flow continuously, responsively, and seamlessly. As well as that the management of the costs in supply chain, targeting the lowest possible total costs for firms’ benefit.