Explore the Impact of Building an Agile Automotive Supply Chain Ecosystem on Business Performance: A Social Media Perspective

This study selects DFM, BYD, and SAIC as the research objects, three listed auto firms with production plants in Wuhan, based on the theory of supply chain resilience, responsiveness, and restoration (3R capabilities). The collection, mining, and analysis of social media unstructured data from these three companies explore the impact of establishing an agile supply chain ecosystem (ASCE) under the effect of COVID-19 on the financial performance and customer performance of automobile manufacturers. Data mining was conducted on 4,406 comments involving DFM, BYD, and SAIC from 190 Up-loaders in the stages of ‘Early COVID-19’ and ‘Enhanced Preparedness and Vaccine Launch Period.’ The conceptual model of ASCE was tested by adopting structural equation modeling and was verified by DFM’s case study. The study finds that the 3R capabilities of the supply chain have a positive effect on establishing an automotive agile supply chain ecosystem. The establishment of the automotive agile supply chain ecosystem has promoted corporate financial performance and customer performance, but the mechanism of action presents a delayed feature. This study defines the 3R connotation of the automotive ASCE. Under the integrated framework of the ASCE, through text mining technology and statistical analysis methods, the impact mechanism of COVID-19 on auto company’s performance is discussed. This provides a theoretical basis and realistic approach for the long-term and healthy development of the automotive supply chain.