Digitally Enabled Supply Chain Visibility and Firm Performance in the Nigerian Pharmaceutical Industry: A Dynamic Capability Perspective

This dissertation examines digitally enabled supply chain visibility and its effect on firm performance in the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry, theorised from a dynamic capability perspective. Supply chain visibility, facilitated by digital technologies including enterprise resource planning systems, track-and-trace platforms, and real-time inventory management tools, has been associated in international literature with improved demand responsiveness, counterfeiting reduction, and distribution efficiency. In Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector, characterised by a high burden of counterfeit medicines, fragmented distribution chains, and regulatory quality control challenges, digital visibility is both a competitive and public health imperative. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory and the digital transformation literature, the dissertation develops an original Visibility-Performance Pathway Model proposing that digital supply chain visibility generates firm performance gains through two mediating pathways: operational agility and counterfeiting risk reduction. Using a quantitative design with partial least squares structural equation modelling, data are collected from 195 supply chain managers, pharmaceutical directors, and IT officers across 40 manufacturing and distribution firms in Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, and Abuja. The study introduces the concept of pharmaceutical supply chain visibility maturity, an original multidimensional construct capturing the depth, breadth, and real-time quality of visibility across chain tiers. Original contributions include the Visibility-Performance Pathway Model, the pharmaceutical visibility maturity scale, and empirical evidence on the dual mediation pathways in a high-counterfeiting risk supply chain environment. Recommendations address the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and pharmaceutical industry associations on digital visibility investment priorities. Keywords: supply chain visibility, digital capability, firm performance, pharmaceutical industry, Nigeria.