The mediating effect of logistics technologies on the relationship between resources and capabilities towards competitive advantage in Malaysia’s retail industry

The retail industry in Malaysia is highly dynamic which leads to intense competition within the industry. Technologies catalyze making retail players to be more competitive. However, few studies focused on the role of technologies in the relationship between the capabilities and resources toward the competitive advantage of the retailers in Malaysia retail setting. The theoretical framework commonly used in studies of resources and capabilities, namely the Resources Based View was employed. In identifying, the behavioural acceptance toward the technologies was specifically measured in terms of Perceived Usefulness and Perceived of Use under the Technology Acceptance Model. The analysis of the study was conducted using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The proposed model yielded noteworthy results, indicating that physical resources substantially impacted competitive advantage. However, this study did not provide support for some of the findings, as they were deemed insignificant. Correspondingly, the hypothesis for the mediating effects was partially significant and negligible for the study model. Most studies focus on Retail 4.0 in logistics activities but limited studies on logistics technologies in the retail context. Therefore, the current research is expected to contribute to the literature by providing information on existing literature on the role of resources, capabilities, and logistic technologies as elements that mediate the retail context in Malaysia. The study's findings provide valuable insights for retailers as well as for the government and other organisations in fostering and maintaining the competitiveness of retailers in Malaysia. Finally, this study has certain limitations that need to be acknowledged, along with recommendations for future research.