AIoT quality, supply chain intelligence, and sustainable competitive advantage: A study of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry

Driven by the demands of 5 G and high-performance computing, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is increasingly adopting Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) to sustain its cluster-based competitive advantage. While research has highlighted the potential benefits of AI, IoT, and big data analytics in supply chain management, the mechanism by which AIoT quality links to sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) through supply chain processes remains underexplored. This study investigates how AIoT quality influence…

By the Truvace deskOctober 18, 20261 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-1767· cite & verify

AIoT quality, supply chain intelligence, and sustainable competitive advantage: A study of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry — "Containers" by Jim Bahn is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/.

In brief

A survey of firms in Taiwan's semiconductor industry was analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling to test how the quality of AIoT systems shapes supply chain outcomes. AIoT quality was found to raise supply chain intelligence, which then strengthened quality management practices and operational performance.

The result matters because it suggests the payoff from AIoT depends on the quality of the information and systems involved rather than simply on adopting the technology. The abstract gives no effect sizes, and it remains unclear how far the survey-based findings apply beyond this industry.

Main points

The study focuses on Taiwan's semiconductor industry, where 5G and high-performance computing demand are driving AIoT adoption.
Data came from a questionnaire survey and were analyzed with PLS-SEM.
Supply chain intelligence acts as the pivotal mediating mechanism between AIoT quality and performance.
The authors say AIoT value depends on the quality of AIoT-enabled information and systems, not on adoption alone.

The gain

Among surveyed Taiwanese semiconductor firms, higher AIoT quality improved supply chain intelligence, which in turn strengthened quality management practices and operational performance, supporting sustainable competitive advantage.

The rundown

The paper starts from a gap in existing research: AI, IoT and big data analytics are known to offer supply chain benefits, but the route by which AIoT quality leads to sustainable competitive advantage had been underexplored.

It models AIoT quality as influencing supply chain intelligence, supply chain quality management practices, and supply chain management performance, which together are linked to sustainable competitive advantage.

For practitioners, the authors say the findings guide semiconductor firms to improve AIoT quality and intelligence capabilities to strengthen supply chain coordination and long-term competitiveness.