THE INFLUENCE OF IOT AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ON FINANCIAL RISK MONITORING AND INVESTMENT EFFICIENCY IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS

Abstract

This study addresses the problem that many global supplies chain enterprises still experience delayed, fragmented financial risk monitoring and suboptimal investment efficiency because operational data are not consistently captured and integrated across cloud and enterprise platforms. The purpose was to test whether Internet of Things capability (IoT) and digital technology integration (DTI) improve financial risk monitoring effectiveness (FRM) and, in turn, investment efficiency (IE). Using a quantitative, cross-sectional, case-based design, survey data were collected from enterprise functions (supply chain, logistics, procurement, operations, and finance/risk) in a single organizational case (N = 210), with 62.4% operations-facing and 37.6% finance/risk-facing respondents. Constructs were measured on 5-point Likert scales and showed strong reliability (αIoT = .86, αDTI = .88, αFRM = .90, αIE = .85), with above-neutral mean scores (IoT M = 3.78, DTI M = 3.69, FRM M = 3.73, IE M = 3.61). The analysis plan included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, multiple regression with controls (size, supply chain complexity, tenure, digital maturity), and mediation testing using bootstrap resampling (5,000). Headline findings show that IoT and DTI significantly predicted FRM (β = .28, p < .001; β = .41, p < .001; R² = .52), FRM predicted IE (β = .43, p < .001; IE model R² = .53), and both IoT and DTI retained significant direct effects on IE (β = .12, p = .031; β = .17, p = .004). Mediation results indicate partial mediation via FRM, with significant indirect effects for IoT (0.12, 95% CI [0.07, 0.19]) and DTI (0.18, 95% CI [0.11, 0.27]). The findings imply that enterprises should prioritize end-to-end data integration and finance-ready monitoring routines, because improved FRM is a primary mechanism through which digital capability translates into more disciplined, efficient investment decisions.