Table 1 Examples of the interplay... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Examples of the interplay between emerging technologies, emergency situations and operations management

Type of emergency situation	Emerging technologies applications	Implications to operations management	Related literature
Pandemic outbreaks	Blockchain for information transparency and visibility through the network	With blockchain applications, operations management can gain a considerable advantage in tracking the distribution of critical products. Information sharing through the network can be in real time to minimise supply chain disruptions	Lohmer et al. (2020), Remko (2020)
	Digital twins enable unprecedented real-time monitoring of the disruptions through the network	Digital twin technology can help build dynamic capabilities in operation by integrating different sources of information, making robust predictions and trend-spotting. Consequently, the operations manager can improve their decision accuracy and timeliness	Burgos and Ivanov (2021), Ivanov and Dolgui (2020a)
	Artificial intelligence techniques to support diagnostic processes and predictions, telemedicine and hospital operational procedures	Artificial intelligence can support lean hospital operations effectively by identifying critical demands of resources for patients' allocation. Also, it can help the operations manager during the patient journey by providing quick diagnosis, prediction and treatment	Luengo-Oroz et al. (2020), Queiroz and Fosso Wamba (2021)
Climate issues (i.e. wildfire, tornado, tsunami, flood, hurricane, earthquake, typhoon, etc.)	Social media combined with sophisticated algorithms/big data to support all stages of the crisis (i.e. preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery)	With social media, algorithms and big data approaches, operations and supply chain managers can be more efficient by gaining a deeper understanding and visibility of the necessary resources for critical regions. Thus, the distribution of water, food and medical supplies can be more responsive. Also, the prediction for the hospital care and treatment plans can be more effective	Sarker et al. (2020), Saroj and Pal (2020), Watson et al. (2017)
Humanitarian crisis (derived from resources scarcity, conflicts, migration, etc.)	Drones/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the Internet of Things used to support search and rescue in humanitarian operations relief	Drones can perform a decisive role in humanitarian operations like medical supplies and food distribution in hard-to-reach regions. Drone technology can be combined with IoT applications for activities such as search and rescue	Ayamga et al. (2021), Bravo et al. (2019)
	3D printing/additive manufacturing for support scarcity of medical supplies and medical equipment and point-of-care production of medicines and therapies	By deploying 3D printing technologies, humanitarian operations enable a rapid response for the in-field manufacture of critical medical equipment/parts that often takes several weeks or months in a regular supply chain. For example, in conflict regions, there is often a recurrent need for the field ready 3D printing of prosthetics	Phillips et al. (2018), Corsini et al. (2020), Kovács and Falagara Sigala (2021)
		Rapid and improved recovery from traumatic injuries (tissue and organs) through the use of leading-edge regenerative medicines and bio-engineered blood products	Spear et al. (2018)
Terrorist attacks (humanitarian relief)	Smartphone platforms with communication apps (i.e. WhatsApp) to make available the necessary resources, track the victims, support evacuation strategies, etc.	Smartphone platforms can assist operational coordination during and after a terrorist attack by using different applications that enable more precise information about the location, conditions and demand for medical supplies and vehicles for victims transportation, etc.	Baytiyeh (2018)

Type of emergency situation	Emerging technologies applications	Implications to operations management	Related literature
Pandemic outbreaks	Blockchain for information transparency and visibility through the network	With blockchain applications, operations management can gain a considerable advantage in tracking the distribution of critical products. Information sharing through the network can be in real time to minimise supply chain disruptions	Lohmer et al. (2020), Remko (2020)
	Digital twins enable unprecedented real-time monitoring of the disruptions through the network	Digital twin technology can help build dynamic capabilities in operation by integrating different sources of information, making robust predictions and trend-spotting. Consequently, the operations manager can improve their decision accuracy and timeliness	Burgos and Ivanov (2021), Ivanov and Dolgui (2020a)
	Artificial intelligence techniques to support diagnostic processes and predictions, telemedicine and hospital operational procedures	Artificial intelligence can support lean hospital operations effectively by identifying critical demands of resources for patients' allocation. Also, it can help the operations manager during the patient journey by providing quick diagnosis, prediction and treatment	Luengo-Oroz et al. (2020), Queiroz and Fosso Wamba (2021)
Climate issues (i.e. wildfire, tornado, tsunami, flood, hurricane, earthquake, typhoon, etc.)	Social media combined with sophisticated algorithms/big data to support all stages of the crisis (i.e. preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery)	With social media, algorithms and big data approaches, operations and supply chain managers can be more efficient by gaining a deeper understanding and visibility of the necessary resources for critical regions. Thus, the distribution of water, food and medical supplies can be more responsive. Also, the prediction for the hospital care and treatment plans can be more effective	Sarker et al. (2020), Saroj and Pal (2020), Watson et al. (2017)
Humanitarian crisis (derived from resources scarcity, conflicts, migration, etc.)	Drones/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the Internet of Things used to support search and rescue in humanitarian operations relief	Drones can perform a decisive role in humanitarian operations like medical supplies and food distribution in hard-to-reach regions. Drone technology can be combined with IoT applications for activities such as search and rescue	Ayamga et al. (2021), Bravo et al. (2019)
	3D printing/additive manufacturing for support scarcity of medical supplies and medical equipment and point-of-care production of medicines and therapies	By deploying 3D printing technologies, humanitarian operations enable a rapid response for the in-field manufacture of critical medical equipment/parts that often takes several weeks or months in a regular supply chain. For example, in conflict regions, there is often a recurrent need for the field ready 3D printing of prosthetics	Phillips et al. (2018), Corsini et al. (2020), Kovács and Falagara Sigala (2021)
		Rapid and improved recovery from traumatic injuries (tissue and organs) through the use of leading-edge regenerative medicines and bio-engineered blood products	Spear et al. (2018)
Terrorist attacks (humanitarian relief)	Smartphone platforms with communication apps (i.e. WhatsApp) to make available the necessary resources, track the victims, support evacuation strategies, etc.	Smartphone platforms can assist operational coordination during and after a terrorist attack by using different applications that enable more precise information about the location, conditions and demand for medical supplies and vehicles for victims transportation, etc.	Baytiyeh (2018)