Digital transformation, traceability, and supply chain resilience in food manufacturing SMEs: a review of AI, blockchain-IoT, and institutional mechanisms

Food supply chains in China face persistent challenges of food safety risks, inadequate transparency, and supply disruptions, with food manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) disproportionately vulnerable due to limited resources and non-standardized internal processes. Digital transformation encompassing artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and digital twin technologies is increasingly regarded as a strategic solution to strengthen supply chain resilience, yet the organizational and institutional conditions under which these digital investments translate into tangible resilience improvements for food manufacturing SMEs remain poorly understood. This review conducts a PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review and thematic synthesis of 40 multidisciplinary sources spanning the food safety, supply chain management, and information systems literatures. Drawing on Dynamic Capabilities Theory and Institutional Theory, we propose an integrative conceptual framework comprising six research propositions, in which traceability capability acts as a food-safety-specific mediating mechanism linking digital transformation to supply chain resilience, while regulatory stringency moderates the strength of this indirect pathway. A central argument of this framework is that deploying blockchain, IoT, or AI hardware does not itself constitute traceability capability the institutional and organisational conditions under which digital tools are adopted determine whether firms build substantive traceability capability or engage in symbolic compliance without genuine food safety governance improvement. Three key contributions distinguish this framework: conceptualizing traceability capability as a distinct dynamic capability rather than a generic digitalization mechanism; directing analytical focus explicitly toward food manufacturing SMEs, a population largely overlooked in existing large-firm panel studies; and introducing regulatory stringency as a first-stage moderator within a moderated mediation structure. Critical research gaps are identified, including the absence of SME-calibrated digital transformation measurement instruments, the lack of a validated multi-item traceability capability scale, and a complete empirical vacuum for testing the proposed moderated mediation model in food manufacturing SME contexts. This review provides a structured future research agenda for scholars and delivers actionable insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to direct digital technology investments toward improved food safety governance in China’s food manufacturing sector.