ChatGPT-supported insights into supply chain resilience: a multi-analytical investigation in the pharmaceutical industry

The integration of large language models into business is complex, causing unclear roles, development challenges, and trust issues. To address this gap, this study examines how ChatGPT enhances the resilience of the pharmaceutical supply chain through paradoxical cognition, agility, and flexibility. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from Pakistani pharmaceutical firms and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA), and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). The research results show that ChatGPT's strategic advantages enhance paradox identification, supply chain agility, and resilience, but they are constrained by distrust of AI tools. Furthermore, a lack of trust in AI can influence perceptions of supply chain paradoxes and agility, underscoring psychological barriers to technology adoption. The study shows that ChatGPT’s strategic value primarily boosts resilience by improving paradox cognition and agility, and that high distrust in AI greatly reduces these effects on pharmaceutical supply chain resilience.