Transforming resilience in the context of a pandemic: results from a cross-industry case study exploring supply chain viability

ABSTRACT

Lately, there has been increased interest among researchers in studying the resilience of manufacturing supply chains. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused severe disruptions in global supply chains, which have led to calls for greater resilience in these supply chains. This study provides insights into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on supply chain resilience by conducting a multiple case study in three intertwined industries based on the dynamic capability view and the relational capability view as a theoretical underpinning. Data were collected during the pandemic in a two-stage interview process with 18 supply chain and production experts directly involved in crisis management. Internal and external documents supplemented the interviews. The results revealed seven higher-level capability groups for building resilience in intertwined supply chains during a pandemic outbreak: agility, collaboration, digital preparedness, flexible redundancy, human resource management, contingency planning, and transparency and visibility. Each capability group is supported by associated capabilities extracted from the data analysis. The findings obtained based on the results of the multiple case study are discussed, and implications for management and future research directions are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Disruption management
• dynamic capabilities view
• relational view
• supply chain disruption
• supply chain resilience
• viability

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, C.M. The data are not publicly available due to restrictions, such as containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher Münch

Christopher Münch is a doctoral candidate and research assistant at the Chair of Supply Chain Management at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. He earned an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. His primary research areas include sustainable supply chain management, supply chain resilience, digital supply chain management, and strategic foresight. He is particularly interested in exploring the intersection between these research streams. He has published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Supply Chain Management: an International Journal, Transportation Research Part A: Policy & Practice, and Futures & Foresight Science.

Evi Hartmann

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Evi Hartmann (Dr. Ing., Technical University Berlin) is Professor of Supply Chain Management at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. Her primary research areas include purchasing and supply management, global sourcing, and supply chain management. She has published in International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Business Logistics, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Business Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and other managerial and academic outlets.