Topological structure and COVID-19 related risk propagation in TFT-LCD supply networks

Abstract

Thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) have gained popularity due to their widespread use in the production of televisions, laptops, and iPads. TFT-LCD firms’ activities that build relationships with suppliers and customers contribute to the emergence of supply networks. A firm’s ability to identify risks, however, is complicated, as TFT-LCD supply networks are becoming increasingly global, complex, and interconnected. The extant research on the topological structure of TFT-LCD supply networks is limited, and the risks identified rely on untested assumptions about the topological structure of such networks. To fill these gaps, this study examines the topological structure and COVID-19 related risk propagation in TFT-LCD supply networks from a dynamic perspective. First, the evolution of the topological structure of TFT-LCD supply networks from 2015 to 2020 is explored by constructing a weighted and undirected supply network. Second, the hidden risky sources in TFT-LCD supply networks are revealed by the proposed risk propagation model. The results show that TFT-LCD supply networks are characterised by a ‘hub and spoke’ feature and an explicit shift from geographical to global cooperation. Additionally, a ‘robust-yet-fragile’ configuration in these supply networks is uncovered, and the hidden risky sources in the main TFT-LCD manufacturers and suppliers and in interfirm cooperations are revealed. These findings will help managers reduce the vulnerability of TFT-LCD supply networks to disruptions and construct more robust and resilient networks.

KEYWORDS:

• TFT-LCD
• topological structure
• risk propagation
• supply networks
• COVID-19

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.72172012, 72071006, and 62073007).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xiongping Yue

Xiongping Yue is pursuing a PhD. in Supply Chain Management from the School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China. His research interests are complex supply networks and agent-based model.

Dong Mu

Dong Mu is Professor in the School of Economics and Management at Beijing Jiaotong University. Her teaching and principal research interests concern international logistics, complex system theory, and sustainable supply chain. She is author of more than 100 papers mostly published in high quality journals, among which Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Journal of Cleaner Production, Energy, and Computers and Industrial Engineering.

Chao Wang

Dr. Chao Wang is a professor in the College of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, China. He received a Ph.D. from Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) in 2015 with joint training at Purdue University in 2013 and 2014. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Polymer Studies and Department of Physics of Boston University from 2017 to 2019. His research interests include complexity economics, sustainable supply chains, and complex networks. He has published over 70 papers in various journals, such as Omega, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Cities, Ecological Economics, Transportation Research Part A/D, and Applied Energy.

Huanyu Ren

Huanyu Ren is pursuing a PhD. in the area of Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China. His research areas are operations and management in a complex supply chain network, disruption ripple effect in global supply chain networks, tax-effective supply chain management, and electric vehicle lithium-ion battery supply chain network.

Pezhman Ghadimi

Pezhman Ghadimi received the M.Eng. degree in industrial engineering from University Technology Malaysia (UTM) in 2011 and a Ph.D. degree in industrial engineering and operations management from the University of Limerick (UL), Limerick, Ireland, in 2015. From 2012 to 2015, while conducting his Ph.D. research, he was employed as a researcher at the Engineering Research Centre (ERC), UL, to conduct research in the area of knowledge management and product lifecycle management. He is currently employed as an assistant professor of manufacturing systems at the School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering at the University College Dublin (UCD). His research interests span a number of areas. He has been active in sustainability, procurement, multiagent systems and operations research and in designing assessment techniques. He pursues theoretical research on the area of sustainable supply chain management and operations. He has published over 45 papers in various journals, such as Resources, Conservation and Recycling, European Journal of Operations Research, Computers and Industrial Engineering, International Journal of Production Research and Journal of Cleaner Production.