Understanding the concept of supply chain resilience

Abstract

Purpose – In the emerging disciplines of risk management and supply chain management, resilience is a relatively undefined concept. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated perspective on resilience through an extensive review of the literature in a number of disciplines including developmental psychology and ecosystems. In addition, the paper identifies and addresses some of the current theoretical gaps in the existing research. Design/methodology/approach – Supply chain resilience has been defined by a number of disciplines. An integrative literature review is conducted in an attempt to integrate existing perspectives. This review also serves as the basis for the development of a conceptual model. Findings – The key elements of supply chain resilience and the relationships among them, the links between risks and implications for supply chain management, and the methodologies for managing these key issues are poorly understood. Implications for future research advocate testing the proposed model empirically. Practical implications – Supply chain disruptions have adverse effect on both revenue and costs. Resilient supply chains incorporate event readiness, are capable of providing an efficient response, and often are capable of recovering to their original state or even better post the disruptive event. Originality/value – Supply chain resilience has yet to be researched from the logistics perspective. Even in welldeveloped disciplines the unified theory of resilience is still under development. This research leverages existing knowledge and advances an interdisciplinary understanding of the concept. © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited