A configuration approach to build supply chain resilience: From matching perspective

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of supply networks. Firms need to improve their supply chain resilience to survive in the long term. Previous studies have examined supply chain resilience from either an internal perspectives or external perspectives alone, while these two aspects are usually seen as interrelated and complementary, yet existing research seldom considers these two aspects collectively. To explore how improves supply chain resilience from a holistic view, this study adopts a matching theory that integrate internal capability and external relationship to explain the underlying mechanisms of enhancing supply chain resilience. The results show that there is no single necessary condition for high supply chain resilience, instead, there are three types to achieve high supply chain resilience: capability-driven, relationship-driven, and capability-relationship matching. These paths show the complex and multiple ways to high supply chain resilience. Furthermore, we find an asymmetric relationship between configurations that achieve high supply chain resilience and non-high supply chain resilience. This study extends matching theory to enhance supply chain resilience by matching internal capabilities and external relationships, and propose multiple paths and complex mechanisms to achieve supply chain resilience. Our research offers practical guidance for firms to improve their supply chain resilience during the dynamic and complex environments.