Disruptions and resilience building in Central European automotive supply chains

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the disruptions of automotive GSCs and their resilience building in Central Europe where the economic role of the automotive sector and its connected industries is highly significant. We apply a qualitative approach based on interviews to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to discover the measures and strategies the automotive firms adopted to counter the pandemic effects in Hungary and Czechia. Based on the literature, we define the framework of the given CE companies’ resilience building techniques. We mapped the measures companies used against the pandemic and analysed the various resilience-building techniques they applied. These measures are similar to those employed in previous local shocks, but we found an increased role of communication and collaboration. We also found some variations according to the firms’ position in international networks.