Transformation of supply chain resilience research through the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Supply chain resilience is on the agenda of academia and industry like never before. One strong instigator for this phenomenon has been the COVID-19 pandemic, which opened the era of global uncertainties and vulnerabilities. In this paper, we analyse the transformation of supply chain resilience research through the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodologically, we use a hybrid approach based on a combination of elements of a bibliometric and expert analysis to compare the main topics of resilience research before, during, and after the pandemic. Along with an expected observation about an exponential growth of literature on supply chain resilience in and after 2020, we observe a major shift from preparedness and disruption predictions in the pre-pandemic literature towards recovery and proactive adaptation in the pandemic and post-pandemic research. Our analysis systematically reveals some new topics, management practices, and future research areas in supply chain resilience. In particular, digital technology, supply chain viability, the cross-industry ripple effect, and intertwined networks have become new and impactful research areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further developments of these topics are expected to be continued in future. Managerial and theoretical implications of the said developments conclude this paper.