Understanding Rural Supply Chain Resilience

Abstract

Globalisation increases the numbers of involved business partners and distances between origin and destination. It complicates and stretches supply chains. Consequently, supply chains are exposed to higher risks, especially in rural societies where there is limited access to technology and the society is isolated. The research literature of supply chain resilience identified factors contributing to risks, factors counterbalancing risks, and mechanisms to assess the resilience of supply chains. However, there remains a gap in the use of the existing risk and resilience factors to the specific context of the rural supply chain. This research contributes by providing a state-of-the-art review and identifies which factors should be used for the rural supply chains.