ABSTRACT
Purpose: Disasters are growing in frequency and scale, unmasking the systemic vulnerabilities of modern supply chains and highlighting the need to understand how to respond to such events. In the context of an extreme event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, this research focuses on how networks of organizations leverage their combined resources and capabilities to develop, manufacture and deliver new products outside their traditional markets. Design/methodology/approach: Following a theory elaboration process, the authors build on resource orchestration theory to develop data collection and analysis protocols to support a multi-case study research design. This research investigates four cases of newly formed networks that emerged in four different countries – Colombia, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom–in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: These four networks in the investigation share common characteristics in terms of motivation and approach, creating patterns from which theoretical generalizations are developed into a series of propositions regarding the process of network-level resource orchestration under extreme uncertainty. Practical implications: The research shows how networks and the organizations within them can streamline processes, swiftly build new relationships and develop a balanced risk management approach to extreme uncertainty. Originality/value: This research contributes to theory by extending the resource orchestration model to a network level and showing how extreme uncertainty can lead to the emergence of networks and alter the motivations and goals of the member organizations, allowing them to be more responsive. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Purpose Why do managers redesign global supply chains in a particular manner when faced with compounding geopolitical disruptions? In answering this research question, this study identifies a constrained system of reasoning (decision-making logic) employed by managers when they redesign their supply chains in situations of heightened uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted 40 elite interviews with senior supply chain executives in 28 companies across nine industries from November 2019 to June 2020, when the UK was preparing to leave the European Union, the US-China trade war was escalating, and Covid-19 was spreading rapidly around the globe. Findings When redesigning global supply chains, the authors find that managerial decision-making logic is constrained by three distinct environmental ecosystem conditions: (1) the perceived intensity of institutional pressures;(2) the relative mobility of suppliers and supply chain assets;and (3) the perceived severity of the potential disruption risk. Intense government pressure and persistent geopolitical risk tend to impact firms in the same industry, resulting in similar approaches to decision-making regarding supply chain design. However, where suppliers are relatively immobile and supply chain assets are relatively fixed, a dominant logic is consistently present. Originality/value Building on an institutional logics perspective, this study finds that managerial decision-making under heightened uncertainty is not solely guided by institutional pressures but also by perceptions of the severity of risk related to potential supply chain disruption and the immobility of supply chain assets. These findings support the theoretical development of a novel construct that the authors term 'supply chain logics'. Finally, this study provides a decision-making framework for Senior Executives competing in an increasingly complex and unstable business environment.