TY - JOUR
T1 - Resilience of medium-sized firms to supply chain disruptions
T2 - the role of internal social capital
AU - Polyviou, Mikaella
AU - Croxton, Keely L.
AU - Knemeyer, A. Michael
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore resources or capabilities that enable medium-sized firms to be resilient, namely, to avoid and recover from supply chain disruptions. Design/methodology/approach: A case-study method is employed with four medium-sized manufacturing firms headquartered in the USA that have global supply chains. Data are collected from semi-structured interviews with key informants from diverse functions and managerial levels, archival documents, observation and a resilience assessment. Findings: Internal social capital emerged as a resilience-enhancing resource, comprising: structural capital grounded in small network size, geographical proximity among decision makers and low hierarchy; relational capital grounded in close relationships, commitment and respect; and cognitive capital grounded in long employee tenure. Originality/value: This is the first paper in the supply chain management literature to examine the resilience of medium-sized firms, an under-researched context. It is also the first paper to introduce internal social capital as a resilience-enhancing resource. Hence, this is among the few papers to propose a resilience-enhancing resource rooted not in a firm’s supply chain operations but its human resources. This paper, moreover, identifies several facets of internal social capital within medium-sized firms. Finally, the paper makes several managerial contributions.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore resources or capabilities that enable medium-sized firms to be resilient, namely, to avoid and recover from supply chain disruptions. Design/methodology/approach: A case-study method is employed with four medium-sized manufacturing firms headquartered in the USA that have global supply chains. Data are collected from semi-structured interviews with key informants from diverse functions and managerial levels, archival documents, observation and a resilience assessment. Findings: Internal social capital emerged as a resilience-enhancing resource, comprising: structural capital grounded in small network size, geographical proximity among decision makers and low hierarchy; relational capital grounded in close relationships, commitment and respect; and cognitive capital grounded in long employee tenure. Originality/value: This is the first paper in the supply chain management literature to examine the resilience of medium-sized firms, an under-researched context. It is also the first paper to introduce internal social capital as a resilience-enhancing resource. Hence, this is among the few papers to propose a resilience-enhancing resource rooted not in a firm’s supply chain operations but its human resources. This paper, moreover, identifies several facets of internal social capital within medium-sized firms. Finally, the paper makes several managerial contributions.
KW - Internal social capital
KW - Medium-sized firms
KW - Multiple-case study
KW - Resilience
KW - Supply chain disruptions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062904887&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85062904887&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/IJOPM-09-2017-0530
DO - 10.1108/IJOPM-09-2017-0530
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062904887
JO - International Journal of Operations and Production Management
JF - International Journal of Operations and Production Management
SN - 0144-3577
ER -