Dynamic Capabilities for Industrial Supply Chain Resilience Development

Recent disruptions and uncertainty in the global business landscape have reinforced the need for supply chain resilience (SCRes). However, there is no strong agreement on what is needed to create resilient supply chains of resilient organizations. In this study, we take a dynamic capability (DC) viewpoint on supply chains (SCs) as sociotechnical systems to analyze the essential capabilities for SCRes now and in the future. We surveyed 52 supply chain professionals on previously identified capabilities’ importance on SCRes, their organization’s ability to influence the development of these capabilities in their supply network, and what threats and key capabilities they see on the horizon. The answers show that traditional business continuity and supplier relationship management capabilities significantly impacted SCRes. The influencing opportunities for the capabilities were seen as lower than their perceived importance. Interestingly, virtual and remote work leadership were viewed as among the least important capabilities, although their importance has generally increased. Artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalization were viewed as tremendous future opportunities, but the human aspect should be considered in a balanced approach to SCRes.