Globalization, Disruption and Resilience

The emergence of global supply chains has fundamentally changed the way we produce goods. This internationalization of supply chains is both the enabler and the effect of the globalized economy. In recent years, it has become clear that the global supply chains have come with a cost where turbulence and resulting disruptions in the global supply chains have become more frequent and common. In this paper, we query into the relationship between economic globalization and vulnerabilities arising from global factors and disruptive events, and the implications for global value chains and companies. We discuss this relationship in order to address the question, which strategies companies can apply in order to navigate in this environment and become more resilient. We distinguish resilience into three different phases and strategies. These include respectively a pro-active phase with a readiness strategy, an absorptive phase with a response strategy, and a re-active phase with a recovery strategy. We conclude with reflections on possible strategies companies can adopt to become less vulnerable and more resilient. We identify possible avenues for future research and suggest dynamic capabilities theory as a promising theoretical perspective to guide future research on how to build resilience in a dynamic world.