Purpose The purpose of this paper is systematically review, synthesize and critically evaluate the current research status on the role of collaborative interorganizational relationships (CIRs) in supply chain risks (SCRs) from a social capital perspective and provide an organizing lens for future scholarship in this area. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a systematic literature review approach to investigate 126 articles from 27 peer-reviewed journals between 1995 and 2020. Findings This paper investigates supply chain CIRs using a social capital perspective to explain the role of structural, relational and cognitive capital that resides in these relationships in various SCRs (i.e. environmental, supply, manufacturing, demand, information, financial and transportation). The review reveals that the three social capital dimensions uniquely and both positively and negatively affect different SCRs. The findings further suggest that the perceived SCRs can influence the structural and relational capital. Practical implications This study calls for practitioners to consider the cognitive alignment with their supply network partners, their relational investments, as well as the interorganizational processes and systems in managing and alleviating SCRs. Originality/value This review offers a theoretical articulation of how various aspects of CIRs affect SCRs. Specifically, this study extends the existing understanding of the role of social capital in SCRs through offering a synthesis of dominant findings and discourses, and avenues for future research.

Purpose Research on the “black box” of cognitive capital remains limited in supply chain resilience (SCRES) literature. Drawing from an in-depth single case study of a major consumer electronics multinational facing the COVID-19 disruption, this paper aims to develop a clearer picture of cognitive capital’s elements while contextualizing how they interact with SCRES temporal capabilities to prepare, respond, recover and learn. Design/methodology/approach Consisting of 40 in-depth interviews collected during a four-month period, this single case revolves around the buyer’s view across 36 multiregional buyer–supplier dyads, spanning 17 product and service categories. Data were processed during the pandemic, while findings discuss pre- and intra-crisis events based on two scenarios: the impact of disruption on category demand, comparing sudden pandemic-driven product and service demand fluctuations (i.e. increase, decrease); and the geographical proximity of the supplier relative to the buying firm. Findings The case unveils different elements of cognitive capital (e.g. shared goals, assumptions, values, kinesics language, multilingualism, virtual negotiation, prior disruption experience, shared process capabilities) during a major global disruption, suggesting that different cognitive capital elements influence positively and differently SCRES’ temporal capabilities. Overall, buying firms are urged to build on cognitive capital to improve SCRES preparation, response, recovery and learning. Originality/value This paper extends the understanding of cognitive capital in buyer–supplier relationships by identifying its elements and offering a theoretical articulation of how they enable episodically the four SCRES temporal capabilities under contingencies of increased and decreased demands, and suppliers’ geographical proximity.