PurposeIn the emerging disciplines of risk management and supply chain management, resilience is a relatively undefined concept. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated perspective on resilience through an extensive review of the literature in a number of disciplines including developmental psychology and ecosystems. In addition, the paper identifies and addresses some of the current theoretical gaps in the existing research.Design/methodology/approachSupply chain resilience has been defined by a number of disciplines. An integrative literature review is conducted in an attempt to integrate existing perspectives. This review also serves as the basis for the development of a conceptual model.FindingsThe key elements of supply chain resilience and the relationships among them, the links between risks and implications for supply chain management, and the methodologies for managing these key issues are poorly understood. Implications for future research advocate testing the proposed model empirically.Practical implicationsSupply chain disruptions have adverse effect on both revenue and costs. Resilient supply chains incorporate event readiness, are capable of providing an efficient response, and often are capable of recovering to their original state or even better post the disruptive event.Originality/valueSupply chain resilience has yet to be researched from the logistics perspective. Even in well‐developed disciplines the unified theory of resilience is still under development. This research leverages existing knowledge and advances an interdisciplinary understanding of the concept.

Please cite this article as: Gligor, D.M., Esmark, C.L., Holcomb, M.C.,Performance outcomes of supply chain agility: When should you be agile?, Journal of Operations Management (2014), http://dx.Abstract: Traditionally, researchers have claimed agility as an attribute closely tied to the effectiveness of strategic supply chain management. Because of its association with customer effectiveness, some researchers have considered agility to be fundamentally different from lean, which has been linked to cost efficiency (Goldsby et al. 2006). Therefore, the relationship between agility and cost efficiency is not clear due to limited empirical scrutiny from researchers. Since elimination of waste is the cornerstone of lean, unravelling the relationship between agility and efficiency can also offer a better perspective on relationship between the fundamental paradigms of agility and lean. The manuscript makes a key contribution to the agility literature by examining the association between supply chain agility (FSCA), cost efficiency and customer effectiveness across various environmental situations. We use archival data to examine the moderating effects of environmental munificence, dynamism, and complexity. It has been argued that firms should embrace agile strategies when operating in highly uncertain environments, and embrace lean strategies when operating in more stable environments (Lee, 2002;Sebastiao and Golicic, 2008). We empirically question this premise to determine whether supply chain agility can also lead to superior performance for firms operating in stable environments.The study results also provide a better understanding of how FSCA contributes to firm financial performance. We evaluate the impact of FSCA on the firm's Return on Assets using archival data from the Compustat database. Thus, we provide evidence to managers that deploying resource to enhance FSCA can positively impact the firm's bottom line.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of logistics capabilities in achieving supply chain agility through a multi-disciplinary review of the relevant research. The systematic literature review aims to provide the basis for formulating a conceptual framework of the relationship. Design/methodology/approach -A systematic, comprehensive review of the literature on manufacturing, organizational and supply chain agility from 1991 through 2010 was conducted. The literature on logistics capabilities was also examined to identify the various elements that contribute to supply chain agility. Findings -Supply chain agility has primarily been explored in the literature through a focus on manufacturing flexibility, supply chain speed, or lean manufacturing. The role of logistics capabilities in achieving supply chain agility has not been addressed from a holistic conceptual perspective. This research addresses that gap using a multi-disciplinary approach. As such, it is the first phase in theory building on the concept of supply chain agility. Further research is needed to empirically test the conceptualized relationships.Research limitations/implications -This research is a systematic, integrative review of the existing literature on the concept of agility and logistics capabilities. As such, the next phase of research needed for theory building will be the operationalization of constructs and testing of the hypothesized relationships proposed by the conceptual framework.Practical implications -The level of agility in a supply chain can determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the collective efforts. It is important that firms become more knowledgeable about the role of logistics capabilities in achieving agility. Originality/value -Through a systematic, comprehensive review of the literature in four distinct areas, the paper explores the relationship between logistics capabilities and supply chain agility.

Although agility has been identified as one of the most important issues of contemporary supply chain management, the theoretical basis for understanding supply chain agility is fragmented. This research addresses the gap related to the ambiguity surrounding the dimensions and definitions of firm supply chain agility by employing a multidisciplinary literature review to gain an in‐depth understanding of agility. In addition, a comprehensive measurement instrument that draws on the foundations of social and life science theory is developed and empirically validated. The results of the research indicate that firm supply chain agility is composed of five distinct dimensions including alertness, accessibility, decisiveness, swiftness, and flexibility. Based on these elements, a comprehensive definition of firm supply chain agility is developed for further theoretical testing of the concept.

The concept of supply chain agility (SCAGI) has been identified as one of the most important issues in supply chain management literature. However, despite the popularity of the concept, many aspects of SCAGI are largely unexplored. One area that is deficient in research is the behavioral/relational antecedents of SCAGI. Furthermore, no research to date has empirically established the link between SCAGI and firm performance. This article seeks to further theory development by addressing these gaps.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to add clarity to the multidimensional concepts of agility and resilience. In addition, this paper seeks to clarify the differences and similarities between the two concepts by integrating the distinct bodies of knowledge on agility and resilience. Design/methodology/approach A multidisciplinary systematic literature review is conducted. The concept of agility is explored through a review of the sports science, manufacturing, organizational, information systems and information systems development and supply chain literature bases. The concept of resilience is investigated through a review of the psychological and psychopathological, ecological, economic, organizational and supply chain literature bases. Findings Examining the complex relationship between the two constructs led to the emergence of six major dimensions to capture the concept of agility (i.e. ability to quickly change direction, speed/accelerate operations, scan the environment/anticipate, empower the customer/customize, adjust tactics and operations (flexibility), and integrate processes within and across firms). Similarly, six dimensions were uncovered for resilience (i.e. ability to resist/survive disruptions, avoid the shock altogether, recover/return to original form following disruption, speed/accelerate operations, adjust tactics and operations (flexibility) and scan the environment/anticipate). Agility and resilience were found to share three common dimensions (i.e. ability to adjust tactics and operations (flexibility), speed/accelerate operations and scan the environment/anticipate). Practical implications The identification of the common characteristics of agility and resilience carries important managerial implications from a resource allocation perspective. Allocating resources to the development of the common characteristics of agility and resilience can help firms maximize the impact of such investments. That is, by investing in the common characteristics of both they can improve supply chain agility and supply chain resilience. If firms approach the development or improvement of supply chain agility or resilience independent from one another, without an awareness of the common characteristics, they could be duplicating their investments resulting in supply chain redundancies and inefficiencies. Originality/value Not having a clear and comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences between agility and resilience is problematic from a theoretical perspective. A clear understanding of what each construct represents provides a platform for building generalizable theory by helping researchers operationalize these constructs in a consistent manner. Further, providing a generalizable, comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective on agility and resilience within supply chain management literature can help increase the visibility of the field of supply chain management across other disciplines as scholars outside the field of supply chain management can utilize the results of this research effort.

Purpose – The concept of supply chain agility (SCA) has been identified as one of the most important issues in supply chain management literature. However, despite the popularity of the concept, many attributes of SCA are largely unexplored. One area that is deficient in research is the antecedents of SCA. This paper aims to seek further theory development by addressing these gaps in the SCA literature. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were obtained from a field survey. A mail questionnaire was constructed that contained items measuring the constructs of interest. The theoretical model was evaluated using structural equation modeling. Findings – The findings indicate that logistics capabilities positively impact SCA. The results provide empirical evidence for logistics’ unique and critical role in helping firms respond in a timely and effective manner to market volatility and other uncertainties. Research limitations/implications – As is the case with most supply chain survey research, the constructs of interest were evaluated based on the perception of a single party involved in a specific relationship. Future research using multiple dyads or triads within various supply chains could address this limitation. Practical implications – If limited resources are available for investment (as is often the case), a more balanced distribution of resources toward the development of multiple logistics capabilities (e.g. demand-management interface, information-management interface) is preferred to pooling all the resources toward the development of a single capability (e.g. information-management interface). Originality/value – Considering logistics’ boundary-spanning nature, prior research suggest that logistics capabilities perform a key role in achieving SCA. However, the relationship between firm-specific logistics capabilities and SCA has not been empirically tested. This paper address that gap in the research.