Developing Knowledge of Supply Chain Resilience in Less-Developed Countries in the Pandemic Age

Abstract

The constraints imposed by the pandemic COVID-19 increased the risks of the disruption of supply chains, bringing new challenges to companies. These effects were felt more intensely in less-developed countries, which are highly dependent on imports of products and raw materials. This study aims to assess the impact of supply chain resilience in a less-developed country (Guinea-Bissau) using complex adaptive system theory. We used a qualitative methodology through multiple case studies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four companies. The semi-structured script contains questions about supply chain disruptions, vulnerabilities and resilience. The main results show that the companies in Guinea-Bissau, due to their dependence on the outside world and the absence of formal, larger and more diversified supply chains, suffered serious consequences with the disruption imposed by the pandemic. It was also concluded that the more resilient the supply chain, the fewer the impacts of crisis events and that the resilience of companies at this level depends on their obtaining competitive advantages over their competitors. The main practical implications of this study are the need to formalize the supply chain, diversify the supply of services and products of companies dependent on the exterior, adopt metrics that allow for the early detection of situations of supply chain disruption, effectively manage stocks and promote proactive crisis resolution strategies. Studies on the impact of resilience on supply chains in crises are scarce, especially on companies located in underdeveloped countries.

The New Times of Social Media Marketing in the B2B Framework

“…A multiple case study must be prepared when investigating contemporary events [52,53]. A multiple case study is the most suitable method for this study because it makes it possible to gather interpretations through empirical observation [27,28]. A multiple case study is suitable whenever the objective is to study a phenomenon in-depth or rare when information is difficult to access.…”

“…A supply chain is the flow of goods from the producer to the warehouse and from there to the retailers or the final sale [22]. Supply chain management is a strategic task that can bring advantages and profit to individual companies or business groups [23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Developing a resilience assessment model for critical infrastructures: The case of port in tackling the impacts posed by the Covid-19 pandemic

“…The key literatures regarding risk and resilience assessment of pandemic impacts are mainly associated with the effects of a pandemic on seaport transportation and the maritime supply chain. Similarly, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have mainly been considered the seaborne trade (e.g., Chua et al, 2022 ; Xu et al, 2021a ), port and sea transport (e.g., Mack et al, 2021 ; Narasimha et al, 2021 ), and supply chains (e.g., Lahyani et al, 2021 ; Lopes et al, 2022 ; Ozdemir et al, 2022 ). In this case, ports have experienced significant changes to normal operating environments due to the Covid-19 pandemic ( UNCTAD, 2022 ).…”

The Role of Supply Chain Resilience on SMEs’ Performance: The Case of an Emerging Economy

“…Prior research into supply chain resilience has primarily concentrated on developed economies [11]. However, contemporary evidence suggests that developing economies suffer the most from supply chain resilience failures [6,12]. Furthermore, SMEs are more vulnerable to disruptions in the supply chain than large corporations [3,13].…”

“…Furthermore, SMEs are more vulnerable to disruptions in the supply chain than large corporations [3,13]. This vulnerability is thought to be caused by a lack of sufficient resources (i.e., SMEs usually operate on a limited financial capacity) to tackle these disruptions [12,14,15] or a lack of enough preparation for supply chain issues [16]. Additionally, research into SMEs' resilience practices in supply chains is limited [6,13,17].…”