Illicit activity and scarce natural resources in the supply chain: A literature review, framework, and research agenda

Abstract

This article reviews extant multidisciplinary literature to uncover existing themes and directions in the knowledge of the overlap between natural resource scarcity and illicit supply chain activity. In doing so, the authors present a novel review of this nascent, complex, and multidisciplinary research area. This review has uncovered 127 articles that have not been synthesized or organized in a meaningful way with the supply chain literature. It extracts insights and develops a comprehensive process framework encompassing the following: (a) antecedents associated with natural resource extraction, which foments the opportunity for illicit activity to thrive; (b) resulting economic, social, and environmental outcomes from illicit activity as it relates to natural resource extraction; and (c) potential moderating processes, which either enable or inhibit illicit activity to occur, including firm-level tactics that businesses can employ to counteract illicit activity throughout the supply chain and to promote sustainable long-term operations. An extensive agenda is presented suggesting future research paths, methodologies, theories, and potential contributions.

What constitutes an excellent literature review? Summarize, synthesize, conceptualize, and energize

“…Supply chains are often referred to as proverbial “double‐edged swords.” While supply chains can be a source of enhanced performance, they can also be a significant source of daunting risk. In the second article, Hilend et al (2023) review research on a key source of ongoing and significant supply chain risk—illicit activity and scarce natural resources. This broad topic should have widespread appeal among supply chain scholars such as those focusing on supply chain risk/resilience, sustainability, or procurement.…”

“…It is noteworthy that the large majority of the articles that Hilend et al (2023) review appear in journals from the natural and social science fields with only minimal coverage in the supply chain journals. Given the topic's central importance to companies and society, it seems imperative that supply chain scholars play a more prominent role in this research stream.…”

“…Given the topic's central importance to companies and society, it seems imperative that supply chain scholars play a more prominent role in this research stream. With a literature base that needs much more attention from the supply chain field, the energizing aspect of the article by Hilend et al (2023) is critically important. The authors did a solid job of identifying compelling research questions and offering guidance on how (method and theory) these questions may be addressed (cf.…”

Untying the Gordian knot: A systematic review and integrative framework of supply network complexity

“…“supply networks are getting more complex”). Additionally, we performed snowballing by conducting both a “backward” and a “forward search,” which resulted in identifying six additional articles (Acocella & Caplice, 2023; Hilend et al., 2023). Consequently, our final set consisted of 116 articles.…”

Detecting communities at high-risk of IUU fishing: networks of shadow encounters in Area 81 of the Western Central Pacific

“…Understanding the structure of criminal enterprise activity, particularly linking different sectors of the supply chain in lawful and illegal activity, is critical to developing effective disruption strategies [e.g (Duxbury and Haynie, 2018;Keskin et al, 2022;Anzoom et al, 2023;Hilend et al, 2023)]. Not all actors associated with an illicit supply chain are engaged in illegal behavior, nor are all segments in the chain equality compromised, thus, efforts to identify subgroups with the aim of disrupting criminal interference seek to uncover interactions among actors that directly support or involve illegal activity.…”