Local food supply chain resilience to constitutional change: the Brexit effect

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how local supply chains prepare for and respond to the threats and opportunities presented by constitutional change, thereby building resilience. Design/methodology/approach Multiple case study analysis of 14 firms in the food sector is presented in the context of the UK’s impending exit from the European Union (Brexit). Organisations studied include farmers, processors, retailers and non-government organisations (NGOs). Data from interviews and roundtable discussions has been interpreted using the dynamic capabilities perspective, covering the sensing, seizing, and transforming stages. Findings The data highlights the importance of both vertical and horizontal collaboration between supply chain actors as they seek to anticipate the impact of the disruption and influence the future shape of the constitution. There is also evidence to suggest firms in possession of dynamic capabilities can innovate to build resilience and enhance their competitive position. Characteristics of the disruption posed by constitutional change are identified and contrast with those of many other threats more typically described in the literature. As a result, the process of building resilience is different. Research limitations/implications The study could be extended to include post-Brexit interviews to further understand the seizing and transforming stages whilst the impact of Brexit on actors that remain within the EU could also be considered. Practical implications Practitioners need to work together to influence the future shape of the constitution; and they need to reconfigure their operations and supply chains where necessary to become more resilient to the threat posed by Brexit, such as by reducing their reliance on EU funding streams and trade. The study also has policy implications. Originality/value The first study of supply chain resilience to constitutional change and a rare empirical study of resilience across multiple supply chain tiers.

Managing supply chain uncertainty arising from geopolitical disruptions: evidence from the pharmaceutical industry and brexit

“…The context of study is the response of the pharmaceutical industry to the political decision made by United Kingdom (UK) voters to leave the European Union (EU), or Brexit. Brexit was selected as our context of study because we could gather data in real-time and because of its potential significance to affect almost every aspect of the supply chain, including the positioning of supply chain assets, material and information flows, human resource availability and access to suppliers (Hendry et al, 2019).…”

“…In the revised abstract, introduction and methods section, we clarify that 27 interviews were conducted with key informants in the pharmaceutical industry including nineteen interviews with senior managers at eight case companies and eight interviews with experts from pharmaceutical trade associations and standards institutes Thank you very much for this valid observation. We have now included articles from IJOPM by Hendry et al (2019) on Brexit, supply chain resilience by de Sa (2019) and Polyviou (2019), as well as risk reduction strategies by Kwak et al (2018). Furthermore, we have provided a more in-depth discussion of supply chain resilience and flexibility as a means of addressing uncertainty from Prater et al 2001, Stevenson and Spring (2007), and Sanchez and Perez (2005).…”

“…The supply chain uncertainty literature has explored how firms redeploy resources and reconfigure supply chain assets to build resilience against supply chain disruptions (Ambulkar et al, 2015;Hendry et al, 2019;de Sá et al, 2019). In addition, the supply chain risk management (SCRM) literature has shed light on how firms deploy tangible resources to mitigate risks related to natural disasters (Elluru et al, 2017;de Sá et al, 2019) (Knemeyer et al, 2009), supplier insolvencies (Thun and Hoenig, 2011), and financial crises (Blome and Schoenherr, 2011).…”

Key factors of carbon footprint in the UK food supply chains: a new perspective of life cycle assessment

“…Efforts should be channelled towards intensifying locally produced fresh food, while solely importing the fresh food that cannot be grown in the UK e.g., mangoes and pineapples. Although UK locally produced fruits (e.g., apples and pears) are more sustainable and generate significantly less waste than importation of tropical fruits (Hendry et al, 2019), the entire supply chain culminates in CO 2 emissions. Global warming could also be affecting the UK local production of fruits, so innovative measures and practices can be implemented to expand the growing season of locally grown fruits which will have better environmental benefits.…”

Enterprise Resilience Assessment—A Quantitative Approach

“…Moreover, the current organizational environment characterized by a high degree of information sharing, an increasing complexity of transactions among supply chain partners [5,6], the fierce competition, the bargaining power of clients, the dependence on suppliers, the constant demand for innovation, changes in the regulatory environment, the new expectations of society [7], the constitutional changes such as UK's planned exit from the European Union (Brexit) [8] make enterprises more vulnerable and consequently, companies should enhance their resilient capacity to efficiently Research on resilience has proliferated in recent years. Numerous definitions, tactics, metrics, and indices have been proposed.…”