Empirical Insights on the Relationship Between Supply Chain Sustainability and Supply Chain Resilience: Managerial Perceptions and Practices

Supply chain resilience and supply chain sustainability have both emerged as important topics for managers during recent years. Companies have had to become more transparent about the sustainability of their operations due to consumer pressure and new legislation. Recent events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the blockage of the Suez Canal, have resulted in widespread disruptions and led to questions about the resilience of existing supply chains. Despite these two areas becoming increasingly relevant, the intersections between supply chain sustainability and resilience have seldomly been studied. The aims of this paper are to better define the relationship between sustainability and resilience in supply chains and determine managerial practices that can simultaneously enhance these two areas.
This study included both an in-depth literature review and an empirical study. Empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews with nine procurement and supply chain professionals in Finland and the US. To better identify general themes and results, study participants came from a wide variety of industries and companies. The study found that supply chain sustainability and resilience share a nuanced relationship that has the potential for synergies, trade-offs, or no relationship. The interviews also revealed six practices (lean processes, nearshoring, supplier selection processes, supplier relationship management, supplier certificates, and supplier questionnaires) that could enhance both supply chain resilience and sustainability. This paper provides both theoretical contributions to an emerging field of research as well as practical actions that can be taken by managers to enhance these areas in their supply chains.