IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/joibpo/v7y2024i1d10.1057_s42214-023-00170-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Supply chain myths in the resilience and deglobalization narrative: consequences for policy

Author

Listed:
  • Bublu Thakur-Weigold

    (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich)

  • Sébastien Miroudot

    (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)

Abstract

The economic disruptions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have generated a narrative of resilience and deglobalization that brings the old world order into question. Heightened public attention on perceived supply chain failures has exerted pressure on governments to intervene in firm-level operations to assure supply of essential or strategic goods. This paper argues that the narrative is founded on false premises. In particular, three supply chain myths have emerged in public and academic discourse: (i) lean management has gone too far and exacerbated disruptions in global supply chains; (ii) efficient supply chains are less resilient; and (iii) foreign supply makes supply chains less resilient. We argue that these beliefs are not adequately supported by evidence. They can displace analysis to negatively impact policy and actually diminish resilience. Drawing upon IB and supply chain management research, we investigate the root causes of perceived market failures. Recommendations are for an evidence-based debate on current events and policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Bublu Thakur-Weigold & Sébastien Miroudot, 2024. "Supply chain myths in the resilience and deglobalization narrative: consequences for policy," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 99-111, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:joibpo:v:7:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s42214-023-00170-3
    DOI: 10.1057/s42214-023-00170-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s42214-023-00170-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s42214-023-00170-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kamalahmadi, Masoud & Parast, Mahour Mellat, 2016. "A review of the literature on the principles of enterprise and supply chain resilience: Major findings and directions for future research," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(P1), pages 116-133.
    2. Tang, Christopher S., 2006. "Perspectives in supply chain risk management," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 451-488, October.
    3. Arnd Huchzermeier & Morris A. Cohen, 1996. "Valuing Operational Flexibility Under Exchange Rate Risk," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 44(1), pages 100-113, February.
    4. Raphael Lafrogne-Joussier & Julien Martin & Isabelle Mejean, 2023. "Supply Shocks in Supply Chains: Evidence from the Early Lockdown in China," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 71(1), pages 170-215, March.
    5. Gabriel Felbermayr & Hendrik Mahlkow & Alexander Sandkamp, 2023. "Cutting through the value chain: the long-run effects of decoupling the East from the West," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 75-108, February.
    6. Olga Petricevic & David J Teece, 2019. "The structural reshaping of globalization: Implications for strategic sectors, profiting from innovation, and the multinational enterprise," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1487-1512, December.
    7. Delios, Andrew & Perchthold, Gordon & Capri, Alex, 2021. "Cohesion, COVID-19 and contemporary challenges to globalization," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    8. Roger Strange & John Humphrey, 2019. "What lies between market and hierarchy? Insights from internalization theory and global value chain theory," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1401-1413, October.
    9. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman & Hugo Lhuillier, 2021. "Supply Chain Resilience: Should Policy Promote Diversification or Reshoring?," Working Papers 2021-8, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    10. Peter J Buckley & Pervez N Ghauri, 2004. "Globalisation, economic geography and the strategy of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(2), pages 81-98, March.
    11. Henry Farrell & Abraham L. Newman, 2022. "Weak links in finance and supply chains are easily weaponized," Nature, Nature, vol. 605(7909), pages 219-222, May.
    12. Mizgier, Kamil J. & Wagner, Stephan M. & Jüttner, Matthias P., 2015. "Disentangling diversification in supply chain networks," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 115-124.
    13. Hiroyasu Inoue & Yasuyuki Todo, 2019. "Firm-level propagation of shocks through supply-chain networks," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(9), pages 841-847, September.
    14. Brian Tomlin, 2006. "On the Value of Mitigation and Contingency Strategies for Managing Supply Chain Disruption Risks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(5), pages 639-657, May.
    15. Stephen C. Graves, 2021. "Reflections on the Evolution of Operations Management," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5379-5388, September.
    16. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 1991. "The Future of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-21204-0, September.
    17. Bonadio, Barthélémy & Huo, Zhen & Levchenko, Andrei A. & Pandalai-Nayar, Nitya, 2021. "Global supply chains in the pandemic," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    18. Alexander Jaax & Sébastien Miroudot, 2021. "Capturing value in GVCs through intangible assets: The role of the trade–investment–intellectual property nexus," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(3), pages 433-452, September.
    19. Dmitry Ivanov & Alexandre Dolgui, 2022. "Stress testing supply chains and creating viable ecosystems," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 475-486, June.
    20. Andrea Coveri & Claudio Cozza & Leopoldo Nascia & Antonello Zanfei, 2020. "Supply chain contagion and the role of industrial policy," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 47(3), pages 467-482, September.
    21. ManMohan S. Sodhi & Christopher S. Tang, 2021. "Supply Chain Management for Extreme Conditions: Research Opportunities," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(1), pages 7-16, January.
    22. Buckley, Peter J., 2009. "Internalisation thinking: From the multinational enterprise to the global factory," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 224-235, June.
    23. Mark L. Spearman & Wallace J. Hopp, 2021. "The Case for a Unified Science of Operations," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(3), pages 802-814, March.
    24. Simon J. Evenett, 2022. "What Endgame for the Deglobalisation Narrative?," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 57(6), pages 345-351, November.
    25. Emma Brandon-Jones & Brian Squire & Chad W. Autry & Kenneth J. Petersen, 2014. "A Contingent Resource-Based Perspective of Supply Chain Resilience and Robustness," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 50(3), pages 55-73, July.
    26. Christian F. Durach & Joakim Kembro & Andreas Wieland, 2017. "A New Paradigm for Systematic Literature Reviews in Supply Chain Management," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 53(4), pages 67-85, October.
    27. Andrea Coveri & Antonello Zanfei, 2023. "The virtues and limits of specialization in global value chains: analysis and policy implications," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 50(1), pages 73-90, March.
    28. Gary Gereffi, 2020. "What does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about global value chains? The case of medical supplies," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(3), pages 287-301, September.
    29. Thomas Y. Choi & Torbjørn H. Netland & Nada Sanders & ManMohan S. Sodhi & Stephan M. Wagner, 2023. "Just‐in‐time for supply chains in turbulent times," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(7), pages 2331-2340, July.
    30. Peter J Buckley & Pervez N Ghauri, 2004. "Globalisation, economic geography and the strategy of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(3), pages 255-255, May.
    31. Lawrence V. Snyder & Zümbül Atan & Peng Peng & Ying Rong & Amanda J. Schmitt & Burcu Sinsoysal, 2016. "OR/MS models for supply chain disruptions: a review," IISE Transactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(2), pages 89-109, February.
    32. Dmitry Ivanov & Alexandre Dolgui, 2020. "Viability of intertwined supply networks: extending the supply chain resilience angles towards survivability. A position paper motivated by COVID-19 outbreak," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(10), pages 2904-2915, May.
    33. Yossi Sheffi, 2005. "The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262693496, December.
    34. Bruce Kogut & Nalin Kulatilaka, 1994. "Operating Flexibility, Global Manufacturing, and the Option Value of a Multinational Network," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(1), pages 123-139, January.
    35. Gene M. Grossman & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2008. "Trading Tasks: A Simple Theory of Offshoring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1978-1997, December.
    36. Witt, Michael A. & Lewin, Arie Y. & Li, Peter Ping & Gaur, Ajai, 2023. "Decoupling in international business: Evidence, drivers, impact, and implications for IB research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(1).
    37. Sébastien Miroudot, 2020. "Reshaping the policy debate on the implications of COVID-19 for global supply chains," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 430-442, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sébastien Miroudot, 2020. "Reshaping the policy debate on the implications of COVID-19 for global supply chains," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 430-442, December.
    2. De Beule, Filip & Van Assche, Ari & Nevens, Joren, 2022. "Additive Manufacturing and Production Internationalization: An Internalization Perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    3. Hosseini, Seyedmohsen & Ivanov, Dmitry & Dolgui, Alexandre, 2019. "Review of quantitative methods for supply chain resilience analysis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 285-307.
    4. Angels Pelegrín & Catalina Bolancé, 2011. "Offshoring and company characteristics: some evidence from the analysis of Spanish firm data," Working Papers 2011/16, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    5. Angels Pelegrín & Catalina Bolancé, 2011. "Offshoring and company characteristics: some evidence from the analysis of Spanish firm data," Working Papers 2011/16, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    6. Tortorella, Guilherme L. & Fogliatto, Flavio S. & Saurin, Tarcísio A. & Tonetto, Leandro M. & McFarlane, Duncan, 2022. "Contributions of Healthcare 4.0 digital applications to the resilience of healthcare organizations during the COVID-19 outbreak," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Iftikhar, Ilaria Giannoccaro & Anas, 2023. "Mitigating ripple effect in supply networks: the effect of trust and topology on resilience," OSF Preprints 2spt3, Center for Open Science.
    8. Bygballe, Lena E. & Dubois, Anna & Jahre, Marianne, 2023. "The importance of resource interaction in strategies for managing supply chain disruptions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    9. Peter J. Buckley, 2018. "Towards a theoretically-based global foreign direct investment policy regime," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(3), pages 184-207, December.
    10. Alan M. Rugman & Alain Verbeke & Quyen T. K. Nguyen, 2011. "Fifty Years of International Business Theory and Beyond," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(6), pages 755-786, December.
    11. Carlo Pietrobelli & Roberta Rabellotti & Ari Van Assche, 2021. "Making sense of global value chain-oriented policies: The trifecta of tasks, linkages, and firms," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(3), pages 327-346, September.
    12. Afraz, Muhammad Fawad & Bhatti, Sabeen Hussain & Ferraris, Alberto & Couturier, Jerome, 2021. "The impact of supply chain innovation on competitive advantage in the construction industry: Evidence from a moderated multi-mediation model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    13. Suder, Gabriele & Liesch, Peter W. & Inomata, Satoshi & Mihailova, Irina & Meng, Bo, 2015. "The evolving geography of production hubs and regional value chains across East Asia: Trade in value-added," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 404-416.
    14. Lohmer, Jacob & Bugert, Niels & Lasch, Rainer, 2020. "Analysis of resilience strategies and ripple effect in blockchain-coordinated supply chains: An agent-based simulation study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    15. Liena Kano & Eric W. K. Tsang & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2020. "Global value chains: A review of the multi-disciplinary literature," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 577-622, June.
    16. Julien Gooris & Carine Peeters, 2014. "Fragmenting global business processes: A protection for proprietary information," Working Papers 2014-12, CEPII research center.
    17. Kurt, Yusuf & Kurt, Mustafa, 2020. "Social network analysis in international business research: An assessment of the current state of play and future research directions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    18. Peter J. Buckley, 2018. "Internalisation Theory and Outward Direct Investment by Emerging Market Multinationals," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 195-224, April.
    19. Pereira, Carla Roberta & Lago da Silva, Andrea & Tate, Wendy Lea & Christopher, Martin, 2020. "Purchasing and supply management (PSM) contribution to supply-side resilience," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    20. Ying Rong & Lawrence V. Snyder & Zuo‐Jun Max Shen, 2017. "Bullwhip and reverse bullwhip effects under the rationing game," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(3), pages 203-216, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:joibpo:v:7:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s42214-023-00170-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.