A resilience model for cold chain logistics of perishable products
The International Journal of Logistics Management
ISSN: 0957-4093
Article publication date: 8 June 2018
Issue publication date: 17 August 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Most of the extant literature on resilience builds on normative, conceptual or silo approaches, thereby lacking an integrative approach to cold chain logistics risks (CCLRs) and resilience. The purpose of this paper is to bridge the current research gap by developing a model, based on broad empirical evidence, of the interplay between CCLRs, resilience and firm performance (FP) in perishable product supply chains (PPSCs).
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method approach is used with qualitative data from interviews and quantitative data from a survey across the supply chain. The analysis is framed by contingency theory and resource-based theory.
Findings
Four significant sources of CCLRs and six resources used to build resilience are identified. Then, supply chain resilience (SCR) as a moderator of the negative relationship between CCLRs and FP is corroborated.
Practical implications
The findings will help improve managerial understandings of critical sources of risks in cold chain logistics and resources indispensable to build resilience. The scope of the research is cold chain logistics for PPSCs, which has relevance to other cold supply chains as well.
Originality/value
While some theoretical frameworks suggest resilience being a moderator in the negative relationship between cold chain risks and a firm’s performance, this study empirically tests this relationship using the survey across the entire supply chain. A new empirically and theoretically driven definition of SCR is also developed.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper forms part of a special section “Next-generation cold supply chain management: research, applications and challenges”.
Citation
Ali, I., Nagalingam, S. and Gurd, B. (2018), "A resilience model for cold chain logistics of perishable products", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 922-941. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-06-2017-0147
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited