Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how the fit between port community systems (PCS) assimilation and just-in-time (JIT) implementation co-evolves over time. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal and process-based multiple case-study design focusing on two Swedish ports was employed. Data were collected through 33 interviews, 17 observations and 12 archival documents during 2020–2025. Findings The realization of JIT's environmental and operational outcomes is contingent on the fit between PCS assimilation and JIT implementation. However, their fit was jointly constrained by the PCS governance structure, digital immaturity, regulatory frameworks, and commercial and operational dependencies, leading to inconsistent JIT implementation. These sources of misfit do not stem from port-level PCS decisions alone, but also from actions, constraints and incentives of other port call actors. Research limitations/implications This study is based on two Swedish ports that can be characterized as early adopters of PCS supporting JIT implementation. While context-specific, the findings offer insights for ports seeking to assimilate PCS. Practical implications The study provides managerial insights for ports and maritime actors adopting a PCS to support JIT port calls. It shows that realizing JIT's outcomes requires manager to treat the assimilation process as collaborative and iterative. To assimilate PCS and scale-up JIT's implementation, interoperability should be prioritized by addressing regulatory constraints and uneven digital maturity among actors to reduce reliance on parallel systems. Furthermore, effective JIT implementation requires governance designs that prioritize system-level coordination by configuring berth windows, commitment rules and clearly assigned responsibilities to dominant operational and commercial conditions in the port call system. Originality/value The study conceptualizes PCS assimilation and JIT implementation as two interrelated process streams and argues that fit/misfit can either originate from one process stream to influence the other or result from the interaction between the two processes.
PurposeThe global logistics and supply chain (LSC) market is experiencing rapid growth, and the Australian industry is following this trend. Given the implications of a potential shortage of LSC talent resulting from the introduction of innovative technologies and changes in the work environment, we aim to identify market demand signals for competencies in LSC positions. Design/methodology/approachFollowing a content analysis of 929 job advertisements, we analysed organisations' signals of competencies in three main LSC positions, namely manager, coordinator and “planner and analyst”. FindingsThe results show that the relative importance of competency requirements differs between LSC positions, although similar competencies are demanded across positions. The labour market also demands competencies in all four categories, such as academic and cognitive, personal, workplace, and technical, as well as both hard and soft skills. However, our findings indicate that there is a limited emphasis on technology-specific competency requirements, despite the significant technological advances in the LSC industry. Additionally, we identified clusters of co-demanded competencies across different positions. Originality/valueTheoretically, this study develops a competency-based framework of LSC competencies, through which the findings offer a comprehensive signal about the requirements of LSC positions. Practically, our findings provide valuable insights for employers, job seekers and educational institutions to align their expectations with the market's signals on evolving competency requirements.
Purpose Ports, as critical nodes in maritime logistics and supply chains, face growing pressure to decarbonize, yet progress remains slow. While existing research identifies multiple barriers to port decarbonization, limited attention has been paid to how these barriers interact and mutually reinforce one another. This study aims to identify key barriers to port decarbonization and to analyze their interrelationships to uncover the root causes of decarbonization challenges. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a sociotechnical systems (STS) perspective, the study combines interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and the matrix of cross-impact multiplications applied to classification (MICMAC) approach. Seventeen decarbonization barriers were identified through a literature review and semi-structured interviews with experts from the Portuguese port system. ISM was used to develop a hierarchical model of barrier interactions, while MICMAC classified barriers according to their driving and dependence power. Findings The findings reveal that barriers to port decarbonization form a highly interconnected system. External environment barriers, which are external challenges coming from outside the ports' organizational boundaries, emerged as dominant root drivers. Examples include global policy gaps and instability, lack of government support and industry complexity. Intermediate challenges related to standards, data availability, funding and knowledge. Those issues function as critical transmission mechanisms between root barriers and highly visible ones. Frequently cited challenges, such as high costs and technological immaturity, appear largely as dependent outcomes rather than primary causes. Originality/value This study advances port decarbonization research by moving beyond barrier prioritization toward a multi-level explanation of barrier interactions. By integrating STS theory with ISM-MICMAC analysis, it provides novel insights into where effective intervention points lie in port decarbonization efforts.
FreightFox is a data centric Transportation Management System focused on the logistics procure-to-pay platform for manufacturing industry segment. FreightFox processes ~4 Million+ Ewaybills (EWB) annually for over 16+ enterprise customers handling products worth ~US$ 1.50 Billion moved using the platform with an average revenue size of organization using the platform at ~USD 0.75 Billion+. This translates into tracking of ~4 BTKMs (Billion Ton-Kms) of goods moved through the FreightFox platform. Payload variance defined as the deviation between various trucks placed under the same category/Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) segment is a critical but an understudied factor impacting freight efficiency, costs, and sustainability. This research empirically investigates the relationship between payload variance and freight rate indices, addressing four key questions: (1) the correlation between payload variance and freight rates, (2) the influence of vehicle characteristics (category, make, dimensions) for specific application, (3) operational impacts on logistics budgets, warehousing, and cash flow and (4) increase / decrease on emissions from transportation and distribution networks as a result of this variance. Using operational freight data and vehicle performance metrics, we analyzed variance patterns across vehicle categories and developed predictive models using Machine Learning (ML). Results reveal a significant correlation between payload variance and freight index fluctuations, with specific vehicle categories exhibiting predictable variance trends. Critically, payload variance contributes to carbon emissions via relatively lower vehicle utilization in the similar segment of trucks. The study proposes an empirical formula to predict variance based on vehicle traits and introduces a novel metric to quantify operational impacts on planning, budgeting and execution. Key contributions include enabling dynamic freight contracts using variance predictions, optimizing vehicle selection, and reducing both logistics costs and environmental footprints. These insights equip managers with actionable tools to enhance efficiency and sustainability in freight transportation.
Purpose Despite growing interest in boundary-spanning knowledge processes, research on how the joint configuration of search depth and breadth impacts supply chain performance remains limited. This study integrates the knowledge-based view and ambidexterity theory to explore how manufacturing firms configure boundary-spanning search (BSS) to enhance supply chain performance. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data from 285 Chinese manufacturing firms were analyzed using polynomial regression and response surface analysis to examine the relationships between BSS-Depth, BSS-Breadth, and supply chain performance, and the mediating role of digital resource orchestration capability. We complemented the survey with post-hoc semi-structured interviews with 10 manufacturing managers, focusing on discriminating between BSS-Depth and BSS-Breadth, managerial views on aligned and misaligned search configurations, and process explanations for why digital resource orchestration capability does not mediate the relationship between BSS-Breadth and supply chain performance. Findings An aligned configuration of BSS-Depth and BSS-Breadth outperforms misaligned configurations, with the “high BSS-Breadth–high BSS-Depth” combination yielding the best supply chain performance. Under misaligned conditions, prioritizing BSS-Depth has a smaller negative impact than prioritizing BSS-Breadth. Digital resource orchestration capability mediates the relationship between BSS-Depth and supply chain performance but has no significant mediating effect for BSS-Breadth. Originality/value This study examines the role of BSS-Depth and BSS-Breadth configurations in supply chain management, enriches ambidexterity configurations, and clarifies the role of digital resource orchestration capability in knowledge management. It provides actionable insights for manufacturing firms to optimize their search approaches, align stability and flexibility, and enhance supply chain performance.
Purpose This study examines the relationship between supplier innovativeness (SIN) and supply chain resilience (SCR), considering the mediating effect of supply chain collaboration (SCC) and the moderating effect of big data analytics (BDA). Design/methodology/approach This study used data from 323 managers employed in manufacturing firms throughout Ghana and analyzed the data with structural equation modeling in SMARTPLS 4. Findings The findings show that SIN positively affects SCC and SCR. SCC also positively affects SCR. Furthermore, SCC mediates the positive relationship between SIN and SCR. Finally, the moderating effect of BDA on the relationship between SIN and SCC is significantly negative. Originality/value The paper confirms that SIN and collaboration are significantly associated with SCR. Previous studies on the relationship between SIN and SCR mainly focus on developed economies in the manufacturing sector, with limited research on developing markets where firms operate in fragile supply chain systems. Although this study examines a developing economy, the findings provide important insights into building resilient supply chains through innovative suppliers, supply chain collaboration and big data analytics.
Purpose This study investigates the key factors driving the adoption of circular supply chain practices (CSCPs) among agricultural processing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach Guided by the extended technology-organisation-environment framework, it adopts a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with academics, industry experts, and chief executive officers from agricultural processing SMEs in Vietnam. Findings The findings reveal novel, context-specific drivers of CSCPs shaped by SMEs' operational and institutional environments. It also highlights the mediating role of organisational and interorganisational factors in determining how technological and environmental factors translate into adoption decisions. Originality/value This study contributes to knowledge and practice by being among the first to explore the drivers of CSCP adoption in agricultural processing SMEs in developing countries. It develops a framework of adoption drivers and introduces a strategic matrix to guide CSCP adoption, aligning implementation pathways with firms' internal readiness and external influences.
Purpose This study examines how decision-makers evaluate supply chain carbon finance (SCCF) offers involving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under conditions of information asymmetry. It focuses on how different signaling mechanisms influence financing preferences and investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on signaling theory, the study conceptualizes transparency, supply chain coupling and verification mechanisms as distinct signals that vary in credibility. A choice-based conjoint experiment is employed to quantify how financiers trade off these signals when evaluating financing offers and to estimate their relative importance in decision-making. Findings The results reveal a clear hierarchy in signal importance. External verification and partnership duration exert the strongest influence on financiers’ preferences. At the same time, transparency-related attributes have a moderate effect, and structural attributes, such as network scope and power balance, play a limited role. These findings indicate that financiers do not evaluate signals cumulatively but selectively prioritize those that are externally validated and difficult to manipulate. Research limitations/implications The study advances signaling theory by challenging the assumption that signals operate cumulatively and demonstrating that signal effectiveness is hierarchical in high-uncertainty contexts. It shows that signals differ in their influence by credibility rather than observability and introduces a credibility-based prioritization mechanism that explains how decision-makers weight competing signals. By integrating signaling theory with conjoint analysis, the study also makes a methodological contribution by enabling direct observation of how signals are evaluated jointly rather than in isolation. Practical implications The findings indicate that SMEs can improve access to SCCF by concentrating resources on high-impact signals, particularly external verification and long-term partnerships. Increasing disclosure without credible validation yields limited benefits. Supply chain leaders and policymakers can enhance financing outcomes by supporting standardized verification frameworks and reducing certification costs for SMEs. Originality/value This study provides an empirical examination of how financiers evaluate competing credibility signals in SCCF. It contributes to the literature by combining signaling theory with conjoint analysis to identify the relative importance of different signals and by explaining how SMEs can structure information to improve financing outcomes.
PurposeThis study investigates how dynamic capability (DC) relationships and deployment patterns enable firms to transition from sustainable supply chain management to circular supply chains (CSC).Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods, exploratory sequential design combined a multiple case analysis of four multinational manufacturing firms with quantitative validation. The qualitative phase analyzed semi-structured interviews and corporate documents to identify DCs and their deployment patterns. The quantitative phase employed Ward's hierarchical clustering on academic expert evaluations to examine relationships among capabilities, refining case-derived patterns into generalizable configurations that enable CSC transitions.FindingsThis research identifies Circular DCs into three groups, with their relationships facilitating the adoption of circularity. Foundational Innovation DCs (Technology Management, Product Design Management, Process Innovation) establish an internal infrastructure to enable circularity. Transitional Collaboration DCs (Supply Chain Collaboration, Supply Market Orientation) facilitate integration across the supply chain partners. Scaling Enablement capabilities (Human Resource Management, Marketing) support ongoing transformation. These groups enable firms to progress through three practice types supporting circularity strategies. Foundational practices emerge from complementary relationships among Foundational Innovation DCs deployed at balanced levels of reconfiguring and seizing. Transitional practices emerge when Transitional Collaboration DCs form integrative relationships with established Foundational Innovation DCs. Scaling practices require reconfiguring the dominant deployment of both Foundational Innovation and Transitional Collaboration DCs, with support from Scaling Enablement capabilities.Research limitations/implicationsThe limited longitudinal analysis and sample size suggest caution in generalization. Future research should examine DCs across diverse contexts and timeframes.Practical implicationsThe framework directs the sequencing of capability development, starting with establishing Foundational Innovation DCs through balanced deployment, then adding Transitional Collaboration DCs once the foundations are in place, and finally developing Scaling Enablement capabilities for ongoing transformation.Social implicationsThe research highlights ways to improve societal well-being by emphasizing collaboration among supply chain partners. These findings support sustainable employment and shape public attitudes toward circular practices.Originality/valueThis study advances DC theory by showing that adopting circularity depends on specific relational configurations and deployment patterns rather than individual capability strength. It reveals how complementary, integrative, and enabling relationships across deployment levels facilitate collaborative transitions to CSC practices.
Purpose This explorative study investigates the role of policy in freight transport systems and its implications for post-disaster freight movement. Using a qualitative scenario-based approach in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, it examines how policy-related underlying causes affect freight performance after a major natural disaster.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 30 industry and policy experts, followed by a thematic analysis to identify the key constraints in the post-disaster transport system under study. Building on the Theory of Constraints' theoretical perspective that most constraints within a system originate from policy-related root causes, a Current Reality Tree was built to capture and visualise these constraints, their cause-and-effect relationships, and their root causes.Findings The analysis identifies a complex web of interconnected constraints and causal relationships, revealing 18 underlying root causes that drive cascading and escalating effects across the freight system. These root causes trace back to six policy areas: government funding, infrastructure governance, emissions policy, land use and development, labour policy, and information governance.Originality/value This research shows that the performance of post-disaster transport systems is strongly influenced by government policy. Addressing key policy areas can enhance freight resilience, support continuity in the movement of goods, and ensure availability for production, trade, and consumption after a natural disaster.
Purpose The rapid growth of last-mile logistics has increased the demand for sustainable and efficient delivery solutions. However, the environmental motivations behind the adoption of crowdshipping (CS) remain largely overlooked. This study aims to investigate how environmental knowledge (EK) and climate change anxiety (CCA) directly and indirectly influence CS adoption, with self-image (SIM) serving as a moderating variable.Design/methodology/approach Grounded in the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model and self-congruity theory (SCT), this study employed an SEM approach to analyze data from potential early adopters of CS services in an emerging economy context.Findings The results reveal that CCA is the most significant predictor of CS adoption, while EK indirectly influences adoption through its effect on CCA. The moderating role of SIM is dual in nature. On the one hand, SIM strengthens the relationship between EK and CS adoption, indicating that when sustainable behaviors align with individuals' self-identity, knowledge is more likely to translate into adoption decisions. In contrast, SIM weakens the relationship between CCA and CS adoption, suggesting that motivations driven by climate anxiety become less influential when individuals already possess a strong, environmentally aligned self-image.Originality/value This study advances scholarly research on the cognitive and psychological drivers of sustainable behavior in logistics. By integrating the SOR and SCT frameworks, it offers an understanding of how environmental factors interact with self-perception to shape CS adoption. The findings offer both theoretical contributions and practical implications for promoting sustainable practices within the sharing economy.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of structural and relational efficiency in humanitarian logistics during disaster relief operations in Vietnam. This study examines how country-specific resource flows, experiential knowledge, and adaptability enhance the operational effectiveness of humanitarian logistics under uncertainty, as well as the critical role of domestic networks and international partnerships in fostering adaptability. Extending the Resource-Based View and Institutional Theory, the study conceptualizes resources as multidimensional constructs and provides practical implications for policymakers and humanitarian organizations, emphasizing the need to combine infrastructure investment with knowledge-sharing and strengthened global collaboration. Design/methodology/approach This study employs the policy-capturing method (PCM), an experimental scenario technique using factorial survey design, to examine determinants of humanitarian logistics deployment. Scenarios were constructed with four manipulated dimensions: national-specific resources, inherited experience, adaptability to uncertainty, and international/domestic linkages, and presented to respondents in Vietnam, a disaster-prone country. Participants evaluated multiple scenarios, generating 3,568 observations from 223 respondents. This approach enables analysis of judgmental behavior under realistic disaster contexts, reduces social desirability bias, and provides insights into how factors shape humanitarian logistics efficiency. Findings The findings show that national-specific resources, inherited experience, and adaptability to uncertainty significantly increase the likelihood of implementing humanitarian logistics, supporting Hypotheses 1–3. International/domestic linkages alone are not significant but positively moderate adaptability, confirming Hypotheses 6a and 6b while rejecting 4 and 5. Among control variables, only prior disaster relief experience has a significant effect, reinforcing the importance of individual-level contributions. Gender, age, job, and life factors show no reliable influence. Overall, national-specific resources, experiential knowledge, and adaptability, strengthened by relational linkages, are key drivers of humanitarian logistics efficiency. Research limitations/implications This study shows that humanitarian logistics effectiveness depends on both structural and relational dimensions. Structural efficiency arises from resource flows, experiential knowledge, and adaptability, and adaptability is strengthened by relational effectiveness, including both domestic networks and international partnerships. Extending RBV and Institutional Theory, the findings highlight tangible and intangible resources, such as institutional memory and relational capital, as critical drivers of resilience. Practically, policymakers must balance infrastructure investment with knowledge-sharing and collaboration. Despite limitations in sample size, the study expands the potential for broader, more nuanced analyses in different demographic segments to refine humanitarian logistics strategies across diverse contexts. Originality/value This study offers originality by employing a novel methodological approach rarely applied in logistics research: the policy-capturing method, which enables deeper and more authentic insights into the psychological and behavioral responses of affected populations. By integrating structural and relational dimensions into a unified framework, the research demonstrates how resource flows, experiential knowledge, and adaptive capacity interact with domestic and international networks to enhance resilience. Theoretically, it extends the Resource-Based View and Institutional Theory to humanitarian logistics, reconceptualizing resources as multidimensional constructs. Empirically, it provides evidence from Vietnam's disaster relief operations, thereby advancing both scholarly knowledge and practical policy guidance.
Purpose This study investigates logistical challenges hindering sustainable online grocery retailing (SOGR) in Germany. It identifies critical factors for SOGR and improvement measures that interrelate these factors to strengthen economic, ecological and social sustainability simultaneously. An active-passive matrix determines the most impactful and receptive factors for cross-dimensional improvement.Design/methodology/approach Using a Grounded Theory approach, the study draws on fourteen semi-structured expert interviews. Sustainability challenges were coded into seven critical factors across the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). An active-passive matrix structures the recommended measures and illustrates their interrelationships across the three sustainability dimensions.Findings Optimized order picking, innovative food packaging, as well as punctuality and reliability emerged as the most impactful sustainability factors, each representing a different TBL dimension. The active-passive matrix shows how improvements in these factors generate positive effects across multiple other factors. Food waste was identified as having the greatest improvement potential. A previously unarticulated social factor (people's benefits) appeared during analysis, revealing latent impacts visible only through system-level evaluation.Practical implications The active-passive matrix offers retailers a practical tool to prioritize high-impact sustainability initiatives. By focusing on order picking, packaging and delivery punctuality and reliability, firms cannot only improve cost efficiency and reduce food waste but also enhance service quality, customer satisfaction and employee well-being. The findings highlight the importance of managing interdependencies across supply chain processes and offer guidance for different fulfillment models.Originality/value This study advances the literature by providing an integrated perspective on sustainability in online grocery retailing, linking economic, ecological and social dimensions within a single framework. It bridges home delivery and click-and-collect models, conceptualizes interactions between operational measures, and offers new insights from Germany's cost-sensitive market. By identifying leverage points that generate cross-dimensional synergies rather than trade-offs and distinguishing between the most impactful and most improvable factors, the study provides a more nuanced understanding of sustainability management in logistics-intensive retail contexts.
Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of socialization facilitated by the logistics service providers (LSPs) on partitional buyer-supplier ambidexterity and its resulting impact on supply chain (SC) relational performance.Design/methodology/approach The basis of our research is founded on Network Theory and enhanced by the principles of Social Capital Theory. Building on these theories, we designed a questionnaire and collected data from 1,050 European companies across 350 three-tier supply chains, with each company operating in only one supply chain.Findings The results indicate that while LSP-stimulated socialization has a positive effect on partitional buyer-supplier ambidexterity, the contribution of its components (i.e. buyer socialization and supplier socialization) differs in both models in terms of significance and strength. The findings also demonstrate that the effect of partitional buyer-supplier ambidexterity on SC relational performance is strong and positive. The results suggest that partitional buyer-supplier ambidexterity partially mediates the relationship between LSP-stimulated socialization and SC relational performance.Research limitations/implications As the concept of partitional supply chain ambidexterity is a new research topic, further investigation is required. Firstly, it would be interesting to employ a temporal perspective when examining the interdependence of buyer-supplier exploration and exploitation in supply chains. As LSPs become stronger and more equal partners in supply chains, it would also be worthwhile investigating whether they sometimes exploit their advantageous position within the triad at the expense of buyers and suppliers. This behavior could lead to fomenting conflicts and allow LSPs to manipulate buyers and suppliers for their own benefit.Practical implications LSPs can act as orchestrators - acquiring assets, creating synergies, and fostering social relationships. These issues align with network theory, which demonstrates that LSPs can enhance both the short-term refinement and long-term development of buyer-supplier partitional ambidexterity. Although the LSP may create a favorable environment that positively affects buyer-supplier partitional ambidexterity, it is the buyer and supplier's role to initiate and maintain it. The LSP merely energizes relationships; the connected companies must engage in distinct explorative and exploitative actions themselves to truly add value to their performance. Understandably, the LSP will not undertake these actions for them. Developing such an environment can lead to new ideas, fresh initiatives, and innovative concepts, which can mitigate opportunism and self-interest, ultimately resulting in improved performance. At the end of the day, it is the buyer and supplier that must cultivate these skills themselves, even when the LSP provides favorable conditions.Social implications The study highlights the increasingly significant role that LSPs play in fostering strong relationships among supply chain partners and creating a more dynamic environment that supports social interaction and networking. Establishing a social community is especially crucial when the relationship between the buyer and supplier is strained, which can lead to conflicts. In such situations, an impartial third party, like the LSP, can act as a mediator, helping to alleviate tension between the buyer and supplier. The LSP effectively takes on a bridging role, connecting the two parties and encouraging socialization. Originality/value By examining the effects of LSP-facilitated socialization on partitional buyer-supplier ambidexterity and SC relational performance, this study empirically demonstrates how dyadic relationships within triads influence one another, thereby offering insights into multi-tier relational dynamics.
Purpose This paper investigates how strategic decision-making; structured project management methodologies and technology complexity jointly influence competitive advantage in the logistics sector. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a bilingual (English–Lithuanian) expert survey of 60 logistics professionals involved in technology implementation projects. The study reports bivariate correlations and estimates separate ordinal logistic regression models to test five theory-derived hypotheses grounded in the resource-based view (RBV) and the dynamic capabilities perspective; an additional reverse competitive advantage and strategic goals (CA → SG) specification is reported only as a supplementary exploratory feedback analysis. Findings The results indicate positive associations between (1) decision-making quality and competitive advantage, (2) strategic goal alignment and competitive advantage, (3) project management methodology and decision-making quality, (4) implementation speed and project management methodology, and (5) strategic decision-making quality and greater consideration of technology complexity. Across surveyed firms, digital technologies appear to be used primarily to support cost-based competitive advantage, while differentiation-oriented benefits are rated lower. Given the cross-sectional design, findings are interpreted as evidence of association rather than definitive causal confirmation. Research limitations/implications Future research should test the model across diverse regions, industries, and technological contexts to enhance generalizability and uncover additional moderating factors influencing competitive advantage. Practical implications Practically, it provides guidance for phased digital transformation in logistics, emphasizing the need for structured decision-making, strategic alignment, and project management to navigate complex technologies. Social implications The study showed that effective strategic decision-making increases competitive advantage, especially when it is aligned with clearly defined strategic goals and structured project management practices. The complexity of technology influences decision-making and project implementation, so adaptive, data-driven approaches are needed for successful digital technology adoption. Originality/value This study empirically tests an integrated, theory-derived (RBV/dynamic capabilities) capability-to-outcome framework for digital technology implementation in logistics. Based on the empirical estimates, the framework offers scholars and practitioners a structured basis for planning phased digital transformation, aligning technology portfolios with strategic objectives, and managing risks in complex logistics initiatives.
Purpose This study examines how individuals and organisations make sense of supply chain disruptions and how enacted learning shapes dynamic capabilities (DC) that strengthen supply chain resilience (SCR) during recovery and mitigation phases. While SCR research identifies structural resilience attributes, it insufficiently explains the interpretive mechanisms through which resilience-oriented capabilities are mobilised under uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach Adopting an abductive qualitative design, the study develops an interpretive explanation of how disruption experiences are translated into resilience-oriented capability development. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts from Swedish organisations operating in globally interconnected supply chains between 2021 and 2024. Findings The findings show that resilience emerges through enacted learning structured around commitment, capacity and expectations. These interpretive dimensions function as micro-foundations that shape how organisations mobilise dynamic capabilities – such as collaboration, flexibility, digitalisation competence and strategic monitoring – during recovery and mitigation phases. Dynamic capabilities are therefore not automatically mobilised in crises but are interpretively enacted through sensemaking processes. Originality/value By integrating sensemaking theory with dynamic capabilities and supply chain resilience research, this study identifies enacted learning as the interpretive mechanism linking disruption experience to capability mobilisation. The findings extend SCR theory beyond structural configurations and contribute to dynamic capability research by clarifying how resilience-oriented capabilities are socially and cognitively enacted in overlapping crisis contexts.
