Orchestrating transformative resilience in resource-constrained environments: a supply chain perspective

Resource-constrained environments both spur and hinder transformative resilience, yet little is known about how some firms navigate such environments to achieve transformative resilience. This study proposes and examines the presence of supply chain managers and supply chain entrepreneurial orientation as resource-orchestration enablers of transformative resilience in resource-constrained environments. The study hypothesizes that the presence of supply chain managers and supply chain entrepreneurial orientation, individually and through their interdependent relationship, drive transformative resilience. The study’s hypotheses are tested on survey data from 397 firms in a resource-constrained environment (Ghana). The findings are validated with second-wave survey data on transformative resilience from 205 of these firms, collected a year later. A series of regression-based multivariate analyses is used to analyze the data. The results indicate that, unlike the presence of supply chain managers, a strong supply chain entrepreneurial orientation accounts for high levels of transformative resilience. The contribution of supply chain manager presence to transformative resilience is mediated by supply chain entrepreneurial orientation. This study presents resource orchestration theory as a promising lens for conceptualizing transformative resilience and analyzing its building blocks from a supply chain perspective. It further addresses gaps in the empirical understanding of transformative resilience in terms of its measurement and antecedents.