Digitalisation in food supply chains to build resilience from disruptive events: a combined dynamic capabilities and knowledge-based view

Purpose

Building resilience in food supply chains is considered vital to tackle disruptions and ensure the availability of food. This study aims to empirically explore how firms operating in food supply chains can develop dynamic capabilities and use digital technologies to address disruption.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study methodology was adopted to understand how the firms built resilience by developing dynamic capabilities. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with four case companies to gather data across various functional areas (sourcing, operations and logistics).

Findings

Results show that knowledge management is a key antecedent to developing dynamic capabilities. The development of such dynamic capabilities − sensing, seizing and transforming, along with the adoption of digital technologies enabled firms to address the disruptions and, hence, build resilience. Resilience is demonstrated in the form of maintaining or improving performance outcomes such as profit, waste reduction, food quality, lead time, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

This is one of the earliest empirical studies that provide insights into how firms operating in food supply chains have built resilience by developing dynamic capabilities through knowledge management practices and, which required the implementation of digital technologies. The study extends dynamic capability theory with the knowledge-based view and develops a novel framework along with a pathway to build resilience.