Analysing developing countries approaches of supply chain resilience to COVID-19

Purpose The Covid-19 pandemic has made it essential to explore the resilience factors specific to developing regions, not only because they pose threats of extreme poverty and offer a novel context but also because they play an important role in globalisation. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach was undertaken to address this novel pandemic situation. First, an open-ended structured questionnaire was developed, and data were collected from three neighbouring emerging economies: Pakistan, India and Iran. Experts' perspectives on vulnerabilities, response measures, resilience and restoration of supply chain activities, and the role of social capital were collected. Second, building upon the findings from phase one of the studies, a quantitative structured questionnaire using the supply chain operational reference (SCOR) model was used to collect data in a structured manner. This quantitative data were further analysed using frequency and contingency analysis. Findings The findings from the first phase of the study inductively derive 36 resilience categories. Later, the contingency findings show that supply chain (SC) disruption is a major vulnerability for emerging economies, whereas solutions offered to combat it lay in the reconfiguration of resources, such as financial, technological, human, information and material. Additionally, supply network structure and social capital play an integral part in making SCs resilient against disruption. Research limitations/implications The respondents comprise the academics/SC researchers, which make the findings interesting though they lack the industrial experts' perspectives, directly. Nevertheless, the propositions can be tested in industrial settings to see whether the results are limited to a specific industrial setting or are rather generalised. Practical implications Similarly, practitioners and policy makers can incorporate the SCOR metrics/factors outlined in this study into their performance measurement systems and ensure continuous monitoring for firm's resilience. Originality/value The study offers a holistic understanding of the developing regions' approaches to Covid-19. The paper also takes a social capital perspective to explain firms' resilience in these emerging economies.