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  • Publication
    Operationalizing supply-side resilience: Toward a cost-effectiveness analysis of managerial practices addressing disruptive threats for buyers in manufacturing companies
    (Universität St. Gallen, 2023-02-20)
    Unexpected supply disruptions originating in upstream supply chains (SCs) and escalating downstream have cost manufacturing companies (MCs) billions of Swiss francs in potential revenue over the past few years. Current risk management methods contain too many statistical limitations to address these risks, thus supply-side resilience (SSRES) has become a topic of strategic importance for MCs. While MCs are currently under pressure to find the right managerial practices to build their resilience capabilities, their buyers often have difficulties grasping the concept. This incomprehension leads to a lack of understanding of which practices to adopt and how much these practices cost. While research on resilience is proliferating, it is generally fragmented and provides no holistic view of SSRES practices with the possibility of conducting pragmatic CEAs. The present research aims to develop a method to operationalize SSRES through: (1) conceptualizing, (2) measuring the effectiveness of practices, and (3) measuring the cost of practices. The practice-based view (PBV), contingency theory (CT), and rational choice theory (RCT) are applied as theoretical lenses for the investigations. The research comprises one purely qualitative and two mixed methods studies devoted to one operationalization component each. The first study, on the conceptualization of SSRES, entails a comparative case study design with six cases. The second study, on effectiveness measurement of SSRES practices, incorporates a systematic literature review and a case study. The third study, on cost measurement of SSRES practices, draws on a general case study design with five cases. A synthesis integrates the methods for an adaptable CEA concept. The results provide (1) a concept of SSRES including contingency variables and a catalog of relevant practices, (2) guidance for effectiveness measurement with specific KPIs, and (3) guidance on how to estimate the cost of practices. The dissertation culminates in the development of RESPIRE, a versatile practice recommendation system based on the methods and results of the first three studies. The RESPIRE system equips decision-makers to not only better understand SSRES, but also to manage and control the practices continuously. Thereby, this dissertation helps to address the dearth of empirical research on SSRES practices and guides MCs in developing resilience management strategies.