Tackling food poverty: Building resilience into alternative food supply chain provision

Jones, Alexander 2024. Tackling food poverty: Building resilience into alternative food supply chain provision. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

In the UK, the social enterprise sector has grown in both prominence and importance as a force in tackling food poverty. Initial explorations of these ‘social impact supply chains’ tend to focus on how social enterprises can establish and manage them, yet the question of how to make them resilient remains under-explored. Despite there being much literature and well-established theories relating to supply chain resilience, these are predominantly grounded within for-profit contexts. This is problematic as it is becoming increasingly recognised that traditional business models may not be well suited to understanding social enterprises, who typically face resource disparities compared to their commercial counterparts, along with unique challenges related to their status. Hence, there is a need to reconceptualise supply chain resilience within a social enterprise context, referred to here as ‘social supply chain resilience’. Using a Social Network Theory lens, this study explores the role of the network in the development of social supply chain resilience. To do this, action research was conducted into a social food supply chain network operating throughout South Wales, UK. The primary theoretical contribution of this study is the development of an empirically tested framework for social supply chain resilience. This framework illustrates the role network ties play in resourcing, management / decision-making, and structure, and how this culminates in the ability to resist, respond, recover and / or grow. Additionally, this study outlines how such a network can be instigated by a single anchor organisation. Consequently, this research addresses a fundamental gap in operations and supply chain management research that reflects an underdeveloped focus on SEs. Furthermore, in outlining the creation of the network, this research holds both practical and policy implications as ii it acts as a roadmap, guiding social entrepreneurs and policy makers alike in setting up similar social food networks elsewhere.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	'Supply Chain Resilience'; 'Social Enterprise'; 'Food Poverty'; 'Supply Chain'; 'Resilience'; 'Supply Chain Management'; 'Not-for-Profit'; 'Social Network Theory'
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 October 2024
Last Modified:	08 Oct 2024 14:56
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/172674

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