From strategic willingness to supply chain resilience: how risk-taking and transformation intentions enable operational capabilities

Zhang, Yueheng, Shi, Jianchen and Purvis, Laura ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1425-5894 2026. From strategic willingness to supply chain resilience: how risk-taking and transformation intentions enable operational capabilities. Production Planning and Control 10.1080/09537287.2026.2710346

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Abstract

Building supply chain resilience (SCRES) is essential for firms operating in increasingly dynamic and uncertain environments. Drawing on dynamic capability theory (DCT), this study examines how two firm-level strategic orientations, transformation management intensity (TMI) and risk-taking propensity (RTP), capture distinct forms of strategic willingness and contribute to SCRES through operational capability enactment. We test a full mediation model in which TMI and RTP influence supply chain (SC) robustness and responsiveness, which in turn shape SCRES. Based on 320 valid survey responses from Chinese manufacturing firms, structural equation modelling (SEM) and exploratory multi-group analysis show that RTP significantly enhances SCRES through both SC robustness and responsiveness, whereas TMI influences SCRES only indirectly through responsiveness. Exploratory multi-group findings further suggest contextual contingencies. Although TMI is more strongly associated with responsiveness in low-complexity industries, its responsiveness-mediated effect on SCRES is evident only in high-complexity contexts, whereas RTP remains comparatively stable across both high- and low-complexity settings. These findings refine DCT in the SCRES context by showing that strategic willingness does not automatically generate resilience but must be enacted through operational capabilities. They further reveal capability enactment heterogeneity, whereby RTP and TMI contribute to SCRES through distinct robustness- and responsiveness-based routes. The study offers practical guidance for managers seeking to operationalize SCRES by aligning strategic willingness with appropriate capability routes under different industry conditions.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	0953-7287
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 August 2026
Date of Acceptance:	12 July 2026
Last Modified:	10 Aug 2026 11:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/188823

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