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Understanding supply chain resilience and robustness is increasingly important for supply chain managers. This is due to the growing complexity of contemporary supply chains and the subsequent increased probability of experiencing a disruption. Few studies within the risk management literature have empirically disentangled the concepts of resilience and robustness or explored their antecedents. This study utilizes a contingent resource‐based view perspective to understand the relationship between specific resources (information sharing and connectivity), capabilities (visibility), and performance in terms of supply chain resilience and robustness. In addition, it utilizes supply base complexity as a moderating factor. Survey data collected from 264 UK manufacturing plants suggest that supply chain connectivity and information sharing resources lead to a supply chain visibility capability which enhances resilience and robustness. Of the four dimensions of complexity, only scale is found to have a strong moderating effect on this relationship, while geographic dispersion, differentiation, and delivery complexity do not have contingent effects. This study highlights theoretical and managerial implications for approaches to resilience and robustness.

PurposePast research has shown that culture has significant effects on people's evaluation of and responses to risk. Despite this important role, the supply chain risk literature has been silent on this matter. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of cultural value orientations on managerial perception of and responses to a supply disruption risk.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a scenario-based experiment to investigate the effect of cultural value orientations – i.e. individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance – on individuals' perception of risk and supplier switching intention in the face of a supply disruption.FindingsThe findings highlight the negative effect of individualism-collectivism on disruption risk perception and switching intention in high uncertain circumstances. However, these relationships are non-significant in relatively less uncertain situations. Moreover, the findings show that the impact of uncertainty avoidance on risk perception and supplier switching is positive and significant in both low and high uncertain circumstances.Originality/valueExtant research has traditionally assumed that when confronted with disruption risks, managers make decisions using an economic utility model, to best serve the long-term objectives of the firm. This paper draws from advances of behavioural research to show that cultural value orientations influence such decisions through a mediating mechanism of subjective risk perception.

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the preferences of students towards different teaching methods and the perceived effectiveness of experiential teaching methods in different operations management (OM) modules.Design methodology approach - Student perceptions of different teaching methods and various aspects of an experiential teaching method, in the form of a business simulation game, are examined using survey data from 274 respondents in four small post-experience and two large pre-experience OM modules.Findings - The paper's analysis suggests that traditional and experiential teaching methods are both popular with OM students, whilst independent teaching methods are less well liked. Analysis also shows that students on both kinds of OM modules perceive most aspects of the experiential teaching method used in this study (The Operations Game) very positively.Research limitations implications - This research study was confined to a particular type of experiential teaching method - a business simulation game. There is a need for further research to investigate the perceived effectiveness of other experiential teaching methods, such as role-plays and live cases. Furthermore, the paper does not examine the use of experiential teaching methods that do not require the physical presence of students.Practical implications - For OM educators, the paper clarifies how they might incorporate experiential teaching methods in different class settings. Whilst experiential teaching methods are typically used for small post-experience modules, these data indicate that the method can also be used on larger pre-experience modules with great success. The paper also notes a number of challenges involved in using experiential teaching methods on both kinds of module.Originality value - This is the first known study to directly examine the perceived effectiveness of an experiential teaching method in both small post-experience and larger pre-experience OM modules.

Despite growing interest in sustainable operations and supply management (SOSM) from both academics and practitioners, literature examining the area remains fragmented. This thesis presents the findings of a study investigating the influence of exogenous pressures and endogenous capability-building, independently and interactively, on sustainable operations and supply management practice adoption. Exogenous pressures, such as regulation and consumer demands, may influence the decision to adopt specific SOSM practices. For example, within the fashion industry, media exposés have heightened consumer awareness of unethical practices creating pressure for fashion retailers to address these concerns within their supply chains more fully. Endogenous pressures, in this case relating to capability-building, may also influence the SOSM practices that organisations choose to adopt, such as the implementation of recycling strategies or energy efficiency initiatives which can reduce both the cost and environmental impact of the focal organisation.

Organisations increasingly see sustainability as an important element of their business strategies, and the role of purchasing and supply functions is critical in translating sustainability commitment into performance. Yet, the impact of sustainability commitment on purchasing processes and routines, as well as the effect of such capabilities on performance, remains empirically under-explored. From a Resource-Based perspective, we argue that commitment to sustainability leads purchasing and supply functions to develop intra-and inter-firm collaborative capabilities, and that in turn these capabilities deliver improved performance. Based on survey data from 383 procurement executives in ten European and North American countries, we use structural equation modelling to empirically test our hypotheses. Our results provide strong support for the hypothesised links between sustainability commitment and both intra-and inter-firm collaborative capabilities; and between inter-firm collaborative capabilities and environmental and social, and cost performance. Conversely, our data do not support the hypothesised links between intra-firm collaborative capabilities and both aspects of performance. In our discussion, we reflect on both confirmatory and conflicting findings in relation to theory and practice, before examining the study's limitations and opportunities for future research.

Local governments and environmental nonprofits are increasingly using trash traps to intercept and remove escaped plastics and other litter from stormwater systems and surface waters. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of these devices for collecting data that provide insights into riverine litter sources and solutions. Between 2021 and 2024, seven Waterkeeper organizations in North Carolina maintained 21 in‐stream trash traps in watersheds across the state and trained staff and volunteers to record the types and quantities of litter during cleanouts. Over this period, Waterkeeper organizations and their volunteers documented 150,750 pieces of litter captured by traps. Captured litter overwhelmingly comprised plastic that floats and is resistant to biodegradation. Litter accumulation rates were moderately positively correlated with the percentages of developed land and impervious surface as well as road and ambient population density in the associated watershed. In some traps, litter accumulation rates were also positively correlated with precipitation rates. Beyond understanding riverine plastic pollution, this paper also provides insights on challenges and opportunities that arise from using trash traps to collect data on riverine litter. Plain Language Summary Trash traps are placed in streams to capture litter as it flows downstream. In North Carolina, Waterkeeper organizations installed several trash traps, periodically cleaned them out, and counted the types and amounts of litter captured (e.g., number of plastic bottles, food wrappers, etc.). Plastic bottles and polystyrene foam (known commonly as Styrofoam™) fragments were the most frequently captured items, and more litter accumulated in developed areas with more human activity. Beyond understanding litter in streams, this paper describes the challenges and opportunities of using trash traps to collect data on litter. Key Points Waterkeeper organizations in North Carolina found plastic to be the most common litter type captured by in‐stream trash traps Litter accumulation in trash traps correlated with watershed characteristics, including development, impervious surface, road density, and ambient population density Cleaning trash traps and collecting litter data, although labor‐intensive, offer opportunities for education, engagement, and policy development