Exploring the role of social capital in facilitating supply chain resilience

Abstract

Purpose: There has been limited research examining the influence of inter‐organisational relationships and the social capital they may nurture in building SCRES. The authors aim to explore how three dimensions of social capital (cognitive, structural and relational) may act as facilitators or enablers of the four formative capabilities for SCRES (i.e. flexibility, velocity, visibility, and collaboration), identified by Jüttner and Maklan. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from three separate tiers of the supply chain involved in the response to an extreme event (the Lambrigg, UK rail crash). Using a social constructionist approach, the paper explores how social capital may enable the emergence of formative capabilities for resilience. Findings: The data suggest that the dimensions of social capital may play an influential role in facilitating the four formative capabilities for SCRES and indicate the potential for these to be mutually reinforcing. Research limitations/implications: The paper provides an illustration of some links between resilience and social capital constructs within one supply network, in the context of crisis response. Different types of network and contexts may result in other outcomes and have other facilitating effects upon SCRES. These findings should be explored within other contexts. Practical implications: The authors highlight that social capital may be nurtured deliberately or emerge as a consequence of relationships within a network. Formal efforts to build network communications, norms of reciprocity may create the conditions for appropriable organisations to emerge when faced with extreme events. Originality/value: Drawing from a social capital perspective, this paper contributes to a fuller understanding of notions of relational capital.