Is there a theory of supply chain resilience? A bibliometric analysis of the literature

Abstract

Purpose. This study aims to identify the past, present and future lines of research in the supply chain resilience (SCRES) literature and to answer the question of whether resilience is “just another” supply chain (SC) concept or if it constitutes its own theory. Design/methodology/approach. This study involves a bibliometric analysis of 1,596 research articles published in the Web of Science Core Collection™ database between 2004 and 2021, with a focus on: publications and citations per year, co-citations of articles and authors, co-occurrences of the keywords used and thematic development. Seven SCRES experts have also analysed and discussed the research results. Findings.The results show how resilience has become one of the main thematic blocks of SC research in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 62.04% increase in academic publications. Despite the abundant literature, there is still no overarching theory of SCRES. One possible hindrance to the creation of such a theory is the variety of existing definitions and models of SCRES. This research identifies this as a shortcoming that future studies should address. As the results show, the combination of SCRES with other fields, such as engineering and ecology, can help in constructing a global theory of SCRES. Originality/value. Bibliometric analysis is used to confirm the SCRES literature gap in the development of an overarching theory, although resilience constitutes one of the main thematic blocks of the SC literature.