Understanding Resilience of Logistics Management in Multinational Corporations

Authors

Vedant V. Pandya

Department of Business Administration, M. K. Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India (India)

Article Information

DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI.2026.1308000272

Subject Category: Logistics

Volume/Issue: 13/8 | Page No: 4263-4274

Publication Timeline

Submitted: 2026-09-07

Accepted: 2026-09-12

Published: 2026-09-21

Abstract

Multinational corporations (MNCs) operate logistics systems that span heterogeneous regulatory regimes, infrastructure qualities and disruption profiles, making logistics resilience a strategic rather than purely operational concern. This paper reports an integrative, evidence-informed literature review that examines why MNCs must invest systematically in logistics resilience, how logistics resilience is conceptually distinct from vulnerability and from broader supply chain resilience and how resilience can be measured, modelled and governed across cross-border operations. Building on a transparent, protocol-driven search and selection strategy, the review synthesizes interdisciplinary scholarship from resilience theory, organizational studies, supply chain and logistics management, disaster risk reduction and sustainability research and extends this synthesis with recent empirical evidence specifically addressing multinational, cross-border and institutionally heterogeneous logistics contexts. The analysis identifies structural, technological, organizational-relational and external-contextual determinants of resilience; traces the mediating role of information visibility and dynamic capabilities; and shows how institutional environments and regulatory heterogeneity moderate the transferability of resilience strategies across borders. The paper concludes with a phased implementation roadmap, a set of theoretical and practical contributions, an explicit statement of review limitations and a research agenda emphasizing longitudinal, multi-institutional and psychometrically validated inquiry into logistics resilience for MNCs.

Keywords

logistics resilience; supply chain resilience; multinational corporations; cross-border logistics; institutional environment;

Downloads

References

1. Adger, W. N. (2006). Vulnerability. Global Environmental Change, 16(3), 268–281. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Ambrosini, V., Bowman, C., & Collier, N. (2009). Dynamic capabilities: An exploration of how firms renew their resource base. British Journal of Management, 20(S1), S9–S24. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Ambulkar, S., Blackhurst, J., & Grawe, S. (2015). Firm’s resilience to supply chain disruptions: Scale development and empirical examination. Journal of Operations Management, 33–34, 111–122. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Blackhurst, J., Dunn, K., & Craighead, C. W. (2011). An empirically derived framework of global supply resiliency. Journal of Business Logistics, 32(4), 374–391. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management (5th ed.). Pearson. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Christopher, M., & Peck, H. (2004). Building the resilient supply chain. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 15(2), 1–14. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Craighead, C. W., Blackhurst, J., Rungtusanatham, M. J., & Handfield, R. B. (2007). The severity of supply chain disruptions: Design characteristics and mitigation capabilities. Decision Sciences, 38(1), 131–156. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Folke, C., Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Scheffer, M., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L., & Holling, C. S. (2010). Resilience thinking: Integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. Ecology and Society, 15(4), 20. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Gunderson, L. H., & Holling, C. S. (Eds.). (2002). Panarchy: Understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4, 1–23. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Ivanov, D. (2020). Predicting the impacts of epidemic outbreaks on global supply chains: A simulation-based analysis on the coronavirus outbreak case. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 136, 101922. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Ivanov, D., & Dolgui, A. (2020). Viability of intertwined supply networks: Extending the supply chain resilience angles towards survivability. International Journal of Production Research, 58(10), 2904–2915. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E., & Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (2011). Developing a capacity for organizational resilience through strategic human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 21(3), 243–255. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Liu, J., Mao, S., Lu, L., Jing, Y., Yang, X., Xu, H., & Ren, Y. (2025). The impact of digital economy on the supply chain resilience of cross-border healthcare e-commerce. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1570338. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1570338 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Liu, X., Dou, Z., & Yang, W. (2021). Research on influencing factors of cross border e-commerce supply chain resilience based on integrated fuzzy DEMATEL-ISM. IEEE Access, 9, 36140–36153. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3059867 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Marano, V., Wilhelm, M., Kostova, T., Doh, J., & Beugelsdijk, S. (2024). Multinational firms and sustainability in global supply chains: Scope and boundaries of responsibility. Journal of International Business Studies, 55(4), 413–428. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-024-00706-6 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, Article n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Pedroletti, D., & Ciabuschi, F. (2023). Reshoring: A review and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 164, 114005. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Pettit, T. J., Fiksel, J., & Croxton, K. L. (2010). Ensuring supply chain resilience: Development and implementation of an assessment tool. Journal of Business Logistics, 31(1), 1–21. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Ponomarov, S. Y., & Holcomb, M. C. (2009). Understanding the concept of supply chain resilience. International Journal of Logistics Management, 20(1), 124–143. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Sheffi, Y. (2007). The resilient enterprise: Overcoming vulnerability for competitive advantage. MIT Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Sheffi, Y., & Bhadury, J. (2020). How companies can respond to supply chain disruption. Harvard Business Review, 98(4), 80–87. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Sheffi, Y., & Rice, J. B. (2005). A supply chain view of the resilient enterprise. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47(1), 41–48. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Sutcliffe, K. M., & Vogus, T. J. (2003). Organizing for resilience. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 94–110). Berrett-Koehler. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Tang, C. S. (2006). Robust strategies for mitigating supply chain disruptions. International Journal of Logistics: Research and Applications, 9(1), 33–45. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Tang, O., & Veelenturf, L. P. (2019). The strategic role of logistics in the industry 4.0 era. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 129, 1–11. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Vogus, T. J., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). Organizational resilience: Towards a theory and research agenda. In 2007 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (pp. 3418–3422). IEEE. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Wagner, S. M., & Bode, C. (2006). An empirical investigation into supply chain vulnerability. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 12(6), 301–311. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Williams, T. A., Gruber, D. A., Sutcliffe, K. M., Shepherd, D. A., & Zhao, E. Y. (2017). Organizational response to adversity: Fusing crisis management and resilience research streams. Academy of Management Annals, 11(2), 733–767. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Xu, C., Li, J., Zheng, M., & Wu, Y. (2024). Measurement of the resilience of China’s logistics industry and its influencing factors. Sustainability, 16(13), 5517. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Zhang, D., & Huang, G. Q. (2021). Resilient logistics networks in the post-pandemic era: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Production Research, 59(21), 6506–6525. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Zhang, P. (2025). Cross-border e-commerce, foreign shareholding and supply chain resilience. International Review of Financial Analysis, 101, Article 103998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2025.103998 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

Metrics

Views & Downloads

Similar Articles