Clarifying supply chain disruption and operational resilience relationship from a threat-rigidity perspective: Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

Given the significant risk supply chain disruptions pose to businesses, scholars and experts presume such events encourage resilience-building efforts. This study uses the threat-rigidity theory to question this normative assumption by proposing that supply chain disruption can trigger threat interpretation bias, which undermines operational resilience. Specifically, the study contends that threat interpretation bias negatively mediates the relationship between supply chain disruption and operational resilience, particularly in low disruption orientation circumstances. An empirical analysis of survey data from 259 small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana using covariance-based structural equation modeling supports these theoretical predictions. The results indicate that supply chain disruption increases threat interpretation bias, which in turn reduces operational resilience. The negative effect of threat interpretation bias on operational resilience is stronger when disruption orientation is low than when it is high. These results offer an enhanced understanding of the supply chain disruption–resilience link while shedding light on how firms can manage threat interpretation bias to improve operational resilience.