A systemic understanding of supply chain resilience: cross‑level interactions, multi‑level frameworks, and theoretical innovations

Call for papers

A systemic understanding of supply chain resilience: cross‑level interactions, multi‑level frameworks, and theoretical innovations

Journal
The International Journal of Logistics Management

Publisher
Emerald Group Publishing

Submission Deadline
1 October 2026

About this Special Issue
Over the past decade, supply chains have faced repeated large‑scale disruptions—from the COVID‑19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts to climate‑related disasters—highlighting how shocks at one level can cascade across the entire system and lead to systemic failure. Supply chain resilience (SCRes) has become a central theme in logistics and supply chain management, yet the literature remains fragmented, often focusing on a single level of analysis (e.g., firm, network, or operations) and offering relatively isolated views of resilience.

This special issue seeks to advance a systemic understanding of supply chain resilience by emphasizing cross‑level interactions, multi‑level frameworks, and theoretical innovations. It aims to move beyond siloed research and single‑level perspectives, instead exploring how resilience emerges from the dynamic interplay between individuals, organizations, supply chains, and the broader socio‑ecological environment. The issue invites contributions that integrate systems thinking and multi‑level analysis to develop richer theory and more effective managerial practices for building resilient, adaptable, and sustainable supply chains.

Both conceptual, empirical, and methodological studies are welcome, especially those that connect individual, organizational, network, and environmental levels, and that incorporate emerging technologies as cross‑level enablers of resilience.

Scope & Theme Areas
Submissions are invited on, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Supply chain resilience as a multi‑level framework

  • Conceptualizing supply chain resilience as a multi‑level framework spanning individuals, organizations, networks, and the environment.

  • Integrating personal, organizational, supply chain, and contextual (e.g., cultural, institutional, ecological) levels to build a systemic understanding of resilience.

  • Advancing SCRes as a socio‑ecological or socio‑technological form of resilience.

• Cross‑level interactions and dynamics

  • Examining how supply chain resilience manifests across diverse cultural, institutional, and geographical settings.

  • Investigating how individual‑level factors—such as personality traits, leadership styles, and managerial cognition—affect the design and implementation of resilience strategies.

  • Analysing mechanisms by which resilience at one level (e.g., individual, firm) influences or conflicts with resilience at another level (e.g., network, region).

• Theoretical innovations in supply chain resilience

  • Applying and extending systems theory, socio‑technological theory, panarchy theory, middle‑range theory, and related frameworks to SCRes research.

  • Developing new models or frameworks that treat supply chain resilience as an emergent system property rather than a collection of isolated practices.

• Technology as a cross‑level enabler

  • Studying how digital platforms, AI, IoT, blockchain, and digital twins mediate resilience interactions across individuals, organizations, and supply chains.

  • Analysing technology‑enabled visibility, coordination, and flexibility as cross‑level mechanisms for resilience.

• Managerial practices for systemic resilience

  • Tools, frameworks, and capabilities that help managers align resilience actions across organizational and supply‑chain boundaries.

  • Balancing efficiency, flexibility, and redundancy across different levels of the supply chain to enhance systemic resilience.

Guest Editors

• Guoqing Zhao, School of Management, Swansea University, Swansea, UK

• Samuel Fosso Wamba, TBS Education (TBS Business School), Toulouse, France

• Maciel M. Queiroz, FGV EAESP, São Paulo, Brazil

Key Dates

Submission Guidelines

• Manuscripts must be submitted via ScholarOne Manuscripts using the journal’s submission portal for The International Journal of Logistics Management.

• During submission, please select the special issue title “A systemic understanding of supply chain resilience: cross‑level interactions, multi‑level frameworks, and theoretical innovations” from the dropdown menu under “Please select the issue you are submitting to.”

• Articles must be original, not previously published, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere while under review for this journal.

• Authors must strictly follow the author guidelines of The International Journal of Logistics Management, available on the journal’s Emerald page.

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