Purpose

Research on the “black box” of cognitive capital remains limited in supply chain resilience (SCRES) literature. Drawing from an in-depth single case study of a major consumer electronics multinational facing the COVID-19 disruption, this paper aims to develop a clearer picture of cognitive capital’s elements while contextualizing how they interact with SCRES temporal capabilities to prepare, respond, recover and learn.

Design/methodology/approach

Consisting of 40 in-depth interviews collected during a four-month period, this single case revolves around the buyer’s view across 36 multiregional buyer–supplier dyads, spanning 17 product and service categories. Data were processed during the pandemic, while findings discuss pre- and intra-crisis events based on two scenarios: the impact of disruption on category demand, comparing sudden pandemic-driven product and service demand fluctuations (i.e. increase, decrease); and the geographical proximity of the supplier relative to the buying firm.

Findings

The case unveils different elements of cognitive capital (e.g. shared goals, assumptions, values, kinesics language, multilingualism, virtual negotiation, prior disruption experience, shared process capabilities) during a major global disruption, suggesting that different cognitive capital elements influence positively and differently SCRES’ temporal capabilities. Overall, buying firms are urged to build on cognitive capital to improve SCRES preparation, response, recovery and learning.

Originality/value

This paper extends the understanding of cognitive capital in buyer–supplier relationships by identifying its elements and offering a theoretical articulation of how they enable episodically the four SCRES temporal capabilities under contingencies of increased and decreased demands, and suppliers’ geographical proximity.

中文翻译：

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认知资本在供应链弹性中的作用：COVID-19 大流行期间的调查

目的

在供应链弹性 (SCRES) 文献中，关于认知资本“黑匣子”的研究仍然有限。本文通过对一家面临 COVID-19 中断的大型消费电子跨国公司的深入单一案例研究，旨在更清晰地了解认知资本的要素，同时将它们如何与 SCRES 时间能力相互作用以准备、响应、恢复和学。

设计/方法/方法

这个单一案例由四个月内收集的 40 次深度访谈组成，围绕 36 个多区域买方-供应商对子的买方观点展开，涵盖 17 个产品和服务类别。数据是在大流行期间处理的，而研究结果基于两种情景讨论了危机前和危机中的事件：中断对品类需求的影响，比较由流行病驱动的突然的产品和服务需求波动（即增加、减少）；以及供应商相对于采购公司的地理接近程度。

发现

该案例揭示了全球重大颠覆期间认知资本的不同要素（例如，共同目标、假设、价值观、运动学语言、多语言、虚拟谈判、先前的颠覆经验、共享流程能力），表明不同的认知资本要素对 SCRES 产生积极和不同的影响'时间能力。总体而言，敦促采购公司利用认知资本来改善 SCRES 的准备、响应、恢复和学习。

原创性/价值

本文扩展了对买方-供应商关系中认知资本的理解，通过识别其要素并提供理论阐述，说明它们如何在需求增加和减少以及供应商地理邻近的突发事件下偶尔启用四种 SCRES 时间能力。