Sustainable Supply Chains Are More Resilient, and Vice Versa? If Only It Were That Simple!

Stefan Gold, Christian Durach, Kiira Parikka and Pasi Heikkurinen
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Stefan Gold: University of Kassel
Pasi Heikkurinen: LUT - Lappeenranta–Lahti University of Technology [Finlande], IRMÉCCEN - Institut de Recherche Médias, Cultures, Communication et Numérique - Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3 - LABEX ICCA - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPCité - Université Paris Cité - Université Sorbonne Paris Nord

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Abstract: This paper scrutinizes the concepts of sustainability and resilience in the context of logistics and supply chain management. Building on foundational principles of sustainability, namely efficiency, consistency, and sufficiency, and on principles of resilience, namely persistence, adaptation, and transformation, we examine their interrelationship from a systems perspective. This perspective challenges the often‐implicit assumption that sustainability and resilience are inherently complementary. Instead, we argue that their relationship is shaped by context‐dependent tensions, trade‐offs, and non‐linear dynamics that resist universally positive (or negative) alignment. Drawing on an illustrative case of critical raw‐materials supply chains, we discuss how strategies aimed at enhancing resilience may reinforce unsustainable practices, while sustainability principles can introduce new forms of vulnerability. The paper highlights implications regarding the (sometimes undesirable) stabilizing effects of resilience, the fragility of circularity, and the limits of efficiency‐oriented supply chain strategies. It ends by calling for a more critical engagement with how resilience and sustainability are pursued and reconciled.

Keywords: écologie (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-03
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Published in Journal of Business Logistics, 2026, 47 (3), ⟨10.1111/jbl.70068⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05633621

DOI: 10.1111/jbl.70068

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