Abstract
Supply chains today face frequent and severe disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and environmental disasters. These disruptions reveal critical weaknesses, especially in complex and sensitive sectors like the food industry. For geographically isolated countries such as New Zealand, whose economy heavily relies on food production and international logistics, strengthening supply chain resilience has become both strategically essential and practically urgent Most research on supply chain resilience has so far concentrated on macro-level strategies, paying less attention to the micro-level actions, capabilities, and behaviours, the micro-foundations, that allow organisations to persist, adapt, and transform when disruptions occur. To fill this gap, this study investigates these managerial micro-foundations of supply chain resilience within the context of the New Zealand food industry as an empirical context rather than an object of generalisation. Drawing from dynamic capabilities theory and upper echelon theory, the research explores resilience through managers’ actions across the three key dimensions: persistence, adaptation, and transformation. To achieve this, the research followed a qualitative, interpretivist approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 senior executives and managers across various New Zealand food companies. A detailed thematic analysis of the collected data identified 21 micro foundations supporting these resilience dimensions. The persistence dimension included robust operational continuity, proactive risk management, strong leadership, supportive organisational culture, financial and strategic stability, transparent collaboration, effective communication, advanced technology use, and sustainable practices to maintain brand reputation. Within the adaptation dimension, participants described market and strategic responsiveness, operational efficiency, effective logistics, proactive crisis management, adaptive leadership focused on employee well-being, structured communication, prudent financial management, knowledge based decision-making, and strategic use of technology. The transformation dimension involved bigger changes, such as strategic innovation, transformative leadership, collaborative decision-making, integrated technology and operational management, proactive market focus, diversified supply chains, and emphasising human capital, knowledge sharing, and cultural alignment. iii A significant contribution of this research is the introduction of a new, analytically derived, integrative resilience dimension called orchestration. Unlike traditional network orchestration, which primarily emphasises managing external relationships, this study highlights orchestration as a primarily internal, managerial level capability. Specifically, orchestration involves senior management strategically aligning and coordinating essential resources and capabilities, particularly leadership, technology, and collaboration, across the three resilience dimensions. Interview participants illustrated how orchestration was described as integrating these micro-foundations, creating cohesive and aligned organisational responses to disruptions. By coordinating internal processes, improving cross-departmental communication, and reallocating resources, orchestration was interpreted as enabling more effective responses to disruption challenges. The findings indicate that successful orchestration strengthens resilience by linking and aligning identified micro-foundations across disruption phases Through linking and aligning the identified micro-foundations, orchestration helps ensure that stability-oriented actions, adaptive responsiveness, and transformational changes reinforce one another, creating a cohesive approach to managing disruptions. This research highlights the role of senior management in embedding these practices into everyday organisational routines, fostering a dynamic and evolving resilience capability. It also suggests that orchestration is conceptually distinct from routine coordination, operations management, and general management because it refers specifically to the cross-dimensional integration of resilience-related practices. Theoretically, this research contributes to the literature on supply chain resilience. Firstly, it identifies and clarifies the managerial micro-foundations of resilience, demonstrating that resilience is built from specific, actionable managerial behaviours and decisions rather than abstract strategies alone. Secondly, by introducing orchestration as a new integrative resilience dimension, this study enhances both dynamic capabilities and upper echelon theories, showing how senior management can strategically align internal capabilities for maximum effectiveness. By providing a cohesive framework, the research addresses existing theoretical gaps and clarifies how managerial micro-foundations collectively enhance resilience. Practically, this research provides valuable guidance for managers, decision-makers, and policymakers. Managers can strengthen their resilience by prioritising robust operational practices, proactive leadership, effective internal and external collaboration, and strategic integration of advanced technologies. Creating a culture that encourages continuous learning, iv adaptability, and employee engagement is essential for responding effectively to disruptions and sustaining competitive advantage. Policymakers can facilitate industry resilience by promoting regulations, encouraging cross-sector partnerships, and investing in advanced logistics and technological infrastructure. In conclusion, this research enhances understanding of supply chain resilience by identifying and explaining the managerial micro-foundations that support managers' responses to disruptions. The introduction of orchestration as a new integrative dimension clarifies how senior management strategically aligns and integrates capabilities across resilience phases, providing actionable insights for organisations aiming to build robust, adaptive, and transformative resilience capabilities in an increasingly complex and uncertain business environment.