ABSTRACT In this article, it is argued that a key to resilience is maintaining a coherent supply chain despite the multitude of—often unforeseeable—challenges it encounters. Because there is a dearth of literature focusing specifically on supply chain coherence, this research explores the meaning and conceptualization of coherence in related fields before translating the findings to the supply chain domain. A dynamic, process view of supply chain coherence is established, where being resilient is defined by strategic, structural, cognitive, and social‐ecological dimensions. These dimensions of supply chain coherence must be continuously recalibrated while the supply chain is adapting and transforming in response to, and in anticipation of, disruptions. The research offers a fresh perspective on supply chain resilience and distinguishes between those elements that need to be aligned across actors for coherence, elements that do not need to be aligned provided they are not contradictory (or any incongruence can be managed), and elements that are inconsequential. While a single disruptive event may not simultaneously challenge all four dimensions of supply chain coherence, the increasingly interconnected nature of disruptions, or polycrises, means that this will be more likely in the future. An agenda for future research is outlined, including the need to study and tackle causes of supply chain incoherence.
Stevenson et al. (Fri,) studied this question.