Dynamic capabilities, producer-level resilience, and competitiveness among brazilian beef producers: Evidence from the COVID-19 disruption context

This study examined how dynamic capabilities were associated with producer-level resilience and competitiveness among Brazilian beef producers in the context of COVID-19 disruptions. A cross-sectional web survey was conducted with 316 beef producers, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the relationships among perceived COVID-19 impacts, perceived supply, production, and demand disruptions, producer-level readiness, response, and recovery capabilities, and producer competitiveness. The unit of analysis was the individual beef-producing operation, represented by an owner or manager with decision-making responsibility. Perceived COVID-19 impact was positively associated with producers’ reports of supply, production, and demand disruptions and with response capability, but it was not directly associated with producer competitiveness, readiness, or recovery. Response, recovery, and readiness capabilities were positively associated with producer competitiveness, with response capability exhibiting the largest standardized association. Among the proposed sequential indirect pathways, only the pathway through response and recovery was statistically supported. The findings provide producer-level evidence on the differentiated roles of resilience-related capabilities and extend Dynamic Capabilities Theory to beef production in an emerging-economy context. They should not be interpreted as evidence of resilience across the Brazilian beef value chain as a whole. For beef producers, the results highlight the relevance of rapid response and post-disruption recovery capabilities for maintaining producer competitiveness during disruptions under severe uncertainty.