Resilient Supply Chain in the Swiss Watch Industry - The Exerted Influence of Economic and Cultural Aspects

Abstract

Supply chains are a crucial aspect of an organisation and play an essential role in the viability of a firm. However, due to the nature of supply chains and the different parties involved, disruptions in one part of the chain may have severe implications for an organisation and could even completely lead to a halt in production. Therefore, it is important for companies to have a supply chain that has the ability to prepare, respond, recover, or even completely withstand disruptions, i.e. to have a resilient supply chain. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the exerted influence economic and cultural (organisational culture) factors have on the resilience of the supply chain. Furthermore, the thesis provides a deeper understanding of the topic of supply chain resilience by presenting a variety of strategies to enhance or achieve resilience. Current literature defines supply chain resilience in numerous ways. Thus, the thesis first establishes the basis by defining the concept in a comprehensible way and then continues to provide an understanding of related topics, such as disruption risks, key strategies to enhance resilience, cultural and economic influences, as well as different metrics to measure the resilience. The research method used in this regard is qualitative. In order to check the validity of the theory and to see whether the existing literature can be applied to the Swiss watch industry, a qualitative research method is used, in which three interviews with Swiss watchmakers were conducted. The findings are mostly in line with the conclusions of other researchers. However, some insights show that the Swiss watch industry is unique and does not always fully conform with the presented theories. Supply chain resilience in the Swiss watch industry can be fostered by collaboration efforts, which in turn also positively impact the flexibility, redundancy, and agility elements of resilience. Cultural aspects that are beneficial in building and maintaining resilient supply chains relate to human and social aspects. That is, effective communication, close collaboration, flexibility, curiosity, open-mindedness, and so on. The thesis further shows that economic factors, such as currency fluctuations, do not play a notable role in the Swiss watch industry.