This paper explores how manufacturing firms develop supply chain resilience through contrasting organizational learning strategies during crisis conditions. It compares two China-based manufacturers’ responses to COVID-19, highlighting their approaches to balancing operational continuity and transformation.
A qualitative case study methodology was employed, based on in-depth interviews with owners of the two manufacturing companies. The analysis explores their contrasting approaches to supply chain responses and organizational learning during the crisis. To maintain confidentiality, the company names “White Tiger” and “Lotus” are pseudonyms used to protect the identities of the firms studied.
Despite facing similar external shocks, the firms adopted divergent learning paths. White Tiger pursued proactive transformation, investing in automation, regionalizing its supply chain, and diversifying markets. Lotus prioritized operational stability, delaying change until market pressures intensified. These strategies reflect differing leadership orientations, anticipatory versus reactive, which shaped each firm’s response pattern.
The findings offer guidance for firms seeking to strengthen resilience. Early sensing, flexible operations, and leadership-driven learning initiatives are essential for adapting to prolonged disruptions. The study emphasizes that resilience requires more than technological investment—it also depends on cultural readiness and strategic foresight.
Revealing a new paradox, this study demonstrates how near-identical manufacturers developed opposed resilience paths during COVID-19 through leadership-driven learning orientations—proactive double-loop learning versus reactive single-loop adaptation. This paper resolves a theoretical gap in organizational learning (OL) literature. We demonstrate that leadership learning orientation—not contextual factors—is the primary resilience determinant in matched firms facing identical crises.
