Table A1 Future research directions... | Emerald Publishing

Table A1

Future research directions based on the offered propositions

Propositions	Independent variables	Dependent variable	Methodology	Potential research questions	Applicable theoretical frameworks	Theoretical puzzle to address through empirical research
Proposition 1	Measure of supply chain actors' agency in shaping political discourse, including frequency/intensity of corporate advocacy efforts, lobbying budgets, and frequency/extent of participation in policy dialogues regarding supply chain security and security-oriented regulation	Measure of frequency, duration and severity of GSCD	Regression analysis/comparative case study	In what ways do supply chain actors engage in shaping public discourse to prevent or minimise supply chain securitisation? How do different theoretical perspectives (realism, liberalism, constructivism) explain variation in the securitisation of global supply chains across industries? How can supply chain actors' agency in shaping policy discourse mitigate the impact of geopolitical disruptions on securitised supply chains? What organisational capabilities enable supply chain actors to successfully influence government policy related to supply chain security? What specific characteristics and mechanisms make securitised supply chains more exposed to disruption compared to non-securitised ones? How can collaborative governance structures between firms and governments reduce disruptions in securitised supply chains? How do supply chain actors' mitigation strategies differ between democratic and authoritarian political contexts? What empirical indicators can reliably measure the degree of supply chain securitisation in an industry?	RDT, RBV, Constructivism, Realism, Agency Theory	While this article interprets securitisation as the increased involvement of state actors in supply chain management and operations, more work is needed to clarify when, why, and how securitisation manifests. Comparative sector-level research could identify boundary conditions under which supply chains shift from market-driven to state-influenced systems, while conceptual contributions could examine the tension between efficiency and security in supply chain design. This may also require developing measurable constructs for “degree of securitisation” and “political exposure” that can be integrated into SCOM research
Proposition 2	Proportion of production inputs sourced from politically misaligned regions, degree of political divergence expressed by differences in countries political regime, foreign policy stance, sanctions exposure, voting differences in UN	Measure of frequency, of GSCD	Regression analysis/comparative case study	How does a supply chain's dependency on critical resources sourced from politically misaligned regions impact the likelihood of GSCD? How does the strategic value of a resource for a government influence the intervention in and stability of its underlying supply chain? What are the boundary conditions under which geopolitical risks dominate market-based considerations in procurement decisions? How do firms redesign supply networks to reduce dependence on politically misaligned sources while preserving cost competitiveness and operational efficiency? Why do supply chains for certain industries experience more severe geopolitical disruptions despite similar levels of resource dependence?	Institutional Theory, RDT, Realism	The concept of critical resources remains underdeveloped in the GSCD context. Future researchers could formalise the concept of criticality in supply chains by empirically identifying its components. Future researchers are also encouraged to clarify by integrating IR theory, how geopolitically motivated supply chain dependencies differ from purely economic ones
Proposition 3	Measure of state control over supply network nodes with high betweenness centrality (i.e. ownership, regulatory authority)	Speed of disruption propagation measured by interval between initial disruption and observed downstream effects, extent of disruption propagation measured by proportion of impacted nodes in the network	Regression analysis/case study/simulation	To what degree does state control over supply-chain chokepoints influence the speed and extent of geopolitical disruption propagation across global supply chains?	CAS, Network Theory, Realism, Geoeconomics	Future researchers could analyse chokepoints as politically constructed, rather than merely structurally determined, by integrating OSCM and IR theories. Current models of disruption propagation focus primarily on operational dynamics (as reflected in lead times, buffer stocks, and network topology). Future research could focus on analysing the dynamics related to the timing of state decisions as drivers of propagation
Proposition 4	Relative measure of critical resources dependence level expressed by a degree to which a node relies on a specific input or material, Measure of political misalignment (see Proposition 2)	Speed of disruption propagation measured by interval between initial disruption and observed downstream effects, extent of disruption propagation measured by proportion of impacted nodes in the network	Regression analysis/case study/simulation	How do GSCD affect supply chain operations through cascading failures in resource-dependent nodes, and to what extent does political misalignment between states moderate these effects? How does political misalignment amplify the scale or duration of cascading failures? What supply chain management strategies help supply chain actors escape or mitigate lock-in to politically unstable regions? How do differences in geopolitical risk perception between supply chain partners influence disruption propagation?	CAS, Realism, Geoeconomics, RDT, Network theory, Institutional Theory	More research is needed on the misalignment of political risk perceptions between buyers and suppliers
Proposition 5	Measure of GSCD risk	Relative measure of mutual military rivalry or tensions, extent to which actor's supply base is concentrated within a single geopolitical bloc (NATO, BRICS)	Regression analysis/case study	To what extent is the restructuring of supply chains in strategic industries driven by underlying military rivalries between states, and can supply chain actors mitigate geopolitical supply chain disruptions by aligning their supply dependencies within a single geopolitical bloc? How do states influence firm-level/supply chain level resource dependencies through subsidies, industrial policy or export controls?	Realism, Geoeconomic, Network Theory, RDT, Institutional Theory	Future research could examine how interstate competition cascades into supply chain actors' design choices
Proposition 6	Relative degree of adoption of regionalised supply chain strategies	Industry/supply chain actor specific level of Geopolitical Risk Exposure	Regression analysis/case study	How does exposure to geopolitical risk influence supply chain actors' decisions to regionalise their chains through reshoring, nearshoring, or friendshoring strategies? Do strategic industries show significantly higher probabilities of reshoring or friendshoring compared to non-strategic industries? Under what conditions is partial regionalisation of the supply chain more effective than full decoupling?	TCE, Institutional Theory, Constructivism	More research is needed on the link between industry-specific structural characteristics and geopolitical risk exposure as a factor influencing supply chain design

Propositions	Independent variables	Dependent variable	Methodology	Potential research questions	Applicable theoretical frameworks	Theoretical puzzle to address through empirical research
Proposition 1	Measure of supply chain actors' agency in shaping political discourse, including frequency/intensity of corporate advocacy efforts, lobbying budgets, and frequency/extent of participation in policy dialogues regarding supply chain security and security-oriented regulation	Measure of frequency, duration and severity of GSCD	Regression analysis/comparative case study	In what ways do supply chain actors engage in shaping public discourse to prevent or minimise supply chain securitisation? How do different theoretical perspectives (realism, liberalism, constructivism) explain variation in the securitisation of global supply chains across industries?How can supply chain actors' agency in shaping policy discourse mitigate the impact of geopolitical disruptions on securitised supply chains? What organisational capabilities enable supply chain actors to successfully influence government policy related to supply chain security? What specific characteristics and mechanisms make securitised supply chains more exposed to disruption compared to non-securitised ones? How can collaborative governance structures between firms and governments reduce disruptions in securitised supply chains? How do supply chain actors' mitigation strategies differ between democratic and authoritarian political contexts? What empirical indicators can reliably measure the degree of supply chain securitisation in an industry?	RDT, RBV, Constructivism, Realism, Agency Theory	While this article interprets securitisation as the increased involvement of state actors in supply chain management and operations, more work is needed to clarify when, why, and how securitisation manifests. Comparative sector-level research could identify boundary conditions under which supply chains shift from market-driven to state-influenced systems, while conceptual contributions could examine the tension between efficiency and security in supply chain design. This may also require developing measurable constructs for “degree of securitisation” and “political exposure” that can be integrated into SCOM research
Proposition 2	Proportion of production inputs sourced from politically misaligned regions, degree of political divergence expressed by differences in countries political regime, foreign policy stance, sanctions exposure, voting differences in UN	Measure of frequency, of GSCD	Regression analysis/comparative case study	How does a supply chain's dependency on critical resources sourced from politically misaligned regions impact the likelihood of GSCD? How does the strategic value of a resource for a government influence the intervention in and stability of its underlying supply chain? What are the boundary conditions under which geopolitical risks dominate market-based considerations in procurement decisions? How do firms redesign supply networks to reduce dependence on politically misaligned sources while preserving cost competitiveness and operational efficiency? Why do supply chains for certain industries experience more severe geopolitical disruptions despite similar levels of resource dependence?	Institutional Theory, RDT, Realism	The concept of critical resources remains underdeveloped in the GSCD context. Future researchers could formalise the concept of criticality in supply chains by empirically identifying its components. Future researchers are also encouraged to clarify by integrating IR theory, how geopolitically motivated supply chain dependencies differ from purely economic ones
Proposition 3	Measure of state control over supply network nodes with high betweenness centrality (i.e. ownership, regulatory authority)	Speed of disruption propagation measured by interval between initial disruption and observed downstream effects, extent of disruption propagation measured by proportion of impacted nodes in the network	Regression analysis/case study/simulation	To what degree does state control over supply-chain chokepoints influence the speed and extent of geopolitical disruption propagation across global supply chains?	CAS, Network Theory, Realism, Geoeconomics	Future researchers could analyse chokepoints as politically constructed, rather than merely structurally determined, by integrating OSCM and IR theories. Current models of disruption propagation focus primarily on operational dynamics (as reflected in lead times, buffer stocks, and network topology). Future research could focus on analysing the dynamics related to the timing of state decisions as drivers of propagation
Proposition 4	Relative measure of critical resources dependence level expressed by a degree to which a node relies on a specific input or material, Measure of political misalignment (see Proposition 2)	Speed of disruption propagation measured by interval between initial disruption and observed downstream effects, extent of disruption propagation measured by proportion of impacted nodes in the network	Regression analysis/case study/simulation	How do GSCD affect supply chain operations through cascading failures in resource-dependent nodes, and to what extent does political misalignment between states moderate these effects? How does political misalignment amplify the scale or duration of cascading failures? What supply chain management strategies help supply chain actors escape or mitigate lock-in to politically unstable regions? How do differences in geopolitical risk perception between supply chain partners influence disruption propagation?	CAS, Realism, Geoeconomics, RDT, Network theory, Institutional Theory	More research is needed on the misalignment of political risk perceptions between buyers and suppliers
Proposition 5	Measure of GSCD risk	Relative measure of mutual military rivalry or tensions, extent to which actor's supply base is concentrated within a single geopolitical bloc (NATO, BRICS)	Regression analysis/case study	To what extent is the restructuring of supply chains in strategic industries driven by underlying military rivalries between states, and can supply chain actors mitigate geopolitical supply chain disruptions by aligning their supply dependencies within a single geopolitical bloc? How do states influence firm-level/supply chain level resource dependencies through subsidies, industrial policy or export controls?	Realism, Geoeconomic, Network Theory, RDT, Institutional Theory	Future research could examine how interstate competition cascades into supply chain actors' design choices
Proposition 6	Relative degree of adoption of regionalised supply chain strategies	Industry/supply chain actor specific level of Geopolitical Risk Exposure	Regression analysis/case study	How does exposure to geopolitical risk influence supply chain actors' decisions to regionalise their chains through reshoring, nearshoring, or friendshoring strategies? Do strategic industries show significantly higher probabilities of reshoring or friendshoring compared to non-strategic industries? Under what conditions is partial regionalisation of the supply chain more effective than full decoupling?	TCE, Institutional Theory, Constructivism	More research is needed on the link between industry-specific structural characteristics and geopolitical risk exposure as a factor influencing supply chain design

Source(s): Authors’ own work