Making Sense of Supply Disruption Risk Research: A Conceptual Framework Grounded in Enactment Theory

The rich stream of supply disruption risk (SDR) literature incorporates several different theories and constructs across studies, but lacks a unifying decision-making framework. We review 79 SDR studies and advance a comprehensive framework, grounded in enactment theory, which integrates the disparate elements of SDR research and offers new insights into the SDR decision-making process. Enactment theory posits a three-stage, closed-loop process, consisting of enactment, selection and retention, through which individuals process and make sense of equivocal environments. We suggest that this sense-making process also underlies SDR decision-making, and provides the theoretical underpinnings for the environmental, organizational and individual factors that affect the formation of buyers' perceptions of SDR and the actions they take to mitigate such risks. In accordance with our conceptual framework, we develop seven propositions that advance the social and psychological factors that drive the idiosyncratic nature of SDR decision-making.