Making dairy supply chains robust against corruption risk: a systemic exploratory study

Purpose To improve robustness of a dairy supply chain (SC) against corruption, the purpose of this paper is to propose a systemic model of a corruption impacted dairy SC, exposing relationships among SC operations, risks and the impact of corruption. Design/methodology/approach Cases from the dairy industry in New Zealand (NZ) are used for thematic analysis of interview data collected from participants at senior levels of NZ dairy firms. Based on these and other inputs from literature, a systemic model is built subsequently. Findings Mitigating certain risks can significantly alleviate the impact of corruption, an external factor, on supply chain performance (SCP). The causal loop diagram (CLD) developed here brings out the modifying effect of corruption on dairy risks and SCP. Practical implications - The illustration of the CLD helps business managers better understand the interactions among risk variables and explains the systemic reasons for SC vulnerability. Originality/value This is the first paper to construct a holistic system to comprehensively reveal the interactions of supply chain risks (SCRs) and the impact of corruption. Also, by utilizing SCR interactions, this study indicates a pathway to mitigate the negative effects of corruption through improving dairy SC robustness.