Methodological approaches and managerial insights in supply chain stress testing

We contextualise the notion of stress testing as a novel research area in supply chain resilience (SCR). Stress test methods and their applications in SCR are analysed. Combining bibliometric and expert analysis, we identify new topics, methods, and different types of disruptions analysed employing stress tests. We define stress tests as a distinct research domain in SCR and categorise them based on application areas. A unique combination of shock scenarios, simulation models, and performance analysis in supply chain stress tests enables not only an examination of the direct impacts of certain risks on the achievement of specific objectives but also understanding of the mechanisms of operational degradation, recovery, and viability in the presence of disruptions. Our analysis reveals recent conceptual and technological advancements that can aid in stress testing. We analyse the significance of collaboration, viability, data analytics, and artificial intelligence with respect to stress testing. Theoretical and managerial implications with several future research directions are deduced. We conclude that stress tests can predict the impact of shocks and the ripple effect on performance, examine the mechanisms of supply chain failure and recovery to understand the adaptations as responses to disruptions, and measure performance in the presence of disruptions.