IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/popmgt/v32y2023i6p1705-1723.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Patterns in firms’ inventories and flexibility levels after a low‐probability, high‐impact disruption event: Empirical evidence from the Great East Japan Earthquake

Author

Listed:
  • Christian F. Durach
  • Tomas Repasky
  • Frank Wiengarten

Abstract

How do firms respond after being exposed to a low‐probability, high‐consequence (lp‐hc) disruption event? This study examines inventory and flexibility patterns in manufacturing firms in the years following an lp‐hc event, the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. We find patterns suggesting that most firms exposed to the event began to increase their raw material inventories (RAW) over the longer term and increased their volume flexibility for a shorter period. Furthermore, we found that firms increased their RAW mainly when inventories were already at high levels, while the opposite is true for volume flexibility. Firms that were classified as risk‐averse before the event show stronger swings after the event. Preliminary explorations suggest that the performance of firms that have engaged in these inventory shifts is significantly impeded. This study provides insight into a previously unexplored phenomenon, namely, the longer‐term responses of firms to exposure to lp‐hc events. It opens the possibilities of new research regarding causality, economic consequences, and mechanisms of the identified patterns. Increased efforts in this direction should enable our discipline to provide improved normative guidance both socially and operationally.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian F. Durach & Tomas Repasky & Frank Wiengarten, 2023. "Patterns in firms’ inventories and flexibility levels after a low‐probability, high‐impact disruption event: Empirical evidence from the Great East Japan Earthquake," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(6), pages 1705-1723, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popmgt:v:32:y:2023:i:6:p:1705-1723
    DOI: 10.1111/poms.13935
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.13935
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/poms.13935?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Park, YoungWon & Hong, Paul & Roh, James Jungbae, 2013. "Supply chain lessons from the catastrophic natural disaster in Japan," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 75-85.
    2. Vasco M Carvalho & Makoto Nirei & Yukiko U Saito & Alireza Tahbaz-Salehi, 2021. "Supply Chain Disruptions: Evidence from the Great East Japan Earthquake," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(2), pages 1255-1321.
    3. Wissuwa, Florian & Durach, Christian F. & Choi, Thomas Y., 2022. "Selecting resilient suppliers: Supplier complexity and buyer disruption," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    4. Lechner, Michael, 2011. "The Estimation of Causal Effects by Difference-in-Difference Methods," Foundations and Trends(R) in Econometrics, now publishers, vol. 4(3), pages 165-224, November.
    5. Sophie Nivoix & Serge Rey & Jacques Jaussaud, 2015. "The Great East Japan Earthquake and stock price," Post-Print hal-01253236, HAL.
    6. Ravi Anupindi & Ram Akella, 1993. "Diversification Under Supply Uncertainty," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(8), pages 944-963, August.
    7. Brian Tomlin, 2006. "On the Value of Mitigation and Contingency Strategies for Managing Supply Chain Disruption Risks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(5), pages 639-657, May.
    8. Justin Gallagher, 2014. "Learning about an Infrequent Event: Evidence from Flood Insurance Take-Up in the United States," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 206-233, July.
    9. David Simchi‐Levi & He Wang & Yehua Wei, 2018. "Increasing Supply Chain Robustness through Process Flexibility and Inventory," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 27(8), pages 1476-1491, August.
    10. Arash Azadegan & Kevin Dooley, 2021. "A Typology of Supply Network Resilience Strategies: Complex Collaborations in a Complex World," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(1), pages 17-26, January.
    11. Fang Liu & Jing-Sheng Song & Jordan D. Tong, 2016. "Building Supply Chain Resilience through Virtual Stockpile Pooling," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 25(10), pages 1745-1762, October.
    12. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    13. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2003. "Managing with Style: The Effect of Managers on Firm Policies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1169-1208.
    14. Jacques Jaussaud & Sophie Nivoix & Serge Rey, 2015. "The Great East Japan Earthquake and Stock Prices," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(2), pages 1237-1261.
    15. Kevin B. Hendricks & Brian W. Jacobs & Vinod R. Singhal, 2020. "Stock Market Reaction to Supply Chain Disruptions from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 683-699, July.
    16. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Puri, Manju, 2013. "Managerial attitudes and corporate actions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 103-121.
    17. Zhe (Frank) Wang & Adam J. Mersereau, 2017. "Bayesian Inventory Management with Potential Change‐Points in Demand," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 26(2), pages 341-359, February.
    18. Krishnan S. Anand & Karan Girotra, 2007. "The Strategic Perils of Delayed Differentiation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(5), pages 697-712, May.
    19. Elisabeth Krausmann & Ana Cruz, 2013. "Impact of the 11 March 2011, Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami on the chemical industry," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 67(2), pages 811-828, June.
    20. Gordon M. Bodnar & Erasmo Giambona & John R. Graham & Campbell R. Harvey, 2019. "A View Inside Corporate Risk Management," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(11), pages 5001-5026, November.
    21. Jacques Jaussaud & Sophie Nivoix & Serge Rey, 2015. "The Great East Japan Earthquake and stock price," Post-Print hal-01560896, HAL.
    22. A. Colin Cameron & Pravin K. Trivedi, 2010. "Microeconometrics Using Stata, Revised Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, number musr, March.
    23. Manu Goyal & Serguei Netessine, 2011. "Volume Flexibility, Product Flexibility, or Both: The Role of Demand Correlation and Product Substitution," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 13(2), pages 180-193, March.
    24. Brian Tomlin & Yimin Wang, 2005. "On the Value of Mix Flexibility and Dual Sourcing in Unreliable Newsvendor Networks," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 7(1), pages 37-57, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Zhongyi & Li, Mengyu & Zhai, Xin, 2022. "Managing supply chain disruption threat via a strategy combining pricing and self-protection," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    2. Seung Hwan Jung, 2020. "Offshore versus Onshore Sourcing: Quick Response, Random Yield, and Competition," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(3), pages 750-766, March.
    3. Karca D. Aral & Erasmo Giambona & Ye Wang, 2022. "Buyer’s Bankruptcy Risk, Sourcing Strategy, and Firm Value: Evidence from the Supplier Protection Act," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 7940-7957, November.
    4. Lauren Xiaoyuan Lu & Jan A. Van Mieghem, 2009. "Multimarket Facility Network Design with Offshoring Applications," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 11(1), pages 90-108, October.
    5. Preetam Basu & Soumita Ghosh & Milan Kumar, 2019. "Supplier ratings and dynamic sourcing strategies to mitigate supply disruption risks," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 46(1), pages 41-57, March.
    6. Long He & Ying Rong & Zuo‐Jun Max Shen, 2020. "Product Sourcing and Distribution Strategies under Supply Disruption and Recall Risks," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(1), pages 9-23, January.
    7. Diana Zigraiova, 2015. "Management Board Composition of Banking Institutions and Bank Risk-Taking: The Case of the Czech Republic," Working Papers 2015/14, Czech National Bank.
    8. Onur Boyabatlı, 2015. "Supply Management in Multiproduct Firms with Fixed Proportions Technology," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(12), pages 3013-3031, December.
    9. Svoboda, Josef & Minner, Stefan & Yao, Man, 2021. "Typology and literature review on multiple supplier inventory control models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 293(1), pages 1-23.
    10. Zhu, Stuart X., 2015. "Analysis of dual sourcing strategies under supply disruptions," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(PA), pages 191-203.
    11. Brian Tomlin, 2009. "Impact of Supply Learning When Suppliers Are Unreliable," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 192-209, August.
    12. Harada, Kimie & Okimoto, Tatsuyoshi, 2021. "The BOJ's ETF purchases and its effects on Nikkei 225 stocks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Soroush Saghafian & Mark P. Van Oyen, 2016. "Compensating for Dynamic Supply Disruptions: Backup Flexibility Design," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 64(2), pages 390-405, April.
    14. Trabert, Sebastian, 2023. "Do younger CEOs really increase firm risk? Evidence from sudden CEO deaths," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Lu, Mengshi & Huang, Simin & Shen, Zuo-Jun Max, 2011. "Product substitution and dual sourcing under random supply failures," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1251-1265, September.
    16. Masoud Kamalahmadi & Qiuping Yu & Yong-Pin Zhou, 2021. "Call to Duty: Just-in-Time Scheduling in a Restaurant Chain," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(11), pages 6751-6781, November.
    17. Yimin Wang & Brian Tomlin, 2009. "To wait or not to wait: Optimal ordering under lead time uncertainty and forecast updating," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(8), pages 766-779, December.
    18. Manu Goyal & Serguei Netessine, 2011. "Volume Flexibility, Product Flexibility, or Both: The Role of Demand Correlation and Product Substitution," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 13(2), pages 180-193, March.
    19. Susanne Prantl & Frederik Thenée, 2017. "Incorporation Decisions and Job Creation in New Firms," Working Paper Series in Economics 91, University of Cologne, Department of Economics.
    20. Pritee Ray & Mamata Jenamani, 2016. "Sourcing decision under disruption risk with supply and demand uncertainty: A newsvendor approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 237(1), pages 237-262, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:popmgt:v:32:y:2023:i:6:p:1705-1723. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1937-5956 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.