Willingness to Implement Logistics and Supply Chain Resilience Strategies Amid COVID-19: Insights from Japanese Manufacturing Firms

Background : The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of supply chain resilience. However, little is known about firms’ willingness to implement logistics and supply chain resilience strategies (SCRESTs), and how this willingness varies across contexts. This study investigates the willingness of Japanese manufacturing firms to implement SCRESTs and examines how the pandemic has influenced this willingness. Methods: Using survey data from 549 Japanese manufacturing firms collected from March to April 2022, we employed binary choice models and the average treatment effect on the treated (ATET) analysis to examine the factors influencing the willingness to implement SCRESTs before and during/after the pandemic. Results: Firms demonstrated significantly higher willingness to implement SCRESTs during/after the pandemic compared with before. Company size, industry sector, logistics strategy, implementation obstacles, and past SCREST implementation significantly influenced willingness across both periods. The ATET analysis confirmed that past SCREST implementation positively affects future willingness. Conclusions: The pandemic served as a catalyst for enhanced supply chain resilience awareness among Japanese manufacturers. Sector-specific interventions addressing both informational and structural barriers are essential to sustain and strengthen the willingness to implement SCRESTs, particularly in strategically important sectors where financial incentives alone may prove insufficient.