Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created major supply chain disruptions, forcing managers to focus their attention on short-term survival. This study suggests that now is the time to reinforce sustainability investments in order for dairy supply chains to better navigate future disruptions. Building upon the research stream on sustainability and resilience in agriculture operations, we conducted two empirical studies. The first, a qualitative study, reveals that dairy farms that pursue short- and long-term goals and that manage diverse stakeholder tradeoffs are well equipped to be more resilient. The second, a quantitative study, tested the propositions emerging from the first study in a large-scale survey involving 588 Pennsylvania dairy farms. Both studies suggest that farms that have invested in environmental, labor, and animal welfare practices are more likely to continue their operations and implement an emergency plan that allows them to run safe operations. Interestingly, we found that either large or women-operated farms benefit more from these investments than small and men-operated farms.

We contribute to three research streams. Contributing to the sustainability-resilience research literature, we show how investing in long-term sustainability practices builds resilience—perhaps one of the most important traits for dairy farms today. For agricultural research, we highlight two prominent, albeit vulnerable groups: small and women farmers. Regarding operations management, we respond to an important call to investigate the factors contributing to small- and medium-sized enterprises’ resilience (especially in agriculture) and the role of women in a male-dominated industry. We also provide implications for dairy farmers, cooperatives, policy makers, and support centers.