Examining the impact of resilience strategies in mitigating medicine shortages in the United Kingdom's (UK) pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC)

Purpose - Medicine shortages have a detrimental impact on stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC). Existing studies suggest that building resilience strategies can mitigate the effects of these shortages. As such, this research aims to examine whether resilience strategies can reduce the impact of medicine shortages in the United Kingdom's (UK) PSC. Design/methodology/approach - A sequential mixed-methods approach that involved qualitative and quantitative research enquiry was employed in this study. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 23 key UK PSC actors at the qualitative stage. During the quantitative phase, 106 respondents completed the survey questionnaires. The data were analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings - The results revealed that reactive and proactive elements of resilience strategies helped tackle medicine shortages. Reactive strategies increased relational issues such as behavioural uncertainty, whilst proactive strategies mitigated them. Practical implications - The findings suggest that PSC managers and decision-makers can benefit from adopting structural flexibility and proactive strategies, which are cost-effective measures to tackle medicine shortages. Also engaging in strategic alliances as a proactive strategy mitigates relational issues that may arise in a complex supply chain (SC). Originality/value - This study is the first to provide empirical evidence of the impact of resilience strategies in mitigating medicine shortages in the UK's PSC. Keywords Behavioural uncertainty, Supply chain disruptions, Product design, Pharmaceutical supply chain, Mixed method, Supply chain resilience, Drug shortages, Medicine shortages