A resource dependence perspective on natural resource scarcity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of natural resource scarcity (NRS) for companies’ supply chain strategies. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the resource dependence theory (RDT), a conceptual model is developed and validated through the means of exploratory research. The empirical work includes the assessment of qualitative data collected via 22 interviews representing six large multinational companies from the manufacturing sector. Findings When the resources are scarce and vitally important, companies use buffering strategies. Buffering and bridging strategies are preferred when there are a few alternative suppliers for the specific resource and when there is limited access to scarce natural resources. Research limitations/implications The research focuses on large multinational manufacturing companies so results may not be generalised to other sectors and to small- and medium-sized firms. Future research needs to examine the implications of NRS for organisational performance. Practical implications This research provides direction to manufacturing companies for adopting the best supply chain strategy to cope with NRS. Originality/value This paper adds to the body of knowledge by providing new data and empirical insights into the issue of NRS in supply chains. The RDT has not been previously employed in this context. Past studies are mainly conceptual and, thus, the value of this paper comes from using a qualitative approach on gaining in-depth insights into supply chain-related NRS strategies and its antecedents.

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A Natural Resource Dependence Perspective of the Firm: How and Why Firms Manage Natural Resource Scarcity

Business & Society ◽

10.1177/0007650319898811 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 000765031989881 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter Tashman

Keyword(s):

Natural Resources ◽

Natural Resource ◽

Resource Dependence ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Resource Dependence Theory ◽

Resource Scarcity ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Natural Resource Scarcity ◽

Dependence Theory ◽

Optimal Resource

Although natural resource scarcity is a pressing issue for many organizations, it has received little attention in management research. Drawing on resource dependence theory, this article theorizes how organizations manage uncertainty from their dependence on scarce natural resources. For this end, it explains how socio-ecological processes involving anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem services cause this form of uncertainty. It then proposes that organizations develop wide-ranging responses to such uncertainty, depending on their predominant institutional logics, from protecting and restoring ecosystems that provision critical natural resources to further developing those ecosystems for optimal resource yields at the risk of degrading them. The article adds to the limited existing research on the unique challenges of managing natural resource scarcity and extends resource dependence theory by accounting for socio-ecological dynamics that create uncertainty regarding natural resources.

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McCulloch, Scrope, and Hodgskin: Nineteenth-Century Versions of Julian Simon

Journal of the History of Economic Thought ◽

10.1080/1042771032000114737 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 289-301 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

William S. Kern

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Nineteenth Century ◽

Population Growth ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Natural Resource ◽

Resource Scarcity ◽

Limits To Growth ◽

Economic Progress ◽

Natural Resource Scarcity ◽

Growing Population

In The Ultimate Resource (1981, 1996), and in many other publications over the last several decades, Julian Simon put forth controversial views regarding the connection between natural resource scarcity, population growth, and economic progress. Simon argued, in contrast to those espousing the limits to growth, that natural resources were not getting scarcer, but more abundant, and that a large and growing population was an asset rather than a liability in the pursuit of economic growth.

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