Track: Graduate Student Paper Competition

Abstract

With the broadening of interconnection between national borders, it is paramount to take into account different cultural behavior to enhance the visibility and integration among supply chain partners with the aim to improve organizational performance. There are a few studies exploring the role of culture in supply chain coordination and buyer-supplier relationships that results in the Bullwhip Effect, but they consider simulation environments or real-life scenarios with minor perturbation. Therefore, this study complements the literature by analyzing how the perception of large disruptions in supply chain coordination varies between cultures. More specifically, this paper will investigate the behavioral causes of Bullwhip Effect during the COVID-19 pandemic to illustrate how these disruptions affect the supply chain coordination. The Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory and other three studies were considered when elaborating and applying a multiple-case study approach with semi-structured interviews and podcasts as the main source of data. The results provided a framework of the relation between cultural differences and the Bullwhip Effect in large disruptions, with the confirmation of a few tendencies that were observed from previous studies, and elaboration of propositions and managerial applications.