THE CONFLICT BETWEEN OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE AND GREEN OUTSOURCING IN THE AGE OF GLOBAL SHOCKS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2292.2026/1-62/96-104Keywords:
operational resilience, green outsourcing, climate vulnerability, global shocks, structural outsourcing trap, multinational enterprises, green transitionAbstract
B a c k g r o u n d . The global shocks of the 2020s have made the tension between operational resilience and the environmental commitments ofmultinational enterprises one of the central challenges in international supply chain management. The geographical concentration of outsourcing in countries with the highest climate vulnerability intensifies this conflict, creating a vicious cycle in which each shock reproduces the same logic of displacing sustainable practices. The aim of this study is to identify the patterns of conflict between multinational enterprises' pursuit of operational resilience and their green outsourcing objectives, and to assess the structural factors constraining the capacity of outsourcing locations to achieve sustainable development.
M e t h o d s. Qualitative comparative analysis and case study method; analysis of corporate responses to four types of shocks across the textile, automotive, technology and logistics sectors; quantitative characterisation of climate risks in outsourcing locations using the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative index; exploratory Spearman rank correlation for a purposive sample of 13 countries.
R e s u l t s. Three types of corporate response to global shocks were identified: maintaining standards at the cost of scale, acknowledged compromise, and silent retreat whilst preserving ESG communications. A structural outsourcing trap was identified – a mechanism whereby the geopolitical logic of production placement systematically concentrates it in the most climate vulnerable locations. It was established that the transition to renewable energy in these countries does not automatically resolve the problem of energy stability, as renewable sources are themselves dependent on increasingly unpredictable climatic conditions. A structural imbalance between the environmental and social components of ESG in the fashion industry was identified.
C o n c l u s i o n s. The conflict between operational resilience and green outsourcing is systemic and recurs with each new shock through the mechanisms of temporal discounting and the depletion of organisational slack. Structural inequality in access to climate finance renders an independent green transition impossible for outsourcing recipient countries. Resolving the conflict requires the integration of environmental commitments directly into crisis management protocols, rather than their continued existence as a parallel strategic priority.
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