Managing climate risks through social capital in agrifood supply chains

Despite several contributions to greenhouse gas emission and carbon footprint reduction, the literature lacks empirical insights into the business impact of climate risks, when they materialize, and techniques to manage them. This study aims to devise a model delving into critical climate risks and the role of consortia and social capital to mitigate these risks. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including qualitative and quantitative data from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an Australian agrifood supply chain (AFSC). The qualitative analysis uncovers four critical climate risks and a repertoire of relational, structural, and cognitive social capital accrued by SMEs of AFSC through consortia. The quantitative analysis corroborates that the SMEs that accumulate higher social capital through active engagement within consortia are able to respond more effectively to climate risks compared to others. We, therefore, find that climate risk mitigation in SMEs is the function of both association (consortia) membership and the accrual of higher social capital through active involvement and collaboration within networks. This is the first study in employing a moderated-moderation model that simultaneously investigates the business impact of climate risks and how the moderating impact of consortia (a primary moderator) is further moderated by social capital (a secondary moderator) in explaining SMEs performance. The paper addresses the lack of adequate empirical research, particularly mixed-methods, in supply chain risk management literature.