Human resource management implications of terrorist threats to firms in the supply chain

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes in supply chain firms located in an environment with ongoing terrorist threat. Implications for human resource management in supply chain firms and future directions for research are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on questionnaire data collected from 898 managers in Sri Lanka. Included in the paper are manufacturing and service firms that constitute integral parts of global supply chains such as garment and textile firms, software solutions firms, and import‐export trading firms. Correlation analysis is used to examine the relationship between variables.

Findings

The results generally indicate a statistically significant negative relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes toward the organization, team, and job. Results vary by sector and industry, with a comparatively strong negative association between employee sensitivity to terrorism and employee attitudes in the service sector, particularly among employees in import‐export trading firms.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to examine the relationship between terrorism and employee work attitudes in supply chain firms. While the direct effects of terrorism on the supply chain have been well documented, such as disruption to the physical distribution of goods, much less is known about the indirect effects of terrorism on supply chain performance.

Citation

Reade, C. (2009), "Human resource management implications of terrorist threats to firms in the supply chain", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 39 No. 6, pp. 469-485. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030910985820