Supply chain risk management

This article presents a secondary analysis of the literature, supplemented by case studies to determine if large companies increase their exposure to risk by having small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) as partners in business critical positions in the supply chain, and to make recommendations concerning best practice. A framework defining the information systems (IS) environment is used to structure the review. The review found that large companies' exposure to risk appeared to be increased by inter-organisational networking. Having SMEs as partners in the supply chain further increased the risk exposure. SMEs increased their own exposure to risk by becoming partners in a supply chain. These findings indicate the importance of undertaking risk assessments and considering the need for business continuity planning when a company is exposed to inter-organisational networking.