Accounting inscriptions as mediating instruments in a supply chain: pathways to proactive risk management

Purpose This paper aims to understand the role that accounting inscriptions play in mediating uncertainties between a central company and other supply chain actors in anticipation of a novel geopolitical risk. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory comparative analysis is conducted on three large multinational food companies, each of which faced significant supply chain challenges arising from the threat of Brexit. Brexit refers to the United Kingdom's (UK's) decision to leave the European Union (EU), following a referendum, resulting in negotiations and substantial changes in trade relations between the UK and the EU. Findings The findings reveal three distinct supply chain risk management pathways, shaped by the calculative cultures of the central companies and the actors they aim to engage with through mediation. When the central company prioritises mediating actions from suppliers and the government, and is sceptical of calculations, risk talk is primarily used. When mediation involves various supply chain actors, and the central company adopts a pragmatic approach to calculations, risk tools are integrated with risk talk to enable cohesive discussions. Finally, when the focus is on internal mediation between the finance and supply chain procurement functions, and the central company adopts a calculative idealist approach, familiarity with risk tools makes these tools central to the mediation process. Originality/value The authors adopt a comparative ex-ante field study perspective to (1) contextualise central company decisions within this uncertainty setting, illustrating how calculative cultures shape adjustments in mediating instruments and (2) theorise how a broad set of accounting inscriptions, including both risk tools and risk talk, can be used and combined in stimulating inter- and intra-organisational mediation under supply chain uncertainty.