Integrating resilience and sustainability in new product development by Central European automotive firms: is there synergy or two independent concepts?

Purpose This paper examines how automotive manufacturers in Hungary and Czechia have implemented resilience and sustainability measures within new product development (NPD). Design/methodology/approach Building on the resource dependence theory (RDT), it uses data from eleven in-depth interviews triangulated with suppliers’ codes of conduct and non-financial reports. Findings Resilience considerations and dependencies, as expected by RDT, shape the NPD decisions and sustainability is embedded, especially when prompted by customers or company needs for higher efficiency. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by the selection of large companies as well as by the sample size, while the case study approach enables us to dive into the strategies. Practical implications The research pointed to the importance of strategic procurement and the role of original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) and multinationals’ management in the operational process. Originality/value We contribute to extant literature by linking supply chain resilience and sustainability with NPD in an asymmetric and dependency-driven process.