Dynamic Reconfiguration of Competitive Priorities under Geopolitical Turbulence

Given the growing geopolitical and technological turbulence affecting global supply chains, this study asks how dynamic capabilities and organizational resilience shape the reordering of competitive priorities in industrial firms. It aims to analyze the impact of dynamic capabilities and organizational resilience on the reconfiguration of competitive priorities among automotive supply chain suppliers exposed to recent geopolitical and technological shocks. To this end, a qualitative, descriptive-exploratory multiple case study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with a quality manager and a supply chain manager, one from each of two Brazilian automotive suppliers, complemented by secondary sources and analyzed through categorical content analysis. The findings show that, although both firms retain quality and delivery time as order-winning criteria imposed by automakers, cost pressure stemming from the Iran-United States conflict and Chinese competition triggered distinct reconfigurations: reduced Industry 4.0 investment and intensified automation in one firm, and workforce restructuring, inventory reduction, and shortened product-development cycles in the other. This allows us to conclude that resilience does not stem from a fixed set of competitive priorities but from the sensing, seizing, and transforming capabilities that allow firms to continuously reorder them in the face of external shocks, with firm size, governance model, and dependence on foreign headquarters moderating this reconfiguration.