Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait

ALHASAWI, ENJOUD

doi:10.23889/SUThesis.71603

E-Thesis 33 views

Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait / ENJOUD ALHASAWI

Swansea University Author: ENJOUD ALHASAWI

E-Thesis under embargo until: 31st December 2030

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUThesis.71603

Abstract

The volatile geopolitical landscape (i.e., Red Sea shipping disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war, and various economic trade wars), combined with the increasingly evident effect of climate change, is wreaking chaos on regional and global agri-food supply chains. Agri-food supply chain disruptions are...

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Published:	Swansea University 2026
Institution:	Swansea University
Degree level:	Doctoral
Degree name:	Ph.D
Supervisor:	Dennehy, D., Dwivedi, Y., and Zhao, G.
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71603

first_indexed	2026-03-10T10:53:38Z
last_indexed	2026-03-11T05:35:11Z
id	cronfa71603
recordtype	RisThesis
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Agri-food supply chain disruptions are no longer confined to farmers and food distributors they can have serious repercussions in areas critical to the well-being of economies and societies in both developed and developing countries. For example, the Russia-Ukraine war is impacting global wheat, sunflower oil, and maize supplies, as well as food security and aid. These disruptions have revealed vulnerabilities, including the impact on the agri-food supply chains' capacity to remain coherent and resilient in the face of uncertainty. Due to the concerns regarding food security and climate change, alongside the perishability and seasonality nature of agri-food products, it is considered essential to find innovative solutions for agri-food organisations. In response, organisations are looking at ways to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to safeguard and enable resilient agri-food supply chains. Thus, developing the capabilities of agri-food supply chains to be ready, responsive, and able to recover and adapt to unplanned and planned interruptions promote the sustainability of food systems. Against this background, this doctoral research aims to explore the role of AI technologies as an enabler of building resilient agri-food supply chains. This qualitative interpretivist study draws on the insights from practitioners at four agri-food companies located in Ireland and Kuwait that operate in large, complex regional and global supply chains. In doing so, this study advances understanding of the contextual differences in agri-food supply chains related to AI implementation and responding to disruptions. Data collection in this study has been conducted through twenty-four semi-structured interviews and direct observations, which have been analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of this study reveal several types of disruptions (i.e., boycotting campaigns, container shortage, geopolitical instability,) that have significant impact on agri-food supply chains. In addition, the results reveal how AI-based systems enhance the four dimensions of resilience (i.e., readiness, responsiveness, recovery, and adaptability) in agri-food supply chains. Building on these results, the dissertation presents a conceptual framework that demonstrates how AI technologies interact with disruptions and the dimensions of resilience to achieve resilient AI-based agri-food supply chains. This study also contributes to providing empirical insights based on the agri-food practices to explore the benefits and main challenges of AI implementation. 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spelling	2026-03-10T11:04:45.3118896 v2 71603 2026-03-10 Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait 14c08f25cfe8d32ec61e7bf7475b74a3 ENJOUD ALHASAWI ENJOUD ALHASAWI true false 2026-03-10 The volatile geopolitical landscape (i.e., Red Sea shipping disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war, and various economic trade wars), combined with the increasingly evident effect of climate change, is wreaking chaos on regional and global agri-food supply chains. Agri-food supply chain disruptions are no longer confined to farmers and food distributors they can have serious repercussions in areas critical to the well-being of economies and societies in both developed and developing countries. For example, the Russia-Ukraine war is impacting global wheat, sunflower oil, and maize supplies, as well as food security and aid. These disruptions have revealed vulnerabilities, including the impact on the agri-food supply chains' capacity to remain coherent and resilient in the face of uncertainty. Due to the concerns regarding food security and climate change, alongside the perishability and seasonality nature of agri-food products, it is considered essential to find innovative solutions for agri-food organisations. In response, organisations are looking at ways to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to safeguard and enable resilient agri-food supply chains. Thus, developing the capabilities of agri-food supply chains to be ready, responsive, and able to recover and adapt to unplanned and planned interruptions promote the sustainability of food systems. Against this background, this doctoral research aims to explore the role of AI technologies as an enabler of building resilient agri-food supply chains. This qualitative interpretivist study draws on the insights from practitioners at four agri-food companies located in Ireland and Kuwait that operate in large, complex regional and global supply chains. In doing so, this study advances understanding of the contextual differences in agri-food supply chains related to AI implementation and responding to disruptions. Data collection in this study has been conducted through twenty-four semi-structured interviews and direct observations, which have been analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of this study reveal several types of disruptions (i.e., boycotting campaigns, container shortage, geopolitical instability,) that have significant impact on agri-food supply chains. In addition, the results reveal how AI-based systems enhance the four dimensions of resilience (i.e., readiness, responsiveness, recovery, and adaptability) in agri-food supply chains. Building on these results, the dissertation presents a conceptual framework that demonstrates how AI technologies interact with disruptions and the dimensions of resilience to achieve resilient AI-based agri-food supply chains. This study also contributes to providing empirical insights based on the agri-food practices to explore the benefits and main challenges of AI implementation. Further, the thesis contributes to the agri-food practice through providing guidelines E-Thesis Swansea University artificial intelligence, agri-food supply chain, resilience, disruptions 5 3 2026 2026-03-05 10.23889/SUThesis.71603 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Dennehy, D., Dwivedi, Y., and Zhao, G. Doctoral Ph.D 2026-03-10T11:04:45.3118896 2026-03-10T10:22:23.4863201 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management ENJOUD ALHASAWI 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2026-03-10T10:50:45.9944081 Output 3884595 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2030-12-31T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: the author, Enjoud Abdullah Alhasawi, 2026. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait
spellingShingle	Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait ENJOUD ALHASAWI
title_short	Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait
title_full	Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait
title_fullStr	Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait
title_full_unstemmed	Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait
title_sort	Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait
author_id_str_mv	14c08f25cfe8d32ec61e7bf7475b74a3
author_id_fullname_str_mv	14c08f25cfe8d32ec61e7bf7475b74a3_***_ENJOUD ALHASAWI
author	ENJOUD ALHASAWI
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institution	Swansea University
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department_str	School of Management - Business Management{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Business Management
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description	The volatile geopolitical landscape (i.e., Red Sea shipping disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war, and various economic trade wars), combined with the increasingly evident effect of climate change, is wreaking chaos on regional and global agri-food supply chains. Agri-food supply chain disruptions are no longer confined to farmers and food distributors they can have serious repercussions in areas critical to the well-being of economies and societies in both developed and developing countries. For example, the Russia-Ukraine war is impacting global wheat, sunflower oil, and maize supplies, as well as food security and aid. These disruptions have revealed vulnerabilities, including the impact on the agri-food supply chains' capacity to remain coherent and resilient in the face of uncertainty. Due to the concerns regarding food security and climate change, alongside the perishability and seasonality nature of agri-food products, it is considered essential to find innovative solutions for agri-food organisations. In response, organisations are looking at ways to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to safeguard and enable resilient agri-food supply chains. Thus, developing the capabilities of agri-food supply chains to be ready, responsive, and able to recover and adapt to unplanned and planned interruptions promote the sustainability of food systems. Against this background, this doctoral research aims to explore the role of AI technologies as an enabler of building resilient agri-food supply chains. This qualitative interpretivist study draws on the insights from practitioners at four agri-food companies located in Ireland and Kuwait that operate in large, complex regional and global supply chains. In doing so, this study advances understanding of the contextual differences in agri-food supply chains related to AI implementation and responding to disruptions. Data collection in this study has been conducted through twenty-four semi-structured interviews and direct observations, which have been analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of this study reveal several types of disruptions (i.e., boycotting campaigns, container shortage, geopolitical instability,) that have significant impact on agri-food supply chains. In addition, the results reveal how AI-based systems enhance the four dimensions of resilience (i.e., readiness, responsiveness, recovery, and adaptability) in agri-food supply chains. Building on these results, the dissertation presents a conceptual framework that demonstrates how AI technologies interact with disruptions and the dimensions of resilience to achieve resilient AI-based agri-food supply chains. This study also contributes to providing empirical insights based on the agri-food practices to explore the benefits and main challenges of AI implementation. Further, the thesis contributes to the agri-food practice through providing guidelines
published_date	2026-03-05T05:35:11Z
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score	11.099403

Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler of Resilience in Agri-food Supply Chains: A Multi-case Analysis in Ireland and Kuwait / ENJOUD ALHASAWI

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