Development-Aid Supply Chains for Economic Development and Post-Disaster Recovery

This study seeks to conceptualize supply chains that use funding from large donors or governments for long-term recovery following a disaster, or more generally, for economic development in a region. We call these development-aid supply chains (DASC) distinct from commercial or humanitarian supply chains. With little available formally on DASCs in the literature, we carried out a field study across five solar lantern supply chains in Haiti set up for recovery following the massive 2010 earthquake. Stakeholder resource-based view allowed us to use stakeholder theory, utility theory, and the resource-based view in analyzing how these supply chains work. We observed how donor cash in these supply chains brings together global original equipment manufacturers; national-level distributors; impact investors; microfinance institutions; retailers; and micro-entrepreneurs. Many of these entities are social enterprises that bridge development-minded donors with commercially oriented retailers and micro-entrepreneurs. The result of these bridging efforts is the flow of goods, cash, and social impact data. Our conceptual model flags the problem that donor funding, while crucial for reducing deprivation in the short term, may increase the dependence on aid rather than reduce it.