sustainability Article Resilience and Digitalization in Short Food Supply Chains: A Case Study Approach Rosario Michel-Villarreal 1 , Eliseo Luis Vilalta-Perdomo 2 , Maurizio Canavari 3, * and Martin Hingley 4   Citation: Michel-Villarreal, R.; Vilalta-Perdomo, E.L.; Canavari, M.; Hingley, M. Resilience and Digitalization in Short Food Supply Chains: A Case Study Approach. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5913. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115913 Academic Editor: Luigi Roselli Received: 13 April 2021 Accepted: 18 May 2021 Published: 24 May 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 School of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6JS, UK; rosario.michel-villarreal@rau.ac.uk 2 Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK; e.vilaltaperdomo@aston.ac.uk 3 Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy 4 Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN5 7AT, UK; mhingley@lincoln.ac.uk * Correspondence: maurizio.canavari@unibo.it; Tel.: +39-051-209-6108 Abstract: The interest in short food supply chains (SFSCs) has grown significantly in the last decade, notably in respect of their potential role to achieve more sustainable food chains. However, a major barrier to achieving sustainable supply chains is the uncertainty associated with supply chain activities. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the different resilience capabilities that SFSCs possess and the potential role of digital technologies as enablers of SFSCs’ resilience. Using a case study research approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted in two SFSCs in Mexico. Collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings suggest that SFSCs possess the supply chain resilience (SC resilience) capabilities investigated here, namely flexibility, redundancy, collaboration, visibility and agility. A key finding is the importance of low-cost digital technologies (including freeware and social media) that can support flexibility, collaboration, visibility and agility. These findings raise important implications for SFSCs actors exploring opportunities to improve their collective resilience. This study expands the current literature by proposing a conceptual framework that summarizes a wide variety of strategies that support SC resilience capabilities in the context of SFSCs. Keywords: alternative food networks; resilient agri-food chains; digital transformation; local food systems 1. Introduction Food Supply Chains (FSC) are engaged in a process of reinvention. Climate change, the sustainable development goals, and the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in further tensions within traditional FSC and changes in consumers’ behaviors [1–4]. Even though food systems have been able to deal with the exceptional challenges that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic [5], consumers, organization managers and researchers continue looking at developing FSC resilience to cope with sources of unexpected turbu- lence. Supply chains are expected to regain their original configuration soon after any natural disaster (such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and diseases), accidents or intentional disruptions (such as strike action, acts of terrorism or sabotage) [6]. The ability to anticipate and prepare for such disruptions seems fundamental to succeed in this endeavor [7]. Some of the suggested strategies for achieving this are to increase FSC resilience by shortening the supply chain [8] and the use of digital technologies [9]. With regards to shortening the supply chain, Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have been gaining attention in food systems research during the last decade. SFSCs comprise a wide variety of initiatives, such as community-supported agriculture (CSA), farmers’ markets and farmer shops, often characterized by geographical and relational proximity, local food and commitment to co-operation [8]. Several benefits are expected Sustainability 2021, 13, 5913. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115913 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability