Dynamic impact on global supply chains performance of disruptions propagation produced by terrorist acts

•Proposes a set of variables to analyze the propagation of disruptions on supply chains.•Use system dynamics as tool to simulate the disruptions phenomena.•Measures the disruptive impact of cross-border effect on supply chains.•Reports the high economic impact of terrorist acts disruption on supply chains.

Understanding disruptions and how their effects propagate through the supply chain is critical to promote security and efficient movement of goods. This research proposes a system dynamics model as an effective quantitative approach for analyzing the effects of the materialization and simultaneous propagation of disruptions produced by terrorist acts on global supply chains performance. The article shows that the impact on inventory levels in the supply chain can increase 600% compared to normal operating conditions as a result of increasing the security measures on international borders. Finally, useful conclusions for designing more resilient supply chains and future research are exposed.