Purpose: Considering the last-mile delivery service supply chain as a social-ecological system rather than just a firm-based service system, this research exploit the COVID-19 pandemic disruption to investigate how the supply chain develops resilience from a viewpoint that integrates a social-ecological perspective with the traditional engineering one.Design/methodology/approach: This research adopt a multi-case study approach using qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews with executive-level managers from nine leading UK last-mile delivery companies. Data analysis is guided by a research framework which is developed by combining the social-ecological perspective with the structure–conduct–performance paradigm. This framework aids the investigation of the impacts of external challenges on companies' resilience strategies and practices, as well as performance, in response to disruptions.Findings: The research identifies three distinct pathways to resilience development: stabilization, focussing on bouncing back to the original normal; adaptation, involving evolutionary changes to a new normal; transformation, involving revolutionary changes in pursuit of a new normal-plus. Three strategic orientations are identified as operating across these pathways: people orientation, digital orientation, and learning orientation.Originality/value: In contrast to the manufacturing supply chain focus of most current research, this research concentrates on the service supply chain, investigating its resilience with a social-ecological perspective alongside the traditional engineering one.

With the surge in online purchases, customers' requirement for last-mile delivery also increases. This study focuses on the express delivery service, the primary channel in last-mile delivery, to discover the factors influence customers' use. Based on the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, a conceptual model is proposed to structure the hypothetical effects between the constructs performance expectancy in delivery speed and delivery reliability, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and behavioural intention. A 5-year (2015–2019) longitudinal survey was conducted in the UK, and 3964 responses were collected to validate the model. The results indicate that the performance expectancy in delivery reliability has a positive impact on customers' behaviour intention to adopt an express delivery service, while the performance expectancy in delivery speed, unexpectedly, shows insignificant impact. Moreover, the effort expectancy was found to have no effect on behaviour intention; however, the facilitating conditions have a negative influence.