DOCTORAL RESEARCH IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND/OR LOGISTICS‐RELATED AREAS: 1999–2004

A total of 410 entries from Dissertation Abstracts have been identified and annotated in this fourth compendium of supply chain management (SCM) and logistics‐related dissertations. Findings relating to this latest study period (1999–2004) are presented and comparisons made to previous compendiums covering 1970–1986, 1987–1991, and 1992–1998. A larger number of colleges and universities are granting degrees in SCM and logistics‐related areas and some “new players” have entered the marketplace, resulting in an upward growth trend in the absolute number of dissertations being published since the early‐1990's. Some traditionally strong institutions have maintained their position in terms of the number of SCM and logistics‐related dissertations published, while others have reduced their outputs. Areas of SCM, decision support systems, inventory management and miscellaneous transportation (models, networks, policy issues, routing & scheduling) topics are the most popular dissertation areas, while traditional transportation, warehousing and storage, DRP, JIT, Kanban, and MRP topics are being researched to a much lesser degree. Engineering logistics, human resources, location analysis, order processing and information systems, packaging, and TQM remain areas with low research interest at the doctoral level.     

Logistics Information System Evaluation: Assessing External Technology Integration and Supporting Organizational Learning

Firms often outsource the development and acquisition of logistics information systems (LIS) needed to improve logistics processes. Managers tasked with such outsourcing decisions often struggle to understand and balance the external technology's impact on existing logistics processes, individual stakeholders, firm strategies, and the financial and operational performance of the firm. Unfortunately, research is limited on (1) methods for evaluating the performance capabilities of systems from external sources prior to full implementation, and (2) the impact of external technology integration (ETI) on organizational behavior and learning related to a firm's logistics processes. Through the lens of organizational learning (OL) theory, this research uses a case study approach to examine the transportation division of a major U.S.‐based fuel retailer to gain insights on the management control of ETI efforts. The study builds theory to fill important literature gaps then develops a conceptual framework and supporting propositions to inform future research on logistics ETI. The findings highlight important OL implications for firms involved in ETI efforts and also provide a practically relevant management control tool that can be used by logistics practitioners.     

LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE: EFFICIENCY,EFFECTIVENESS, AND DIFFERENTIATION

This research examines the nature of logistics performance and the contribution of logistics to the firm by empirically investigating the impact of logistics performance on organizational performance. Logistics performance is tested as a second‐order formative construct comprised of three dimensions: logistics efficiency; logistics effectiveness; and logistics differentiation. Results indicate that logistics performance positively impacts organizational performance. Theoretical and empirical support is also provided for measuring logistics performance as a second‐order formative construct, indicating that efficiency, effectiveness, and differentiation are not necessarily trade‐offs, but rather are complementary. Importantly, perceptual measures for organizational performance collected from managerial respondents were strongly correlated with secondary financial data for participating organizations obtained from Compustat, lending empirical credence to the logistics performance–organizational performance relationship.     

INFORMATION SUPPORT FOR REVERSE LOGISTICS: THE INFLUENCE OF RELATIONSHIP COMMITMENT

The use of reverse logistics systems is becoming more common as firms realize the value that can be reclaimed from returned goods. This study investigates the influence of information systems (IS) support activity on reverse logistics performance, as well as the moderating effects of relationship commitment within reverse logistics arrangements. In a survey of CEOs of U.S. catalog sales electronics companies, information systems support is found to moderately affect two separate performance constructs related to reverse logistics programs. The research also indicates relationship commitment is critical to more fully realizing the value of IS support in reverse logistics arrangements.     

MARKETING/LOGISTICS RELATIONSHIPS: INFLUENCE ON CAPABILITIES AND PERFORMANCE

Effective marketing/logistics relationships can help to create, develop, and maintain critical capabilities to support long‐term firm success. Recent research focuses on two distinct capabilities—information capabilities and firm‐wide integration. Empirical results are provided confirming the proposed relationship between marketing logistics relationship effectiveness and the two capabilities. Further, the capabilities are shown to positively impact logistics performance.     

LINKING STRATEGY,STRUCTURE, PROCESS,AND PERFORMANCE IN INTEGRATED LOGISTICS

The current research was undertaken to present and test a framework of supply chain logistics integration that synthesizes current logistics thought with an established theory of organizational design. The framework portrays performance as an outcome of appropriate alignment between strategy, structure, and processes. The results support the contention that a firm that pursues a relational strategy, develops information and measurement structures to support relational processes, and then uses these tools to implement and execute integrated operations will experience high levels of logistical performance. In addition, the results indicate that superior logistics performance is related to simultaneous integration of internal and external operational processes.     

数字信息技术在物流管理中的应用

本文介绍了数字物流系统的相关概念,并对数字物流的架构、数字物流的功能、数字物流的特点以及数字信息技术应用于物流管理的意义进行了探讨。加强各种物流功能和物流形成的联系,打破了传统物流条件中各环节分立带来的不利影响。这既有利于提高我国大量闲置物流资源的利用率,同时也有利于中小物流企业向现代化、网络化、信息化的过渡。     

THE ROLE OF LOGISTICS IN MARKET ORIENTATION

In today's increasingly competitive environment, survival depends on two key aspects of being market‐oriented ‐ understanding the external environment and executing decisions based on that understanding. Logistics personnel are uniquely positioned to play a key role in creating and maintaining a market‐oriented organization as they are progressively gaining more responsibilities in integrating cross‐functional processes and implementing supply chain strategies. This paper explores how logisticians participate in market orientation behaviors and how a market‐oriented logistics function impacts logistics and business performance. Based on a qualitative field research study involving in‐depth interviews with seventeen logistics personnel that draws and builds upon the logistics, market orientation, knowledge management, organizational behavior, information processing, and strategic management literatures, a theoretical model of logistics market orientation and its effect on logistics and business performance is developed and propositions are presented. Findings highlight logistics' central role in generating, disseminating, reaching a shared interpretation of, and responding to market intelligence.     

CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE INTERNET‐ENABLED LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN: WEBSITE DESIGN ANTECEDENTS AND LOYALTY EFFECTS

This article extends the existing research on logistics customer service‐loyalty relationships to the online logistics supply chain environment by examining potential website determinants of logistics customer service quality. A structural equation analysis of 373 online shopping transactions suggests that perceived quality of all logistics customer service activities (perceived cycle time, in‐stock availability, and customer responsiveness) varies inversely with: (1) perceived ease of use, and (2) content vividness of the website; and positively with product information content. However, only retailer customer responsiveness assessment was found to have any significant influence on consumer intended loyalty behavior in Internet‐enabled supplies chains.     

PRODUCT RETURNS PROCESSING: AN EXAMINATION OF PRACTICES OF MANUFACTURERS,WHOLESALERS/DISTRIBUTORS,AND RETAILERS

Few research studies have published specific empirical data regarding the reverse logistics practices of companies. This multi‐stage study employed interviews, site visits, and a mail survey to collect responses from 230 members of the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) regarding their reverse logistics practices. Results suggest that in spite of the growing importance of reverse logistics, few executives have product return processing as their primary responsibility and often undertake this activity along with other job responsibilities. Most firms handle the product returns process themselves and typically within the same facilities that handle forward logistics. Returning items directly to stock, repackaging and returning to stock, and selling as scrap, were the three top disposition options employed by firms. Results indicate that, contrary to general understanding, the majority of retailers and wholesalers reported a recovery rate of over 75% of product cost. Several hypotheses developed from the published literature on reverse logistics were tested. In many instances, these hypotheses were formulated on anecdotal information or single case studies and had not been empirically tested prior to this research being conducted.     

THE EFFECT OF INVESTMENT IN INTERORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN A RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN

The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of investment in information technology in a supply chain. The results of that investigation are presented by focusing on an empirically tested supply chain relationship model containing both behavioral and operational constructs. The four behavioral constructs represented in the model are relationship trust, relationship commitment, relationship dependence, and long‐term relationship orientation. The four operational constructs represented in the model are retailer investment in interorganizational information technology, perceived supplier investment in interorganizational information technology, logistics efficiency, and logistics effectiveness. Among other findings, the results of the investigation found that perceived supplier investment in interorganizational information technology has a significant and positive effect on logistics efficiency.     

Why Collaborate in a Physical Internet Network?—Motives and Success Factors

The vision of the Physical Internet (PI) involves both sharing logistics resources and information exchange within an open network. The implementation of PI is seen as a promising contribution toward sustainable logistics. This paper investigates motives for and success factors in collaborating in a PI network. We apply an interpretive case‐based research approach involving four shippers and three logistics service providers (LSPs) that operate in a PI network. Motives are defined as the reasons that encourage an organization to enter the PI network. Success factors are conditions required for organizations to continue collaborating in a PI network. This is the first PI study conducted in a multi‐industry context. The findings demonstrate the central and neutral orchestration of resources (i.e., physical, digital/intangible, and relational resources) as a substantial and multi‐faceted issue in PI and continuous PI collaboration. A well‐accepted theory (Resource‐Based View) and its most recent extension (Resource Orchestration Theory—ROT) frame and guide our research. ROT informs the deployment of physical, digital/intangible, and relational resources by a neutral orchestrator in a PI network. The knowledge of motives and success factors allows the development of future user‐oriented PI services that are likely to be accepted by shippers and LSPs.     

DOCTORAL RESEARCH IN LOGISTICS AND LOGISTICS‐RELATED AREAS: 1992–1998

A total of 317 logistics and logistics‐related dissertations were published in Dissertation Abstracts between 1992 and 1998. Observations about these dissertation abstracts are offered and comparisons made with earlier research studies that examined dissertations published between 1970–1986 and 1987–1991. The number of dissertations published has plateaued although the number of colleges and universities granting doctoral degrees in the area have broadened, with several “new players” entering the arena. Some traditional topics within logistics are being researched to a lesser degree, while others such as supply chain management, general logistics, customer service/satisfaction, international logistics, and human resources/organizational issues, are being examined more frequently.     

The Role of Social Mechanisms in Demand and Supply Integration: An Individual Network Perspective

In many industries, including retail, increased complexity of marketing strategies needs to be met with increased efficiency in product delivery, requiring integration across demand and supply facing functions of the firm. For frontline logistics employees (FLEs) of manufacturing firms who are delivering and marketing products in retail stores daily, the ability to understand both the marketing and supply implications of their actions is essential. Despite the importance of cross‐functional integration at the retail frontline, little logistics research has explored how logistics frontline employees interact with managers and each other to integrate knowledge and information. The purpose of this research is to examine the antecedents to cross‐functional integration across demand and supply functions in multiple social networks of the FLE. Mixed methods, including social network analysis, structural equation modeling, and analysis of variance, are applied to test social capital theory hypotheses regarding the impact of relational embeddedness and social mechanisms, socialization and shared interpretation, on individual demand and supply integration across friendship, key enabler, and ideation networks of the frontline employee.     

国外农产品绿色物流发展问题讨论综述

国外早期注重农产品物流质量安全、运输效率、成本降低等方面的研究,为农产品绿色物流发展研究打下了坚实的理论基础。有关绿色物流与绿色供应链、绿色生产与绿色消费的研究,为农产品绿色物流发展指明了方向,提供了动力。积极借鉴欧美、日本等发达国家农产品绿色物流发展经验,加强政府宏观调控力度,强化政府引导行为,加大财政税收支持力度,加快农村金融体制改革,建立农产品绿色物流发展的合作金融制度,建立基于物联网的农产品绿色物流信息网络体系,完善农产品绿色物流发展的政策法规制度,对于发展我国农产品绿色物流具有至关重要的作用。     

THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATION OF THE JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS AND ITS EVOLUTION BETWEEN 1978 AND 2007

Many logistics and supply chain management researchers have so far studied the nature of logistics and supply chain management research in terms of its domain and scope, its epistemological assumptions, and its evolution. However, the knowledge repository on which the scientific research community draws, that is, its intellectual foundation, has not yet been studied. Studying the intellectual foundation of research provides an unbiased and comprehensive picture of the development, dissemination, and utilization of its knowledge. In this article, we identify the most contributive works—in terms of citations received—that have been used in 497 articles published in the Journal of Business Logistics (JBL) between 1978 and 2007. By means of citation and co‐citation analysis, the intellectual structure of research in JBL is revealed and transformations therein are explored. Overall, the most frequently‐cited literature can be classified into six themes: physical distribution; inventory models; customer service; interorganizational relationships; competitive strategy; and empirical methodologies for socio‐scientific research. Furthermore, we determined a development in citation frequencies to these themes: literature related to physical distribution and inventory management declined over the three decades under study, whereas literature related to competitive strategy and empirical methods gained in importance. This development indicates a shift from an operational focus to a prioritization of managerial issues. Moreover, our results demonstrate a shift towards more relational and institutional research in logistics (management), which has been typically linked with the notion of supply chain management since the 1990's.     

现代企业回收废弃物信息管理系统浅析

随着生产技术的进步,社会活动日益复杂化,人们的日常生活管理工作中越来越离不开信息。企业物流信息管理系统的研究成为企业必须面对的问题。加之现代企业对绿色物流的重视程度加深了,本文就是在这样的大前提下对现代企业回收废弃物信息管理系统进行相关研究。     

SWARM INTELLIGENCE: APPLICATION OF THE ANT COLONY OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM TO LOGISTICS‐ORIENTED VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEMS

This research evaluates a set of logistics‐oriented vehicle routing problems (VRP) taken from the logistics and supply chain literature under the widely used Clark‐Wright Savings algorithm and the newer metaheuristic method employing a type of swarm intelligence called Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). ACO simulates the decision‐making processes of colonies of ants as they forage for food and is related to other artificial intelligence techniques such as Tabu Search, Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithms. Experimentation shows that ACO is successful in finding solutions near the best‐known solutions for problems with up to 20 demand locations. In addition, testing for the affect of spatial patterns suggested by the logistics literature for facility locations appears to make a difference in the quality of the solutions for the two algorithms. Finally, ACO is shown to be superior to the savings algorithm found in software packages and as a result should be tested on even larger, more complex logistics‐oriented vehicle routing problems, representative of those encountered in larger industrial and retail settings.     

我国中小物流企业信息化的现状与发展思考

中国的物流企业中,中小企业占了大部分。绝大多数中小物流企业尚不具备运用信息技术处理物流信息的能力。拥有信息系统的企业,其信息化需求也多数属于底层需求,基础信息系统建设是目前信息化建设的主要内容。本文从中小物流企业信息化的现状出发,分析了制约中小物流企业发展的几大瓶颈问题,总结了中小物流企业信息化发展的对策。     

Blockchain in Additive Manufacturing and its Impact on Supply Chains

Additive manufacturing (AM) appears to be a particularly attractive use case for blockchain. This research combines inductive in‐depth interviews with the Delphi method to explore what potentials blockchain technology in AM creates, which adoption barriers firms need to overcome, and how supply chains will be affected by the integration of these two potentially disruptive technologies. The results suggest opportunities that are related to intellectual property (IP) rights management, the monitoring of printed parts throughout their lifecycle, process improvements, and data security. The most important barriers for blockchain adoption in AM are an absence of blockchain‐skilled specialists on the labor market, missing governance mechanisms, and a lack of firm‐internal technical expertise. By addressing important limitations of AM, blockchain is expected to improve the competitiveness of AM in parts’ production, catalyzing the trend toward more decentralized manufacturing resulting in more agile, resilient, and flexible supply chains and reduced logistics costs. Beyond that, blockchain‐based AM platforms are expected to enhance supply chain visibility, drive supply chain digitalization, support supply chain finance, and contribute to the emergence of shared factory systems.