The Impact of Supply Chain Management Research: You Can't Unring a Bell!

With the assistance of 12 guest editors, the Journal of Business Logistics (JBL) has initiated a sequence of special topics forums (STFs) intended to stimulate research on themes that are both fundamental and timely. In an attempt to complement the quality and depth of the impact of research published in JBL, the objective of this strategy is to continue to increase the breadth of the impact of JBL on research in our discipline. A small number of articles have the preponderance of impact: 1% of the articles published in JBL account for over 20% of all JBL citations and half of the articles account for 95% of all citations. Our selection of the STFs is aimed at increasing the breadth of impact of the research published in JBL. Each STF that is discussed in this Editorial addresses relevant and timely research questions that should have a lasting impact on theory and practice.     

Ensuring Impact: Thought Leadership in Logistics and Supply Chain Research

Achieving impact in research is the goal of any singular article and for the journal, in total. This editorial helps to define how impact in scholarship and practice is achieved in the Journal of Business Logistics. We encourage scholars to “get out ahead” of practice by identifying problems that truly matter to industry and to conduct those inquiries using state‐of‐the‐art methods, such that relevance, rigor, and impact are fully realized.     

A Natural Resource Scarcity Typology: Theoretical Foundations and Strategic Implications for Supply Chain Management

World population growth and increased consumption stemming from economic leveling are leading to scarcity of a number of natural resources on a global scale. Scarcity of critical natural resources such as oil, water, food, and precious metals has the potential to greatly impact commercial activity as the twenty‐first century progresses. The challenge of continuing to provide needed goods and services in the face of these constraints falls to supply chain managers, who are ultimately responsible for delivering utility to customers. Unfortunately, there has been almost no research focused on supply chain strategies aimed at mitigating natural resource scarcity’s (NRS) potential effects. The current research positions NRS as a supply chain risk and proposes an NRS typology based on key resource attributes. Supply chain mitigation strategies to counter each resource status are offered, with an overall objective of improving supply chain performance. The study recommends future research aimed at further developing theory and methods for countering NRS based on resource, systems and behavioral theories. In addition, this study has critical implications for practitioners faced with the growing threat of NRS in their supply chains.     

Multidisciplinary and Multimethod Research for Addressing Contemporary Supply Chain Challenges

To achieve differential performance in today’s marketplace, supply chain decision makers must manage complex, multifaceted, and nuanced issues. To help decision makers, and advance the supply chain discipline, researchers need to consider how multidisciplinary and/or multimethod research can provide greater insight into today’s and tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities. We explore questions related to the supply chain–finance interface and global supply chain management to exemplify how multidisciplinary and multimethod research can increase the insight and influence of our research contributions.     

Trajectories for Driving the Diffusion of e-Negotiation Service Providers in Supply Chains: An Action Research Approach

ABSTRACT

The recent proliferation of online-based trade makes negotiations with service providers for global supply networks evermore challenging. The Internet is believed to be a viable means for enabling and facilitating these supply chain interactions. As such, commercial web-based services that support negotiation processes have emerged (i.e., e-negotiation services). Even though these services have promising benefits for supply chain participants, they have not been accepted by most business users. Current e-negotiation studies fail to capture the substantive reasons of this low acceptance as they typically ignore real-world aspects of commercial negotiations. As such, this study argues that an action research approach is a plausible means to study this issue, and to drive changes in the e-negotiations services market. Accordingly, a research plan is outlined with guidelines and recommendations for future action research projects.     

Inquiry and the Practice of Theoretical Conversation: Engaging in Dialogue to Elaborate Hidden Connections

Our goal at JBL is not just to provide a forum for theoretical conversation but also to proactively invite more insightful and interactive conversation. As active inquiry and open dialogue are critical to achieving this goal, we discuss the nature of inquiry and argue for developing the skills and conditions required to promote dialogue over discussion. Only through more profound dialogue can we address the challenges of a tumultuous decision‐making environment, advance theoretical understanding, and improve managerial practice. We then introduce “Dialogue,” a new feature at JBL, which will consist of concise statements of alternative perspectives and diverse views. Through Dialogue, we invite members of the supply chain community to join colleagues in a grand adventure of knowledge discovery. We hope you will agree that the quest for understanding is more fun when we travel the path of discovery together.     

Adding Relevance to Rigor in Research: The JBL Practitioner Panel

The logistics and supply chain fields find themselves at an interesting point in time, where disruptive technologies and innovative business models reframe our notions of relevance. Business professionals face unprecedented challenges for which academic research can enlighten and lead practice. We call for the research community to take up this challenge, and we feature a new JBL Practitioner Panel that can help to illuminate the most pressing issues calling for research focus.     

Mapping the Landscape of Future Research Themes in Supply Chain Management

Supply chain researchers are confronted with a dizzying array of research questions, many of which are not mutually independent. This research was motivated by the need to map the landscape of research themes, identify potential overlapping areas and interactions, and provide guidelines on areas of focus for researchers to pursue. We conducted a three‐phase research study, beginning with an open‐ended collection of opinions on research themes collected from 102 supply chain management (SCM) researchers, followed by an evaluation of a consolidated list of themes by 141 SCM researchers. These results were then reviewed by 10 SCM scholars. Potential interactions and areas of overlap were identified, classified, and integrated into a compelling set of ideas for future research in the field of SCM. We believe these ideas provide a forward‐looking view on those themes that will become important, as well as those that researchers believe should be focused on. While areas of research deemed to become most important include big data and analytics, the most under‐researched areas include efforts that target the “people dimension” of SCM, ethical issues and internal integration. The themes are discussed in the context of current developments that the authors believe will provide a valuable foundation for future research.     

Supply Chain Management at the Crossroads: Divergent Views,Potential Impacts,and Suggested Paths Forward

The academic field of supply chain management (SCM) is comprised of scholars holding four different worldviews based on their academic heritages. This situation presents both threats and opportunities for SCM scholarship and practice. In this brief paper, we explain why we see this occurring, and actions that academics might take in order to form a more cohesive and effective SCM discipline.     

供应链整合与企业竞争优势关系研究

本文认为,从竞争优势外生理论来看,供应链整合战略应与企业竞争战略相匹配,其核心在于供应链成员企业之间核心竞争力的整合,有利于建立差异性优势和低成本优势;从基于资源的竞争优势理论来看,供应链整合性资源具有战略性资源的特征,有助于企业获取战略性资源和能力,促进企业竞争优势的建立和巩固;从基于能力的竞争优势理论看,供应链整合包括内部供应链能力整合与外部供应链能力整合,在激烈的竞争环境下,企业必须具备多种能力来管理环境,通过学习外部组织的特殊技能,可以改善企业内部的能力,促使企业具备多种能力来适应环境变化;从网络组织理论来看,将产业上下游企业或其他资源提供机构视为经营合作者,并利用整合的管理方式建立一个具有共同目标的合作性企业网络,是当前竞争环境下的必然趋势。     

供应链管理实践、供应链敏捷性对企业绩效的影响研究

市场竞争逐渐由企业间的竞争转化为供应链间的竞争,供应链管理日益受到关注。文章采集163家企业信息进行实证分析,探索供应链管理实践和供应链敏捷性对企业绩效的影响与作用机制。研究结果表明：供应链管理实践对企业绩效具有直接正向影响,供应链管理实践对供应链敏捷性具有直接正向影响,供应链敏捷性对企业绩效具有直接正向影响且在供应链管理实践与企业绩效之间发挥部分中介作用。     

Interdisciplinary Research in SCM: Through the Lens of the Behavioral Theory of the Firm

To accelerate research discoveries—those required to address paramount challenges facing business today—researchers from diverse disciplines must work together. Interdisciplinary research (IDR) is a research that involves bringing together perspectives from two or more disciplines in an integrative manner to address complex and multifaceted supply chain management (SCM) problems. IDR is needed to address contemporary business challenges. We look at SCM research through the lens of the Behavioral Theory of the Firm (BTF) drawing parallels in research evolution and noting similar antecedents in theoretical development. We point to the advances BTF has offered to organizational theory built on IDR and consider the possibilities for SCM. We make a case for methodological diversity in supporting this research, further paralleling lessons from BTF. Last, we describe the state of IDR in SCM today, discuss the objective of this special issue, and showcase the five contributing papers.     

The building blocks of a supply chain management theory: Using factor market rivalry for supply chain theorizing

As the supply chain discipline matures, opportunities emerge to develop or define theories that are specific to supply chain phenomenon. The current research specifies characteristics that we offer which comprise the building blocks of supply chain theory. These characteristics include the flows of material through a supply chain network, the temporal management of these material flows, the dyadic and triadic interactions of firms within the supply chain network, and the outward focus on supply chain management (SCM), in other words a supply chain orientation, of firms in a supply chain. Further, recognizing that supply chain theories must contain the previously identified characteristics, we offer Factor Market Rivalry (FMR) as a theory of SCM. FMR refers to intense battles for resource positions that are needed to manufacture, provide, or deliver firm products or services. We argue that FMR only occurs within supply chain phenomena. The piece concludes with a future research agenda based upon the practical implications of further developing FMR as a theory of SCM.     

供应链分工情境下内贸流通研究的理论主题

随着生产要素的跨国流动和信息资源的全球共享,国别界限和空间分离不再成为限制市场范围和分工发展的主要因素;借由模块化网络,特定产品的生产可以被拆分为一系列独立模块,当这些模块被离散分布至不同国家的不同企业进行并经由核心企业的集中组织而完成最终生产,便构成了供应链分工的典型情境。这种分工使整体贸易活动的理论逻辑发生变化,内贸流通在其中的角色发生转换。供应链分工情境为内贸流通理论提供了新的逻辑起点,更新了内贸流通的研究主题,是流通基础理论发展的重要现实依据。     

A supply chain management framework for services

While services represent the largest sector of the global economy, 86.8% in the United States, most supply chain management (SCM) research is focused on product flows. Executives in manufacturing firms have benefited from frameworks created to implement SCM processes, but this is not the case for their counterparts in service companies. The two most cited SCM frameworks for services have methodological and conceptual deficiencies. Drawing upon the service-dominant logic of marketing and using an empirical research approach, we developed supply chain structure maps for nine service firms. Our findings indicate that the supply chain structure maps of service companies are comparable to those in the product-based literature, which supports the service-dominant logic. Then, we identified the six key processes that constitute a framework to manage service supply chains. The customer relationship management and the supplier relationship management processes form the critical links in the supply chain, and the other four processes are coordinated through this linkage. The SCM framework for services provides direction for executives in service firms who need to increase cross-functional integration within their firms and with other members of the supply chain. For academics, 12 avenues for future research are identified.     

Supply Chain Disruption Management: Severe Events,Recovery, and Performance

Given their proclivity to occur despite managers' best efforts, disruptions often result in lost sales, lead to large financial losses, and have a negative impact on shareholder wealth and operating performance. Less attention, however, has been paid to improving the process of managing a disruption from its discovery through to complete recovery. This entire process is not, in fact, fully understood. Clearer insights are needed surrounding the following issues: factors influencing the recovery process, how those factors interact to play a role in managerial decision making, and the company's actual ability to recover. While it is possible to determine basic recovery process factors, a more complete picture of disruption management can be built from analysis of data collected through qualitative in‐depth interviews. This research delivers insights around the interactions and relationships among factors, providing the foundation for a set of propositions useful for further investigation in the following areas: discovery of the disruption event, causes of the event, and recovery performance. One finding indicates that while internal disruptions are faster to recover from, they more likely lead to negative perceptions about the recovery performance outcome.     

物流企业快速成长的战略杠杆:供应链金融

随着现代金融制度及管理模式的创新,金融体制必将发生深刻的变革,而这种变革又将带来更加适合竞争与发展的新型金融管理模式。供应链金融就是为中小物流企业量身定做的一种新型融资模式。在供应链金融实际应用过程中,可根据主体具体情况的不同采取不同的融资流程和方式,但都不可避免地会存在一定的风险。为更好地促进物流企业快速成长,在供应链金融实际应用过程中,应从供应链自身存在的风险、供应链金融业务中涉及到的信用风险、运营风险、法律风险等角度出发,对供应链金融业务风险进行深入分析,并针对相应的风险采取相应的规避措施,如政府带头培育良好的信用环境和法律环境,在供应链金融实施过程中选择好产业链群,商业银行加快构建较为完善的风险控制体系,建立供应链保障机制。     

Supply Chain Networks and Electronic Commerce: A Theoretical Perspective

In this paper, we develop a framework for the formulation, analysis, and computation of solutions to supply chain network problems in the presence of electronic commerce. Specifically, we consider manufacturers who are involved in the production of a homogeneous product and can now sell and have delivered the product not only to retailers but also directly to consumers. In addition, the manufacturers can transact with the retailers electronically. We assume that both the manufacturers and the retailers seek to maximize their profits, whereas the consumers take both the prices charged by the retailers and the manufacturers, along with the associated transaction costs, in making their consumption decisions. We identify the network structure of the problem, derive the equilibrium conditions, and establish the finite-dimensional variational inequality formulation. We then utilize variational inequality theory to obtain qualitative properties of the equilibrium pattern. In addition, we propose a continuous time adjustment process for the study of the disequilibrium dynamics and establish that the set of stationary points of the resulting projected dynamical system coincides with the set of solutions of the variational inequality problem. Finally, we apply an algorithm for the determination of equilibrium prices and product shipments in several supply chain examples. This paper synthesizes Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) decision-making in a supply chain context within the same framework.     

Siloed Perceptions in Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Risk Management: A Brazilian Perspective

Abstract

This article maps risk perception across the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) in Brazil. Our paper employs the method orders-of-magnitude analytic hierarchy process to rank risks as perceived by industry, distributors, hospitals and pharmacies. We show that players have a siloed perception of risk and impact of those risks. While upstream players emphasize cost, downstream players value service; moreover, both prioritize operational risks over strategic risks. We call for further studies in Latin America: although interest in risk is growing, few studies address the PSC and even fewer realities outside the Northern Hemisphere.