Supply Chain Management Research Research Articles

Interaction Between Automation and Humans in Supply Chain Planning

Automation is transforming supply chain planning (SCP) processes, replacing human tasks with technological solutions. While automation offers efficiency gains, the interaction between humans and automated systems presents behavioral challenges. This study investigates how decision-makers in SCP processes learn to correct errors when interacting with automated demand forecasting systems versus human planners. Drawing from psychology and behavioral theories, we examine the effects of interaction type (automated system vs. human) on learning, operationalized as performance improvement over time. Further, we analyze whether this relationship is moderated by cognitive psychological traits (positive attitude towards technology, technology anxiety/dependence) and socio-psychological traits (social influence based on subjective norms, social influence based on image) of the human decision-maker. Our article contributes to supply chain management research by introducing automation-human interaction, providing a temporal learning perspective on performance, and integrating cognitive and socio-psychological moderators. Insights are offered on how to facilitate effective human-automation collaboration by managing socio-psychological influences. Limitations and future research opportunities, including cultural contexts and artificial intelligence, are discussed.

A design science approach to manage spare parts distribution: combining design logic and Goldratt’s thinking processes

PurposeDesign Science (DS) is a relatively new paradigm for addressing complex real-world problems through the design and evaluation of artifacts. Its constituent methodologies are currently being discussed and established in numerous related research fields, such as information systems and management (Hevner et al., 2004). However, a DS methodology that describes the “how to” is largely lacking, not only in the field of OM but in general. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) and its underlying thinking processes (TP) have produced several novel artifacts for addressing ill-structured real-world operations problems (Dettmer, 1997; Goldratt, 1994), but they have not been analyzed from a DS research standpoint. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how TOC’s thinking process methodology can be used for conducting exploratory DS research in Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM).Design/methodology/approachA case study of spare parts replenishment illustrates the use of TOC’s thinking processes in DS to structure an initially unstructured problem context and to facilitate the design of a novel solution.FindingsTOC’s thinking processes are an effective methodology for problem-solving DS research, enabling the development of novel solutions in initially unstructured and wicked problem situations. Combined with structured CIMO design logic TOC’s thinking process offers a systematic method for exploring wicked problems, designing novel solutions, and demonstrating theoretical contributions.Research limitations/implicationsThe implication for research is that TOC’s thinking process methodology can provide important elements of the lacking “how to” methodology for DS research, not only for the field of OM but in general for the field of management.Practical implicationsThe practical outcome of the research is a novel design for dynamic buffer-based replenishment that extends beyond organizational boundaries.Originality/valueThis work shows how the thinking processes can be used in DS research to develop rigorous design propositions for ill-structured problems.

Systematic Literature Review of Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management has become crucial in company development and competition since the late 20th century. The article provides a transparent definition of Supply Chain Management by examining the body of literature. It also explores the current state of research in Supply Chain Management and identifies potential areas for future research in forthcoming articles. The article analyzes the influential research of Supply Chain Management using various criteria, including disciplines, journals, countries, and authors' keywords. The analysis was based on a dataset of 76,493 articles obtained from the Elsevier and Springer databases between 2012 and 2022. The results reveal predominant involvement in disciplines such as Environmental Science (13,288; 17.37%), Medicine & Public Health (10,396; 13.59%), and Business & Management (8,498; 11.11%). The terms "Sustainability," "Green Supply Chain Management," and "Sustainable Supply Chain Management" underscore the shift towards integrating environmental concerns within Supply Chain Management, reflecting its growing significance in bolstering both operational efficiency and sustainability. The Systematic Literature Review further identifies a rapid integration of information technology into Supply Chain Management, indicating a crucial pivot towards digital solutions in managing supply chains more effectively.

Using middle‐range theorizing to advance supply chain management research: A how‐to primer and demonstration

AbstractMiddle‐range theory (MRT) refers to conceptualizations that apply to some, but not all, contexts. While MRT sacrifices generalizability, it yields rich, actionable insights in the contexts where it applies. With MRT's history of industry grounding, the supply chain field offers a strong fit for the development of MRT, but arguably this potential has been underexploited by supply chain management (SCM) researchers. Several conceptual articles have encouraged greater use of MRT and offered important tips, but no step‐by‐step demonstrations appear in the literature. Such a demonstration could guide supply chain scholars seeking to better implement MRT as well as lead other scholars to start pursuing MRT. In this article, we develop a five‐step process and apply it using an MRT (i.e., warm glow theory) and a series of experiments. The experiments focus on how local businesses might shape demand in their favor during societal crises. We discuss how the results inform local businesses and the crisis context but may have limited generalizability to other organizations and normal conditions. Overall, we describe and explain a systematic and viable approach, albeit not the only viable approach, for using MRT to advance SCM research.

Editorial: Navigating excellence: understanding and overcoming common causes of manuscript rejections in logistics and supply chain management research

Editorial: Navigating excellence: understanding and overcoming common causes of manuscript rejections in logistics and supply chain management research

Experiments in supply chain management research: A systematic review and future directions

AbstractThe supply chain management discipline has seen a tremendous growth in the use of experimental methods. Given the large number of published studies, the time seems opportune to systematically review the use of such approaches. In this note, we consider multiple dimensions of experimental design used in articles published in six of our premier journals. We present these findings and contemplate opportunities for future applications of experimental methods. In particular, we highlight a need to more regularly conduct and report on the results of power analyses and experimental checks, more carefully contemplate the justification and use of WEIRD (Western, educated, industrial, rich, and democratic) participants, develop and test mediated theoretical models, and increase our focus on teams as the unit of analysis when using experimental methods.

Broadening the Scope of Operations and Supply Chain Management Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Justice, Paradox, and Dialectical Lenses

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been gaining attention in operations and supply chain management (OSCM) research but is often narrowly framed and dominated by instrumental logic. We offer three lenses that potentially broaden the scope of this scholarship: justice, paradox, and dialectical. The justice logic frames DEI as primarily a moral concern of inequality in firms and supply chains. It goes against an instrumental, performance-driven approach to establishing DEI in OSCM. To understand the persistence of tensions in DEI implementation, we present a paradox lens and link it to OSCM through four major types of organizational paradoxes: performing, organizing, learning, and belonging. We employ a dialectical perspective to resolve these tensions and combine instrumental and justice logics to explore how the latter can help firms realize DEI's (often unfulfilled) performance potential. OSCM scholars are well placed to use justice, paradox, and dialectical lenses to assess pathways for realizing DEI's transformative potential through modeling, decision support, and empirical research. Such research can help managers pursue objectives that conflict with or go beyond instrumental DEI, thus contributing to substantive DEI implementation.

Industry-4, Big Data, and Blockchain Research Prospects in Supply Chain Domain

Purpose: Utilizing technologies becomes a prerequisite in the operations of supply chain management. Research in digitalized supply chain management (SCM) is now trending as a new arena of research. This study investigates and summarizes the research that has been performed so far in this area, and also explains what the future research scopes in the integration of digitalization and supply chain management are. Method: To execute this study, we carry out a systematic literature review by using numerous software (i.e., BiBexcel, Gephi, and VOSviewer) for clustering existing literature in digitalized SCM from the Web of Science. Result: Our findings suggest that Industry 4.0, Big data, Blockchain, and supply chain resilience are the four key categories in the research on digitalized SCM. Implications: This study explains the reasons behind the research in these four categories. This literature review helps researchers to build a comprehensive knowledge of the research status of digitalized SCM and contributes to the direction of future research in digitalized SCM that helps researchers to explore their further investigations in the combination of SCM and Industry 4.0, Big data, Blockchain, and supply chain resilience.

Brilliance in resilience: operations and supply chain management’s role in achieving a sustainable future

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to discuss how the mastery of resilience in operations and supply chains plays a significant role in the transition to a more sustainable future. Furthermore, it is supposed to propose avenues for future research on operational and supply chain resilience, interacting with the sustainability literature in our field.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual review of resilience and sustainability themes within operations and supply chain management research is conducted. Reflections on the topic are informed by relevant literature published over the last decade.FindingsThe major conceptual contributions are threefold: (1) This article elaborates on the understanding of operational resilience and supply chain resilience concepts and reviews their respective primary research streams. (2) It proposes resilience as the missing element in the pursuit of excellence in organizations that want to contribute to a more sustainable future. (3) The article offers a research framework that provides a future research agenda at the intersection of resilience and sustainability in operations and supply chain management research.Originality/valueThe article highlights gaps in current research and illustrates further areas of research that need to be addressed to maximize the contribution of operations and supply chain management research in supporting practitioners to achieve a more sustainable future.

Supply chain management research productivity and topics: 2020–2022

AbstractThis article continues the longest‐standing evaluation of publication productivity in the academic field of supply chain with the combined series spanning 55 years. In this edition, we update the schools and individual scholars producing the most supply chain publications from 2020 to 2022. Despite a new top‐ranked school, the top 10 list remains largely consistent with previous editions, as does the core set of top supply chain doctoral programs. In contrast, the list of the remaining top 25 schools continues to change and includes more international (i.e., non‐U.S.) schools. Additionally, the barriers to entry to become a strong supply chain research school are lower than in the past, while author concentration analyses confirm that the supply chain scholarly field has become more dispersed. Combined, the results support not only highly productive authors and schools with recognition and resource requests but also aspiring authors and schools with their research paths and benchmarking. We voice concerns, however, about both the supply of new supply chain scholars and the decreasing authorship of industry practitioners that had been a staple of our applied field. As a further contribution, we organize the most frequent keywords since 2020 to help scholars identify contemporary and understudied topics.

Machine Learning Technologies in the Supply Chain Management Research of Biodiesel: A Review

Biodiesel has received worldwide attention as a renewable energy resource that reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Unlike traditional fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, biodiesel made of vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant grease incurs higher production costs, so its supply chain should be managed efficiently for operational cost reduction. To this end, multiple machine learning technologies have recently been applied to estimate feedstock yield, biodiesel productivity, and biodiesel quality. This study aims to identify the machine learning technologies useful in particular areas of supply chain management by review of the scientific literature. As a result, nine machine learning algorithms, the Gaussian process model (GPM), random forest (RF), artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), AdaBoost regression, multiple linear regression (MLR), linear regression (LR). and multilayer perceptron (MLP), are used for feedstock yield estimation, biodiesel productivity prediction, and biodiesel quality prediction. Among these, RF and ANN were identified as the most appropriate algorithms, providing high prediction accuracy. This finding will help engineers and managers understand concepts of machine learning technologies so they can use appropriate technology to solve operational problems in supply chain management.

A carbon neutral supply chain management by considering emission-risk minimization and green purchasing through optimal decision-making

This study addresses critical gaps in supply chain management (SCM) by integrating emission-risk minimization (ERM), green purchasing (GP), and profit maximization (PM). The research focuses on the optimal behaviors of manufacturers, agents, and retailers within the SCM framework to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e). This study considers Guangdong province, China, a region facing challenges in optimizing energy systems and meeting CO2e reduction targets. Simulation-based optimization techniques within mathematical models are employed. A design of experiment (DOE) method was used to explore the dynamics of key variables in the SCM environment. Results reveal optimal behaviors for manufacturers, agents, and retailers, demonstrating the ideal values for profit and pricing decisions. Manufacturers optimize production quantity, achieving CO2e reduction and PM through ERM. Agents exhibit a strong commitment to GP practices, enhancing PM and carbon-neutral goals. Retailers get more PM than manufacturers and agents, contributing to a clean environment. Interestingly, retailers make contributions to the clean environment without considering ERM and GP in SCM. The study contributes novel insights by addressing the identified gap in SCM research, emphasizing the joint consideration of ERM, GP, and PM. This research assists manufacturers, agents, and retailers in terms of PM for economic objectives. It cleans the environment through carbon-neutral SCM in society.

Building Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Operations and Supply Chains: Bringing Public Policy Back In

While we have seen some encouraging examples of firms that try to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices into their supply chains, progress has been frustratingly slow. We argue that a key impediment today and a potential enabler tomorrow—and thus an important subject of operations and supply chain management (OSCM) research—is the array of public policies that sets the “rules of the game” in OCSM. We differentiate three types of public policy regimes—laissez-faire, regulatory, and transformative—and analyze how each differentially affects DEI practices in OSCM. Our analysis suggests that the laissez-faire type may not offer sufficient incentives to trigger a comprehensive change in DEI practices, while the regulatory and transformative types offer more incentives but, in many instances, do not work as expected. By analyzing the effects of distinct public policy activities for DEI-related practices—for example, through comparative empirical studies or modeling and simulation—OSCM scholars can make important contributions to a more comprehensive implementation of DEI practices.

Green supplier development and sustainable supply chain management

AbstractThe rapid rise in demand for sustainably produced goods over the last decade has made integrating environmental sustainability practices into the supply chain a strategic capability for many businesses. Despite the rapid growth of green supply chain management research, scholars have not fully examined supplier development in the context of the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between green supplier development strategies and supplier adoption of natural resource‐based view (NRBV) strategies, as well as their impact on green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. We make a significant contribution in this field by integrating a natural‐resource‐based view and a dynamic capabilities perspective to investigate how firms in developing economies overcome the environmental sustainability capability deficiencies of small and medium‐sized enterprises and are able to develop and implement environmentally sustainable practices. Based on a survey of 167 manufacturing companies in Kenya, the findings reveal that focal firms' indirect environmental sustainability supplier development strategies significantly impact environmental sustainability practices among suppliers and that the focal firm‐supplier dyadic relational capabilities significantly affected suppliers' implementation of environmental sustainability practices. Furthermore, focal firms' resource investment (financial and capital) in environmentally sustainable supply chain management programs to develop suppliers has a significant impact on suppliers' implementation of environmental sustainability practices.

Contractual Governance, Fairness, and Extra-Role Altruistic Behavior in Chinese Buyer–Seller Relationships

ABSTRACT Purpose This article aims to investigate how the control and coordination functions of the contract enforcement of a firm influence the extra-role altruistic behavior (ERAB) of its partner through distinct perceptions of fairness in buyer-seller relationships. It also examines how a critical institutional factor, marketization distance, moderates the influence of contractual governance on fairness. Methodology A survey was conducted on 627 distributors in China. Findings Our empirical analysis reveals that the seller’s contractual coordination encourages the buyer’s ERAB by increasing its perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional fairness, while contractual control inhibits the buyer’s ERAB by reducing its perceptions of distributive, and interactional fairness. Further, marketization distance weakens the positive effects of contractual coordination on all three types of fairness, but positively moderates the effect of contractual control on distributive fairness. Implications These findings make contributions to both research and practice in supply chain management.

Business ecosystem concept in supply chain management research

Business ecosystem concept in supply chain management research

A guided tour through the qualitative research city

AbstractThis article argues for the expansion of qualitative research approaches in supply chain management (SCM). By comparing mainstream qualitative approaches to popular Parisian landmarks, it argues that just as tourists can miss the city's essence by visiting only famous sites, SCM researchers limit their understanding by relying solely on conventional approaches. It emphasizes that, much like exploring lesser‐known parts of a city, incorporating diverse qualitative approaches can enrich SCM research. Highlighting the dominance of realist and positivist approaches, the article calls for greater inclusion of nominalist and anti‐positivist approaches. It introduces different “buildings” of qualitative research (grounded theory, interpretive research, sensemaking, sociomateriality, actor–network theory, ethnography, action research, discourse analysis, narrative research, and historical research), each offering unique insights into SCM. The article argues that embracing these diverse approaches can lead to a deeper understanding of complex global supply chain phenomena and encourage innovative theoretical development, thereby broadening the scope and impact of the discipline.

Unchaining supply chains: Transformative leaps toward regenerating social–ecological systems

AbstractThe worsening climate, biodiversity, and inequity crises have existential implications. To help resolve these crises, supply chains must move beyond a minimal harm approach. Instead, supply chains must make positive contributions to and harmoniously integrate with the living systems around them. Despite agreement on this urgent need, supply chain management research still lacks a shared roadmap for establishing economically sustainable supply chains that actively regenerate social–ecological systems. This essay deepens the understanding of regenerative supply chains, inviting supply chain scholars and practitioners to rally around timely questions and codevelop new answers. We first scrutinize the paradigmatic assumptions that continue to anchor contemporary research and practice in supply chain management, showing how these once helpful assumptions now hold the community back from seeking much needed solutions. We then offer real‐world examples and synthesize emerging arguments from multiple disciplines to propose three new principles of regenerative organizing: proportionality, reciprocity, and poly‐rhythmicity. We also delve into the implications of pursuing these regenerative principles for supply chain coordination, governance, and resilience. Finally, we reflect on the fit of empirical research designs and methods for examining the creation of new regenerative supply chains and the conversion of existing supply chains.

Supply Chain Management and Modelling in the Era of Industry 4.0: Insights and Strategies for Resilience and Sustainability

Despite the worldwide investment of over a decade and billions of dollars in Industry 4.0 technologies, only a small number of researchers have entered digital supply chain management and modeling research. Thus, what hindered supply chain development? Recent internal discussions have focused on how to answer these concerns and quicken the development of supply chain management. We’ll collaborate with industry to learn from each other’s mistakes and see how other regions are faring in supply chain management.

(Re)-discovering simulation as a critical element of OM/SCM research: call for research

Purpose This study focuses on (re-)introducing computer simulation as a part of the research paradigm. Simulation is a widely applied research method in supply chain and operations management. However, leading journals, such as the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, have often been reluctant to accept simulation studies. This study provides guidelines on how to conduct simulation research that advances theory, is relevant, and matters.Design/methodology/approach This study pooled the viewpoints of the editorial team of the International Journal of Operations and Production Management and authors of simulation studies. The authors debated their views and outlined why simulation is important and what a compelling simulation should look like.Findings There is an increasing importance of considering uncertainty, an increasing interest in dynamic phenomena, such as the transient response(s) to disruptions, and an increasing need to consider complementary outcomes, such as sustainability, which many researchers believe can be tackled by big data and modern analytical tools. But building, elaborating, and testing theory by purposeful experimentation is the strength of computer simulation. The authors therefore argue that simulation should play an important role in supply chain and operations management research, but for this, it also has to evolve away from simply generating and analyzing data. Four types of simulation research with much promise are outlined: empirical grounded simulation, simulation that establishes causality, simulation that supplements machine learning, artificial intelligence and analytics and simulation for sensitive environments.Originality/value This study identifies reasons why simulation is important for understanding and responding to today's business and societal challenges, it provides some guidance on how to design good simulation studies in this context and it links simulation to empirical research and theory going beyond multimethod studies.