To read this content please select one of the options below:

The human factor in SCM: Introducing a meta-theory of behavioral supply chain management

Timm Schorsch (Kühne Institute for Logistics Management, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Düsseldorf, Germany)
Carl Marcus Wallenburg (Kühne Institute for Logistics Management, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Düsseldorf, Germany)
Andreas Wieland (Department of Operations Management, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark)

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

ISSN: 0960-0035

Article publication date: 2 May 2017

4976

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance supply chain management by describing the current state of behavioral supply chain management (BSCM) research and paving the way for future contributions by developing a meta-theory for this important field.

Design/methodology/approach

The results are generated by applying the systematic literature review methodology and an iterative theory-building approach involving a panel of academics.

Findings

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the BSCM research landscape. Additionally, a meta-theory of BSCM is presented that encompasses all central elements of the research field and introduces the concept of emergence to the field of BSCM. Furthermore, five promising future research opportunities are formulated.

Research limitations/implications

The critical discussions and the formulated research opportunities will help scholars in positioning their research to enhance its contribution.

Practical implications

Results from this research indicate that supply chain decisions benefit from explicit consideration for cognitive and social phenomena.

Originality/value

This review is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the field of BSCM research and facilitates BSCM in advancing further.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Parts of this research project were rendered possible by the generous funding of the Kühne Foundation, Switzerland. Also, the authors gratefully acknowledge the valuable input given by some of the leadings academics in the field of BSCM who gave helpful feedback at different stages of this project. Particularly the authors wish to thank Michael Becker-Peth (University of Cologne), Felix Papier (ESSEC Business School), Enno Siemsen (University of Minnesota), Travis Tokar (Texas Christian University) and M. Lisa Yeo (Loyola University Maryland). The authors are similarly indebted to the librarians and database experts Uwe Böttcher (WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management) and Joshua Kragh Bruhn (Copenhagen Business School) for their support, and all academics and practitioners who participated in the review panel. The authors would also like to thank the attendees of the EurOMA Conference 2015 for their valuable feedback on a previous version of this article. Finally, the authors would like to thank the reviewers for their thoughtful and critical assessment of the paper.

Citation

Schorsch, T., Wallenburg, C.M. and Wieland, A. (2017), "The human factor in SCM: Introducing a meta-theory of behavioral supply chain management", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 47 No. 4, pp. 238-262. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-10-2015-0268

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles