20 Years of Supply Chain Management: An International Journal

Citation

Wagner, B. and Fearne, A. (2015), "20 Years of Supply Chain Management: An International Journal", Supply Chain Management, Vol. 20 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-09-2015-0378

20 Years of Supply Chain Management: An International Journal

Article Type: Editorial From: Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Volume 20, Issue 6

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal (SCMij) is a relatively young journal founded by Professor (Fearne, 1996). The aim of SCMij has always been to utilise multi-disciplinary perspectives to inform theory and practice by empirical research that extends beyond dyadic buyer supplier relations. Andrew and I have worked together since 2000 when he asked me to come on board as assistant editor and from 2006 I have been full editor. We have seen the journal change over the past two decades to become one of the most informative sources of supply chain management (SCM) knowledge, as evidenced by the recent Thomas Reuters impact factor results 3.5. Clearly, over this period, SCM has gained status as a discipline with well-established characteristics of academic scholarship.

Celebrating success of the journal, Andrew and I looked back through the issues to determine key themes and changes over the years. These can be broadly summarised as Supply Chain theories, including models, logistics, collaboration, lean and agile and in more recent times sustainability, humanitarian logistics and currently modern slavery. We then looked at the citations and download figures from 1996 identifying articles with the greatest impact, enabling us to select contributors for this anniversary issue. Given the importance of early contributions to the subject, invitations were sent requesting authors to consider developing or extending their articles. The following brief description of the articles demonstrates that, 20 years on, the seminal topics that concerned researchers remain relevant today. This is encouraging and I would like to thank the authors for their positive reaction to compilation of the special issue and hope that readers will be inspired to continue submitting state of the art research to SCMij.

At the end of August, sadly, during preparation of the special issue, one of the contributors, Professor Denis Towill passed away. He was a very great man, and we take this opportunity to acknowledge his contribution to our subject. The article by Potter et al. in this issue “Evolution of the migratory supply chain model” is dedicated to him in recognition of his scholarly work.

The special issue comprises 11 contributions that demonstrate the maturity of supply chain management and point the way forward for future research. The following briefly summarises each article.

Haldorsson A., Hsuan J., Kotzab H. “Complementary theories to supply chain management revisited: from borrowing theories to theorizing”

This article builds on the work of Halldorsson et al.’s (2007)complementary theories on supply chain management and continues the discussion regarding the need for continued development of theoretical principles and analytical approaches to solve managerial problems. Despite the fact that SCM has evolved as a domain, it has still to fully establish its position as a scientific discipline. The multidisciplinary nature of SCM means that theorising in SCM is characterised by an evolutionary approach, often borrowing theoretical constructs from established disciplines such as strategic management and economics. Four prevalent inter-organisational theories used to explore SCM are transaction cost economics, resource-based view, principal agent theory and network theory. Knowledge due to the multi-dimension nature of SCM means that a set of different theories may be necessary to assess the nature of the problem and combination may improve explanation. The authors argue that to generate new SCM theory, research designs must expand using more case studies which utilise research designs involving grounded theory and action research. Action research means a greater involvement in the process by the researcher and a greater sensitivity to the context. In this way, we can ensure that knowledge is actionable, relevant and useful. SCM can also have something to offer other disciplines and their theoretical frameworks. Acknowledging SCM’s inter-disciplinary nature, three future research streams are proposed, all of which require an integrative approach:

1. theorising must become a dynamic capability requiring the academic to possess well-honed interpretive skills to understand complex connections;

2. theorising should be an iterative process, in response to influence from other academic fields; and

3. new theoretical lenses to engage with literature such as marketing, environmental management and technology so as to provide an opportunity to develop beyond traditionally borrowed theories.

Trkman P., Budler M., Groznik A. “A business model approach to supply chain management”

Extending their earlier paper, the authors proposed novel methodology for improving business processes that enable information sharing across tiers in the supply chain. They suggest that such process methodologies have improved, and business process improvement methodologies are well understood. This present article focuses on business models as a new unit of analysis emphasising a system-level, holistic approach to explain how firms do business. Given the turbulent environments in which firms now operate, the authors suggest that firms need to collaborate more intensely by deep knowledge sharing developing motivation and ability to change business models in line with the dynamics of the ecosystem in which they operate. The article focuses on how products, processes, customers/suppliers and employees are able not only to manage existing business models but also to introduce new models. They propose two frameworks that summarise the dynamic capabilities of changing and adding business models in the unknown future, “As-Is to To-Be”. In this respect, the roles of knowledge sharing and dynamic capabilities are emphasised. Knowledge sharing not only makes the decision-making process more efficient but demands greater collaboration between tiers in the supply chain. The biggest challenge here is establishing trusting relationships. The authors suggest that inter-organisational alignment can only be established by trustworthy cooperative business relationships. The ability to change business models requires dynamic capabilities to reconfigure internal and external competences to prepare for future challenges. Using a case study, the article illustrates how Post of Slovenia made continuous improvements to its business model, enabling development of stronger partnerships. This paper has extended past thinking for the process approach (Trkman et al., 2007) to a complete investigation of supply chain business models by focusing on knowledge sharing and development of dynamic capabilities.

Potter A., Towill D., Christopher M. “Evolution of the migratory supply chain model”

This article develops the paper by Christopher and Towill (2000) written at the height of the debate on lean and agile processes. It brought two disparate process types together using the Migratory Model as a means of explanation. In this early paper, they postulated that it was the decoupling point that brought together lean and agile processes to create both customer and supplier value. After 15 years of the original publication, the authors reflect upon the academic impact and how other researchers have tested the work. Overall, the paper averages between 14 and 15 citations a year and from 82 other journals, SCMij is at the top showing that the journal is building upon content contained within it and so adding to the knowledge capital of the journal. A content analysis reveals that many authors cite the 2000 article as a passing reference to substantiate their own arguments, even if their research investigated a slightly different topic and when there is little connection between the paper and their research. The authors suggest that the authors’ reputation may actually contribute to the higher citation rates, and this may be motivation for citing particular papers. An interesting finding was that output of the earlier research, the Migratory Model, may not have been fully exploited, but the lean/agile attributes within the article were deemed important and worthy of citation. Given that the early Migratory Model has not been tested, the authors have explored reasons for this in the current article and used the book supply chain as validation for the Migratory Model. Furthermore, they deduce that there is continued relevance for the migratory perspective and that technology advancements enabled a fifth stage to emerge. Clearly, supply chains are increasingly customer oriented, and supply chains need to be responsive in order to keep abreast of customer needs. Use of technology is important here, and from a future perspective, consideration needs to be given to the extent to which manufacturing technologies will redefine supply chain strategies and whether they simply replace existing production technologies.

Soosay C. and Hyland P. “A decade of supply chain collaboration and direction for future research”

In this article, the authors differentiate between cooperation where firms exchange basic information and have some long-term relations with multiple suppliers and collaboration which requires a high level of commitment, trust and information sharing. They suggest that though there are many reasons for inter-firm collaboration, in reality this is difficult to achieve owing to cultural and structural barriers. Based on the foregoing, the authors explore the nature and extent of research on supply chain collaboration over the past decade using systematic literature review methodology. The discussion covers a number of key themes. The meaning of collaboration has become a catch-all term to signify any type of inter-organisational or inter-personal relationship. This is incorrect as collaboration characterises a high form of long-term trust-based relationships involving joint planning and strategic and operational decision-making, resource and risk sharing. Collaboration is related to working towards shared goals and achieving optimal solutions. Soosay and Hyland identify twelve theories that can be used to explain the structure, operations and behaviour of firms. These are resource-based theory, resource-advantage theory, social exchange theory, relational view, social exchange theory, dynamic capabilities, stakeholder theory, signalling theory, force field theory, transaction cost, contingency theory, agency theory and technology-organisation-environment theory.

They do, however, suggest that these may not be sufficient to address the complex nature of supply chain collaboration. Types of collaboration are also reviewed in relation to vertical, horizontal and lateral collaboration. The growing area of collaboration for sustainability, technology-enabled and humanitarian supply chains is recognised. In so doing, it is apparent that a more holistic approach to supply chain collaboration is being considered by scholars, broadening research to include multi-tiered and network perspectives. The authors note that lack of empirical research in business-to-consumer research given the importance of the customer’s voice in the value creation of products and services is recognised.

Rodriques S.V., Harris I., Mason R. “Horizontal logistics collaboration for enhanced supply chain performance: An international retail perspective”

The contribution of this paper is to build upon Mason et al.’s (2007) research relating to Horizontal Logistics Collaboration (HLC). It echoes some of the argument for earlier contributions in relation to the casual manner in which the terms collaboration and cooperation are used interchangeably in the literature. Collaboration includes risk, knowledge and profits sharing through closer relations than would exist in cooperation. The methodology for this current research takes a network perspective to examine HLC, and a Delphi study approach was used to evaluate expert perspectives in the UK grocery retailer sector. A detailed supply chain-driven model for horizontal logistics collaboration is presented containing high level constructs “Outset Consideration Factors”, such as trust among partners access to information and data, common supplier and delivery base; “Ideal Required Synergies”, includes common supplier delivery base and development of consolidation and deconsolidation centres; “Actioning Enablers” such as effective commercial models and physical and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and “Output Metrics” such as lead times, cost, inventory and carbon dioxide (CO2). Unlike recent literature that tends to take a single function approach, this research has taken a supply chain approach. Managerial implications highlight that HLC arrangements need to take into account all supply chain partners, suppliers, third party logistics (3PLs) and customers. Furthermore, HLC arrangements between retailers take into consideration the bargaining power of the retailer requiring considerable and strong negotiations to ensure HLC projects are successful.

Fawcett S., McCarter M., Fawcett A., Webb G., Magnan G. “Why supply chain collaboration fails: the socio-structural view of resistance to relational strategies”

The authors of this article argue that the benefits of supply chain collaboration discussed in academic literature are exaggerated and that there are few examples of firms that have demonstrated a consistent ability to collaborate in a way that leads to distinctive advantage. This current contribution addresses this by considering the cost of collaboration failures stressing that effective collaboration is actually rare. The authors suggest that relational resistors exist that hinder supply chain collaboration. Resistors are broadly considered sociological and structural and impeded relational advantage over time. Findings demonstrate a wall of resistance where structural resistors are related to organisational silos, strategic misalignment and poor ICT systems. Sociological resistors comprise low trust, information gatekeeping and opposition to change. Other sources of resistance include limited organisational routines and inadequate individual skills. The authors use a metaphor to explain structural resistors, namely, as bricks in the wall of resistance and sociological resistors acting as mortar that holds the bricks in place. This is an important article that contributes to supply chain theory by creating a taxonomy of impediments to collaboration, also illustrating how they work together to actively resist higher levels of collaboration and value co-creation. The re-enforcing nature of the relational resistors helps to explain why relational rents are difficult to realise. From a managerial perspective, understanding and insight of such resistors could assist in more effective mitigation. On a more optimistic note, those managers with experience of the challenges of changing attitudes and skills of employees may be in a better position to put in place initiatives that break down resistance and in so doing, create a relational capability that is difficult to copy and sustainable.

Beske-Janssen P., Johnson M., Shaltegger S. “20 years of performance measurement in sustainable supply chain management- what has been achieved?”

This article systematically reviews 20 years of literature on sustainability performance measurement with a focus on indicators, tools and systems. Conventional economic performance indicators for supply chain management have been summarised under quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost. The authors suggest that measurement of sustainability performance can create transparency and initiate supply chain innovation. However, the findings show that few articles define what they mean by sustainability performance with most focusing on economic performance. Despite this, there is a rise in the number of articles that include social dimensions, especially in the past five years. A large group of work concentrates on environmental performance, and there is a slight increase in the number of articles addressing all three sustainability dimensions. Overall, however, most publications focus on one or two sustainability dimensions and few consider the performance of the whole supply chain. In most cases, the focal firm is implicitly implied as the core actor, and this brings to attention the degree of influence of the focal firm and its ability to actually measure and manage sustainable performance in the supply chain. In fact, the authors found that more than half the studies said nothing about specific measurement and management methods and mostly discussed enhancement of sustainability performance but not how to measure it. It was noted that specific metrics and units to measure sustainability performance have only recently entered into the discussion, having been completely disregarded until 2005. The authors highlight challenges this research in terms of the need to identify potential trade-offs and triple wins, as well as creating an economy and society that ensures a good life for future generations. The authors conclude that a shift of focus to environmental and social dimensions of sustainability will create transparency by increasing awareness of the social and environmental problems, complexities and relevance for procurement and supply chain management in practice.

Khalid R.U., Seuring S., Beske P., Land A., Yawar S., Wagner R. “Putting sustainable supply chain management into base of the pyramid research”

This paper considers established sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) constructs and explores the theoretical links between SSCM and base of the pyramid (BoP) research streams. It argues that SSCM concepts have been implicitly used by BoP scholars, and this justifies a comprehensive analysis and exploration of BoP issues using SSCM tools. The key claim of BoP is that poverty can be alleviated through financially profitable activity. BoP theory considers not only the role of the local community and SMEs in developing economies but also the importance of under-explored MNCs contribution to business activity in informal markets. The links between supply chain management and social dimensions of sustainability are clear. The methodology undertaken to explore these ideas was a structured literature review and results indicate the frequency of SSCM constructs observed in BoP articles. SSCM constructs are clustered using strategy, structure and process as high-level framing. The literature review indicates that considering BoP as passive recipients of development policies is ineffective in the context of sustainable development in deprived areas. Long-term benefits can only be achieved by working together. The systematic literature review on this topic has highlighted a number of important areas for future research. In particular, merging the two research streams may provide a useful insight into sustainable development solutions in areas of abject poverty.

New S. “Modern Slavery and the supply chain: the limits of corporate social responsibility”

In 1997, New argued that researchers have an obligation to take a wider view of supply chain management, and, with this in mind, this contribution examines how modern slavery presents challenges to the conventional understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This conceptual article presents an overview of the phenomenon of modern slavery in the supply chain and examines literature relating to CSR. The conceptual underpinning describes two responses to modern slavery illustrated in a case of UK agriculture. Although much literature on modern slavery is from historical, philosophical and social scientific perspectives, it is neglected in business management literature other than in relation to the issue of forced labour. There are certain conditions in which modern slavery is likely; i.e. in small business with limited ability to make profit, within disadvantaged populations, geographic isolation, etc. The author highlights that when considering modern slavery, a key element often omitted is third party suppliers of workers, who provide labour for a firm. The paper claims that modern slavery persists within legitimate organisation and that CSR activity could actually act as an enabling mechanism for modern slavery to continue. Policy implications suggest that tackling modern slavery will make slow progress, and that there is a need for a profound reappraisal of business models. The author suggests two possibilities as a way forward; greater openness by organisations and state intervention through direct regulation. From a research point of view, investigators need to consider broader social and ethical contexts more closely rather than describing conventional CSR approaches. The author states, as consumers and beneficiaries of such corrupt systems we are complicit in moral perversion.

Oloruntoba R. and Kovács G. “A commentary on agility in humanitarian aid supply chains”

This contribution follows on from the work of Oloruntoba and Gray (2006) and provides a brief commentary on developments in the area of agile humanitarian supply chains. This is based on a review of work published in the past decade in four journals. The four main themes presented are:

1. an overview of the architecture of humanitarian supply chain;

2. peculiarities and complexities of the humanitarian supply chain;

3. agility and relief development continuum; and

4. an example of leanness.

The theoretical lens used to capture agility is the dynamic capabilities model. The work of Oloruntoba and Gray (2006) seems to be an early example of the concept of agility in humanitarian supply chains. In this contribution, the authors highlight that agility in humanitarian aid supply chains is complex, requiring particular competencies and capabilities at various phases in the humanitarian programme. To overcome this, a relief to development continuum may be an effective model to apply the principles of agility. The authors evaluate whether agility is required at each stage of the relief-development continuum. Overall, this short commentary brings up to date the earlier work of Oloruntoba and Gray (2006) by including the impact and influence of community participation, transforming recipients from aid-users to customers.

Cox A. “Sourcing portfolio analysis and power positioning: towards a ‘paradigm shift’ in category management and strategic sourcing”

This article presents an overview of two long standing methodologies for undertaking category management and developing sourcing strategies. To counter the perceived weakness in Purchasing Portfolio Analysis and The Purchasing Chessboard, an alternative approach has been adopted using the methodology known as Sourcing Portfolio Analysis described by the author. Within this, a power matrix analysis of the power positioning between buyers and potential suppliers enables a fuller way of thinking about the dyadic exchange relationship. A case study demonstrates a strategic sourcing decision-making process using sourcing portfolio analysis and power positioning. The author advocates power positioning as the way forward for the development of the science of strategic sourcing. This is because the theory and methodology build upon the past work rather than ignoring it. The importance of predicting the most appropriate sourcing option and delivering the desired value for money is imperative and the options presented in this paper are of strategic importance.

Considerations for future research

The papers selected for this anniversary issue reflect the diversity of our subject – theories, methods and contexts – the progress we have made on our disciplinary and methodological journey – breaking down the silos – and the challenges that remain – in what we do and how we do it.

Our understanding of the scale and scope of the subject has undeniably (and unsurprisingly) evolved over the past 20 years, and the chasm that existed between distinct “ideologies”, “schools of thought”, theoretical and methodological approaches has shrunk, as supply chain management researchers and practitioners have discovered the futility of reductionism and the paralysis that results from arrogance and isolation. Tom McGuffog, the former director of planning and logistics for Nestle UK, who shared some excellent insights in his paper on simplicity and standardisation published 18 years ago in SCMij, described uncertainty as “the mother of inventory and the father of excess capacity and under-utilised resources” – a great quote that highlights the critical role that information plays in the pursuit of performance improvement and functional excellence. Yet uncertainty remains in so much of our subject, as we struggle to dissolve functional, disciplinary and methodological boundaries, taking one step forward in recognising the need to “share information” and acknowledging the legitimacy of multiple truths and several steps back when it comes to the practice.

What does this mean for future research? There are very good homes for good research of a uni-disciplinary nature that look at complex processes and problems in isolation. SCMij is not one of them! The role of this journal has been and must continue to be to push the boundaries of our knowledge and understanding of supply chain management and dissolve the functional, disciplinary and methodological boundaries that stifle our progress.

The emerging and recurring themes presented in this anniversary issue outline some key areas in which we need to dig much deeper – collaboration remains a construct that we are too eager to dismiss as “understood” and “over-cooked”. Out of 11, 3 papers focus on collaboration, as an enabler (Trkman et al.) and an antecedent (Soosay and Hyland) and the barriers to its creation/exploitation (Fawcett). The interplay between collaboration and other enabling constructs (e.g. commitment and trust) is complex and warrants further interrogation, particularly in the context of organisational development and dynamic capability, which Trkman et al. identify as a critical ingredient in this age of crippling uncertainty. If there is ONE construct that warrants deeper scrutiny, from complementary perspectives, then collaboration is it!

Critical in this context is the often-overlooked relationship between the individual and the organisation, personal motives and corporate goals, inter-personal and inter-organisational relationships and the role that ICT plays as a barrier (e-auctions) and enabler (CRM, SRM) to relationship development and collaborative decision-making.

The theoretical underpinning of our models of inter-organisational interactions – not all of which are collaborative – are weak and based almost exclusively on the analysis of success. There is a gaping hole in our understanding of why so much of what we take for granted as an ingredient for process improvement does not happen in practice – why companies remain oblivious to the benefits of process integration, refuse to acknowledge the cost of “ownership” and the truth behind the refrain that so many of us tire of hearing – “we tried that and it failed”. Future research should shed more light on failure – we know much more about the enablers and the benefits than we do the barriers and the cost of not doing the “right thing”.

Steve New is an extraordinary researcher at home in the department store of intellectual application – ever willing to reach out for a new stick to prod with. His paper on slavery is fascinating and a great example of the need to look beyond our comfort zones to rattle the cage and stimulate deeper insights into complex problems. We need more people like Steve to elevate the academic status of our subject, which IS primarily concerned with practical problems and DOES require empirical research to test our hypotheses and challenge our assumptions but is uniquely placed to integrate the deeper theorising of the few for the enlightenment of the many. The call for insights into supply chain management – emerging problems and potential solutions – from different disciplinary perspectives, as well as inter-disciplinary perspectives is stronger now than it has ever been and will continue to be an important differentiator of SCMij from its stablemates.

Methodologically, the case is resoundingly clear and well made by Haldorsson et al. – more mixed methods please and a genuine shift in emphasis, from deductive to inductive, acknowledging that we know a great deal more than we understand! Uncomfortable and challenging though they invariably are, we need to foster more/deeper conversations between the management scientists and the organisational behaviouralists – the data underpinning the bulk of our modelling is at best incomplete and at worst embarrassingly weak, yet we continue to focus on refining the algorithms! There may be a handful of relationships that are (conceptually) ripe enough for hypothesis testing, but reflecting on the big emerging themes of sustainability and socially responsible supply chain practices, portrayed in three of the papers in this issue, leaves us screaming out for more integrated approaches to empirical research. Mixed methods are the way to go, but we still have a great deal to learn about using mixed methods in a supply chain context – SCMij will remain an important vehicle for authors with the courage, networks and guile to give mixed methods a chance.

Contextually, the service sector remains a blind spot for our subject, which we need to work hard to address, along with local government, which is increasingly looking to outsource services for which it is responsible but has inadequate resources to deliver. This is a truly rich and complex area that warrants serious consideration and will facilitate the integration of new perspectives – so removed is this alien world from the one to which most of us are accustomed (watch this space for a special issue to address this cause).

We hope you enjoy this anniversary issue – it has been rewarding to reflect back on what we have achieved and how our subject has evolved. We still have a long way to go, but our subject is healthy and attracting a growing interest from practitioners and policymakers grappling with the enormous challenge of sustainability – in how we buy stuff, make stuff, sell stuff and move stuff around. The challenge remains for supply chain researchers to make their contribution. SCMij will continue remain a vehicle for innovative and creative thinking, a place where only the brave will choose to venture but a place that remains open to all.

Beverly Wagner and Andrew Fearne

References

Halldorsson, A., Kotzab, H., Mikkola, J.H. and Skjøtt-Larsen, J. (2007), “Complementary theories to supply chain management”, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 4.

Trkman, P., Štemberger, M.I., Jaklic̆, J. and Groznik, A. (2007), “Process approach to supply chain integration”, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 2.

Christopher, M. and Towill, D.R. (2000), “Supply chain migration from lean and functional to agile and customized”, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 5 No. 4.

Mason, R., Lalwani, C. and Boughton, R. (2007), “Combining vertical and horizontal collaboration for transport optimization”, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 3.

Oloruntoba, R. and Gray, R. (2006), “Humanitarian aid: an agile supply chain?”, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 11 No. 2.