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This research aims to review how current supply chain management (SCM) research addresses cultural issues, presents a critical assessment of literature and discusses future research avenues.

The literature is reviewed using systematic literature review, bibliometric citation analysis and content analysis. A total of between 1995 and 2019 in Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science’s database.

Descriptive data related to chronological evolution of literature, geographical location, influential papers and methodology are presented. Four main research areas were categorized, namely, papers on SC integration and performance; research on continuous improvement and lean initiatives; studies on the role of culture in sustainability, corporate social responsibility and green practices; and studies on emerging topics of research. Most studies focused on organizational culture frameworks, adopted a static approach to culture and targeted mainly developed countries and Asian emerging countries. A research agenda is suggested based on a multilevel cultural framework including operational and SCM culture.

Practitioners and researchers will gain a greater understanding of how cultural issues have been addressed in current literature. A multilevel framework is proposed based on the concept of “operational” and “SCM culture”, to address some of the issues identified in current literature.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first literature reviews that considers both national and organizational culture dimensions in SCM research, whereas prior approaches were fragmented or one-dimensional.

This study aims to examine the causes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) disinclination towards subcontracting in public sector markets. Previous studies have revealed that UK SMEs are reluctant to do business with the public sector through the subcontracting route, but the reasons for this lack of enthusiasm have not been widely researched.

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with SMEs competing for public contracts in North West England, a qualitative study was performed, from which several themes emerged.

The findings were synthesised into a framework underpinned by attribution theory, to portray situationally and dispositionally caused factors that were used to interpret SMEs’ behaviour.

The findings can guide policy development and government interventions in developed and developing countries, aimed at using public procurement as a policy tool to develop the small business sector.

This paper contributes in a unique way to an emerging discourse on how subcontracting can facilitate the access of SMEs to government procurement spending. It adds to knowledge regarding the explanatory power of attribution theory – from its base in social psychology.

Remote work (RW) literature is a megatrend in HRM literature, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of RW as a concept and an organisational practice. Given the large number of papers being published on remote work, there is a need for a critical review of the extant literature using bibliometric analysis. This paper examines the literature on remote working to identify the factors crucial for managing a remote workforce. This study uses the complex adaptive systems theory as a foundation to build a framework that organisations can use to manage their remote workforce, focusing on three outcomes: employee engagement, collaboration and organisational agility.

Bibliometric analysis was conducted on the research published in Scopus journal in the area of remote work, followed by critical literature analysis.

The bibliometric analysis identified five clusters that reflect five organisational factors which the management can align to achieve the desired outcomes of engagement, collaboration and agility: technology orientation, leadership, HRM practices, external processes and organisational culture. The present findings have important implications for managing the remote workforce.

The five factors were mapped to propose a conceptual model on engaging individual employees, fostering team collaboration and building organisational agility while working remotely. We also propose an application model for using technology to achieve the outcomes of engagement, collaboration and agility in the organisation. Practitioners could use this framework to focus on the factors that can create a conducive environment to improve work efficiency in a remote workforce.

Literature on conflict minerals supply chain management issues has witnessed a significant surge during the last decade. The authors review how CM research addressed supply chain issues over the last decades and present a critical assessment of such literature based on supply chain governance theory.

A systematic literature review approach was adopted, and a sample of 122 papers were identified in relevant journals. A descriptive, thematic and content analysis of the papers is presented to delineate the structure and the main research clusters of the literature.

The authors provide a comprehensive assessment of CMSC literature and identify four main research clusters. Most research has focussed on operational practices and adopted a fragmented approach to CMSC issues. Accordingly, the authors provide research propositions related to under-explored aspects in extant literature.

This study has a number of implications. Practitioners and researchers will gain a greater understanding of specific CMSC issues which have been addressed in current literature and of how responsible CMSC actions can be implemented.

This study is one of the first literature reviews of publications on CMSC from a supply chain governance perspective. This review presents an overarching map of CMSC literature and a series of propositions to inform future research.

There have been several reviews of green, ecological and sustainable innovations, but a thorough assessment of green innovation (GI)'s mechanisms in a supply chain setting has not been attempted yet. The purpose of this paper is to review how GI was investigated in supply chains through the lens of a multilevel framework of innovation mechanisms.

The authors provide a comprehensive assessment of prior studies using a systematic literature review approach and content analysis of 136 papers identified from the Web of Science Core Collection database.

Current literature on green innovation supply chains (GISC) has been categorized according to three main causal mechanisms: situational, action-formation and transformational mechanisms. Three different levels of analysis were considered for the three mechanisms: macro, meso and micro. In addition, the authors have also assessed the value creation and appropriation outcomes of GI. The authors identified relevant research gaps in the extant literature and a set of propositions that may guide future research in this area.

This review provides a novel perspective on GISC based on a multilevel theoretical framework of mechanisms.

The causal mechanisms assessment of GISC can be adopted by organizations to convince their SC partners to engage in collaborative and more ambitious initiatives in the field.

The findings of this review could serve as an argument for more encompassing and ambitious GISC initiatives which can be of benefit to society.

A thorough assessment of the interacting mechanisms in GISC has not been attempted before. The authors identify gaps in current literature and provide several propositions for further research avenues based on causal mechanisms framework.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The increasing relevance of culture to supply chain management is indicated by the number and scope of studies that currently exist. However, significant shortcomings prevail that might be addressed by the development of an appropriate framework able to measure interaction between individual, organizational and network cultural levels.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.