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The authors compare findings from two studies conducted in an Irish context: a survey of the usage and utilization of management tools and techniques, and a survey of the top challenges facing managers. Although there were some cases where the utilization of the tools and techniques appeared to match the challenges facing the managers, in general this was not the case. The article concludes that rationales for investing in management tools need to be explored in greater detail in order that they might better meet challenges managers face.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a thorough understanding of the adoption of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) in practice, particularly at a strategic level, through an investigation of the four perspectives taxonomy of the relationship between logistics and SCM.

Based on a comprehensive literature review, three specific research questions are proposed. The empirical work addresses these questions and comprised three phases: focussed interviews, a questionnaire survey and focus groups.

The findings provide a usage profile of the four perspectives and indicate a divergence between the understanding and adoption of logistics and SCM principles and concepts at a strategic level in firms. The findings also identify the critical success factors (CSFs) and inhibitors to success in addressing this divergence.

The insights generated using the authors’ methodologically pluralist research design could be built upon to include case studies, grounded theory and action research. Replicating the research in other geographical areas could facilitate international comparisons.

The findings allow practitioners to compare their perspectives on the relationship between logistics and SCM with those of their peers. The CSFs and inhibitors to success provide a rational basis for realising the strategic potential of logistics and SCM in practice.

New insights are generated into practitioner perspectives vis-à-vis logistics vs SCM. A fresh understanding of those factors which drive and hinder the adoption of strategic SCM is also developed and presented.

An emerging theme in the practitioner literature suggests that the supply chain of the future – enabled especially by developments in ICT – will be autonomous and have predictive capabilities, bringing significant efficiency gains in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment. This paper aims to both bridge the gap between the practitioner and academic literature on these topics and contribute to both practice and theory by seeking to understand how such developments will help to address key supply chain challenges and opportunities.

A multi-disciplinary, systematic literature review was conducted on relevant concepts and capabilities. A total of 126 articles were reviewed covering the time period 1950-2018.

The results show that both IoT and AI are the technologies most frequently associated with the anticipated autonomous and predictive capabilities of future supply chains. In addition, the review highlights a lacuna in how such technologies and capabilities help address key supply chain challenges and opportunities. A new supply chain model is, thus, proposed, one with autonomous and predictive capabilities: the self-thinking supply chain.

It is our hope that this novel concept, presented here for the first time in the academic literature, will help both practitioners to craft appropriate future-proofed supply chain strategies and provide the research community with a model (built upon multidisciplinary insights) for elucidating the application of new digital technologies in the supply chain of the future. The self-thinking supply chain has the potential in particular to help address some of today’s key supply chain challenges and opportunities.

The purpose of this paper is to extend prior supply chain research by empirically exploring the relationship among guanxi, supply chain integration (SCI), and operational performance. More specifically, this study investigates the mediating role of SCI.

Ordinary least square regression is used to analyze survey data collected from 126 automobile manufacturers in China.

The results reveal a significant positive relationship between guanxi and SCI, and that SCI is significantly and positively related to operational performance. The authors’ findings further suggest that guanxi indirectly affects operational performance through SCI.

The empirical findings imply that it is vital for managers to recognize the important mediating role of dynamic SCI capabilities.

As a fundamental Chinese cultural norm, guanxi can be critical in a supply chain context. Although previous research has identified the importance of guanxi and SCI in improving firm performance, far less attention was given to the study of the mediating effect of SCI on the guanxi-performance relationship. This study thus fulfills the research gap by providing an initial empirical examination of the mediating role of SCI in China’s automotive industry.

Recent work carried out by the Centre for Work and Labour Market Studies into the labour market characteristics of the long‐term unemployed in the South Coast Region of New South Wales bears a close similarity in scope and methodology to the work by Barry Thomas and the Study group at Durham University reported in this journal in 1990 (Thomas, B., “Long‐term Unemployment: A Local Labour Market Study”, International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 11 No. 1, 1990, pp. 13‐20). However, sufficient differences emerge between the two studies to indicate that a set of generalised propositions on the make‐up and motivations of the long‐term unemployed may still be some way off and is likely to contain significant country‐specific components.

High rates of youth unemployment, worldwide, have led governments to advocate a range of policies designed to increase job offers to young workers. For example, the Australian Government is currently introducing a system of “training wages” which will see effective youth wages set well below adult award wages for a designated training period. This policy is designed to simultaneously increase the human capital of young workers as well as help to overcome the initial barriers to entry into the labour market. However, youth‐specific wages have been criticized on the basis of age discrimination and on equity grounds. Also, some US data question the employment‐boosting potential of reduced minimum youth wages. In this paper recent international findings on the relationship between youth wages and employment are presented and compared with empirical tests of the relationship using labour market data for Australia as a whole as well as the State of Queensland. The results are used to examine the likely impact of the introduction of the training wage on the youth labour market in Australia and to provide further generalizations on the wider issue of employment and youth‐specific wages.

Governments in a number of countries have introduced policies to increase the labour force participation of persons with disabilities. Many of these policies have displayed a legislative or compulsory element as in the case of workforce quotas. In 1981 the Australian Government introduced a price strategy in which employers were induced to increase their job offers to the disabled through a system of wage subsidy and workplace modification schemes. The performance of these schemes became an interesting test of the general policy of using market variables to influence what many regard as essentially a social problem. The results achieved in this article indicate that the wage subsidy programme has not been effective nor, given current employer attitudes, is it likely to be in the future.

The purpose of the research described in this paper is to disentangle the rhetoric from the reality in relation to supply chain management (SCM) adoption in practice. There is significant evidence of a divergence between theory and practice in the field of SCM.

Based on a review of extant theory, the authors posit a new definitional construct for SCM – the Four Fundamentals – and investigated four research questions (RQs) that emerged from the theoretical review. The empirical work comprised three main phases: focussed interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire survey. Each phase used the authors’ definitional construct as its basis. While the context of the paper’s empirical work is Ireland, the insights and results are generalisable to other geographical contexts.

The data collected during the various stages of the empirical research supported the essence of the definitional construct and allowed it to be further developed and refined. In addition, the findings suggest that, while levels of SCM understanding are generally quite high, there is room for improvement in relation to how this understanding is translated into practice.

Expansion of the research design to incorporate case studies, grounded theory and action research has the potential to generate new SCM theory that builds on the Four Fundamentals construct, thus facilitating a deeper and richer understanding of SCM phenomena. The use of longitudinal studies would enable a barometer of progress to be developed over time.

The authors’ definitional construct supports improvement in the cohesion of SCM practices, thereby promoting the effective implementation of supply chain strategies. A number of critical success factors and/or barriers to implementation of SCM theory in practice are identified, as are a number of practical measures that could be implemented at policy/supply chain/firm level to improve the level of effective SCM adoption.

The authors’ robust definitional construct supports a more cohesive approach to the development of a unified theory of SCM. In addition to a profile of SCM understanding and adoption by firms in Ireland, the related critical success factors and/or inhibitors to success, as well as possible interventions, are identified.

With the growing acceptance of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) as critical business concerns, there is an emerging realisation that more investment is needed to develop appropriate managerial skills and competencies for supply chain managers. This paper explores the challenges for management development that arise as organisations seek to bridge the gap between current capabilities and those required for future success.

Three constituencies were of interest to our research: providers of education and training, students and participants on programmes, and corporates who purchase programmes. A triangulated research approach was employed in order to capture the views of each of these constituencies. This comprised a focus group, interviews and surveys, and a case study of logistics/SCM development at one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies.

The key knowledge areas and competencies/skills required by logistics and supply chain managers are identified. Preferred teaching approaches are also identified, as are optimum approaches for career development. The subtle yet significant differences that exist among the three constituencies in the various areas and approaches are highlighted. The results thus constitute a tentative skills profile for the logistics and supply chain manager of the future.

The research provides a multi‐stakeholder insight, set in the context of the key business transformations which are shaping logistics and SCM practice, into the development of the supply chain manager of the future. Practical recommendations emerge for all stakeholders in logistics/SCM development practice. Recommendations for further research are also made, particularly for (from a methodological perspective) more case study research, and (from a research focus perspective) research into learning styles and also linking individual, organisational and supply chain learning.

Two studies were undertaken with the aim of determining the nature and prevalence of exposure to alcohol sponsorship communications associated with sport. Study 1 reports a content analysis of alcohol sponsors' leveraging across popular sporting events. Study 2 examines alcohol sponsors' activation in social media. A high proportion of alcohol sponsorship messages containing content appealing to young adult drinkers are revealed across multiple media. Events and policy implications are addressed.