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The purpose of this paper is to show the benefits of bridging the gap between supply chain management (SCM) and political philosophy to challenge the underlying assumptions about SCM concepts and open doors to novel theory building.

A thought experiment is conducted to illustrate how the two philosophers Niccolò Machiavelli and Jürgen Habermas would tackle sustainability issues in coffee supply chains from a research perspective. The thought experiment is carried out using data from 30 semi-structured interviews with actors from the coffee industry. Supplementing the thought experiment with empirical insights allows for a deeper understanding of supply chain dynamics and how these are impacted by the application of the philosophical viewpoints.

The research stresses the importance of SCM scholars being aware of the underlying assumptions of their research, as these have a remarkable impact on theory building. A combination of empirical insights and philosophical understandings makes it possible to reflect on the underlying concepts of SCM, providing suggestions for reimagining SCM.

The contribution of the research is twofold. First, the paper presents an original view on SCM, as the thought experiment is introduced as an approach to better understand SCM concepts. By challenging the underlying assumptions with political philosophy, researchers will be better equipped to address grand challenges in the twenty-first century. Second, this is exemplified by the case study of the coffee supply chain, which provides the reader with insight into the dynamics of supply chains with prevalent power differences.

The criticality of late deliveries in transportation lies in the threat of considerable multi-level supply chain costs. This study aims to reveal the dynamic capabilities playing a facilitating role in preventing delay, thus providing timely delivery, as well as developing an understanding of how and when those capabilities are activated within the supply chain network.

An exploratory study was conducted involving 16 semi-structured expert interviews with the representatives of logistics service providers and shippers. Following an interpretive phenomenology framework, the prevention phenomenon was explained.

Findings revealed two preventive capability categories in delay prevention: (1) proactive capabilities, referring to the enabling actions planned before departure, and (2) reactive capabilities, referring to actions planned after departure. Findings pinpoint that, in addition to the proactive capabilities, reactive capabilities enabled by innovative problem-solving actions are crucial for adapting to a dynamically changing environment in prevention. Moreover, this study shows that prevention capabilities are characterized by tangible and intangible resources and integration of resources with external links which constitute a delay prevention network within a wider service ecosystem.

This study stands out with its specific focus on delay prevention capabilities and enabling actions from the perspectives of logistics service providers and shippers. The premises of the resource-based view are combined with dynamic capabilities theory, leading to a proposed time-based taxonomy of proactive and reactive capabilities in supply chains, aimed at creating value and strengthening resilience.

The study explored how information institutions can support the resilience of parents of adolescents affected by the Russia–Ukraine war. Ukrainian parents are facing major challenges of supporting their teenagers through a difficult developmental phase while also “buffering” their war-related hardships. By supporting parents, information institutions can also support children.

Fifteen parents were interviewed about mental health challenges and resources that are helpful and/or missing from their support systems. Recordings of participant narratives were analyzed using the qualitative thematic analysis technique.

The findings indicate that both teens and parents rely on internal resilience skills, family, friends and community resources to support themselves. However, a number of additional resources could be offered by information institutions, including content for (1) teens on developing skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, problem solving and academic pursuits; (2) parents on child development and opportunities in their host countries; both groups on (3) both groups on mental health first aid and safe spaces to meet peers. The study recommendations will be of interest to information professionals working with families, especially families affected by disasters.

The study relied on a small convenience sample of participants.

Study recommendations would be of interest to information professionals who develop and provide services to families affected by natural and manmade disasters.

Study recommendations improve understanding of the (potential) role of information institutions and libraries in strengthening family and community resilience.

The study offers a rare insight into experiences of war-affect families and provides evidence-driven recommendations for information institutions to support family and community resilience.

This study aims to investigate the manufacturing reshoring decision-making content from an Eclectic Paradigm perspective.

Data were collected through a six-step systematic literature review on factors influencing manufacturing reshoring decision-making. The review is based on 100 peer-reviewed journal papers discussing reshoring decision-making contents published from 2009 to 2022.

In total, 80 decision factors were extracted and then categorized into resource-seeking (8%), market-seeking (11%), efficiency-seeking (41%) and strategic asset-seeking (16%) advantages. Additionally, 24% of these were identified as hybrid, which means that they were classified into multiple categories. Some decision factors were further identified as reshoring influencing factors (i.e. drivers, enablers and barriers).

Scholars need to consider what other theories can be used or developed to identify and evaluate the decision factors (determinants) of manufacturing reshoring as well as how currently adopted theory can be further advanced to create clearer and comprehensive theoretical frameworks.

This research underscores the importance of developing clearer and more comprehensive theoretical frameworks. For practitioners, understanding the multifaceted nature of decision factors could enhance strategic decision-making regarding reshoring initiatives.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the value and practicality of the Eclectic Paradigm in categorizing factors in manufacturing reshoring decision-making content and presents in-depth theoretical classifications. In addition, it bridges the gap between decision factors and influencing factors in the decision-making content research realm.

This research aims to investigate how organisational and contextual factors affect supply chain collaboration and how that, in turn, influences firms' competitive advantage in the garment industry in the context of Vietnam, a developing country.

Following a qualitative research design, in-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers who are involved in supply chain collaboration in twelve garment companies in Vietnam. The data were recorded, transcribed and analysed using NVivo 12. Based on the literature and interview findings, a research model underpinned by the relational view (RV) and institutional theories, with organisational and contextual factors being the antecedents and competitive advantage as the outcome of supply chain collaboration, was proposed.

The findings showed that organisational and contextual factors induce both internal, supplier and customer supply chain collaboration. There is also a positive relationship between supply chain collaboration and competitive advantage. Based on these findings, a strategy matrix for supply chain collaboration is also put forward.

This is one of the first empirical attempts to investigate the role of organisational and contextual factors as potential antecedents of supply chain collaboration and its effects on competitive advantage in the garment industry. The research is expected to enrich both the literature and management practices on supply chain collaboration in the context of developing countries.

This article aims to understand where industry is in terms of digitalizing their operations, what features of this transformation are essential for practitioners, and what barriers they are facing during their journey. In addition, the authors aim to provide recommendations for organization to start their digital transformation.

Through literature review, the authors summarize the emerging tools and technologies in operations and supply chains to inform the practitioners. Then, the authors use surveys conducted on 183 operations and supply chain professionals, and use statistical tools to examine the association between variables of the data set. The authors present real-life case studies to explain important steps of a digital transformation project.

The survey results indicate that real-time monitoring and data analytics are viewed as the most important and needed tools for organizations. High cost, lack of stakeholder buy-in and lack of successful business use cases are major barriers for companies when starting a digital transformation.

The authors provide recommendations for practitioners based on the survey responses, and outline that starting small, focusing on stakeholder buy-in and implementation of software are the three key steps for a successful transformation journey.

Main contributions of this article are to understand practitioner perspectives in digitalization and provide guidelines for organizations to follow when transforming their operations. This research closes the gap between academic research and practice by collaborating with operations and supply chain professionals.