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This study aims to present a conceptual framework aimed at promoting educational innovation in supply chain management and logistics (SCM&L). The framework can help to design active learning experiences regarding student learning outcomes that tackle current challenges in the discipline. Emphasizing the significance of linking students’ learning to real-world scenarios, the framework enables reflective learning through hands-on engagement in a constructive alignment, overcoming existing pedagogical limitations in the field.

This study presents a qualitative research methodology that relies on the case study method. Three instances are presented to illustrate educational efforts of active learning in countries of Latin America, Bolivia, Mexico and Peru, linking real-world relevant situations to disciplinary teaching and learning.

The innovative learning experiences introduced in this study transform real-world SCM&L operations into distinctive educational opportunities. These experiences facilitate learning not only within traditional classrooms but also in urban areas of the Latin American region, enabling students to interact with educational partners in authentic settings to achieve their intended learning outcomes. These experiences are characterized by their focus on establishing meaningful connections between learning and local communities, businesses or specific contexts.

The study recognizes various limitations of conceptual, methodological, execution-related and research process aspects. First, not all academics in the SCM&L discipline may universally acknowledge the importance of educational innovation and active learning experiences because of limited pedagogical awareness. Moreover, execution-related limitations arise from the demanding nature of incorporating active pedagogical approaches into courses, as they can be resource-intensive and time-consuming. Regarding research process limitations, the case study limits generalizability and broader inferences because of its particular views and locations, which require further investigation with other instances across other disciplines and geographical regions for validation.

The practical implementation of this framework within the MIT SCALE network for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) demonstrates its potential in meeting diverse academic and institutional expectations and providing educational benefits to students.

The study makes a valuable contribution to prioritizing and coordinating pedagogical research by investigating the success of learning outcomes achieved through active and experiential implementations in various contexts. It provides inspiring examples of innovative learning experiences that can drive new developments not only within the LAC region but also in other areas, prompting a shift away from traditional educational approaches.

This research presents a conceptual framework, which is developed from the insights obtained in the three learning experiences to guide future efforts in SCM&L education. The findings demonstrate how to structure active learning experiences based on authentic assessment and illustrate the potential for increased cooperation among institutions in Latin America. It also promotes the recognition of novel SCM&L active learning experiences and highlights some of the benefits of this approach.

Big data poses as a valuable opportunity to further improve decision making in supply chain management (SCM). However, the understanding and application of big data seem rather elusive and only partially explored. The purpose of this paper is to create further guidance in understanding big data and to explore applications from a business process perspective.

This paper is based on a sequential mixed-method. First, a Delphi study was designed to gain insights regarding the terminology of big data and to identify and rank applications of big data in SCM using an adjusted supply chain operations reference (SCOR) process framework. This was followed by a questionnaire-survey among supply chain executives to elucidate the Delphi study findings and to assess the practical use of big data.

First, big data terminology seems to be more about data collection than of data management and data utilization. Second, the application of big data is most applicable for logistics, service and planning processes than of sourcing, manufacturing and return. Third, supply chain executives seem to have a slow adoption of big data.

The Delphi study is explorative by nature and the questionnaire-survey rather small in scale; therefore, findings have limited generalizability.

The findings can help supply chain managers gain a clearer understanding of the domain of big data and guide them in where to deploy big data initiatives.

This study is the first to assess big data in the SCOR process framework and to rank applications of big data as a mean to guide the SCM community to where big data is most beneficial.

The purpose of this data‐based analysis is to report and reflect on the characteristics of the academic discipline concerned with logistics and supply chain management (SCM) as it is conducted in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). The paper further seeks to explain variations in the research field in terms of the demographics, research domains and methodologies, and publication patterns of the study's respondents.

An e‐mail questionnaire survey was distributed to 353 researchers based in the Nordic countries. With 144 answers returned, the response rate was 41 per cent.

The study did not provide a clear picture of a distinct Nordic research paradigm applying to the study of logistics and SCM. The analysis shows as characteristic of research issues pursued by Nordic researchers the focus on supply chains and networks and the use of dyads, chains or networks of organizations as levels of analysis. The use of case study methodology and a highly diversified publication pattern were likewise evident. Most researchers were found to rely heavily on external research funding. Significant differences were also identified for research conducted by researchers holding PhD degrees as compared to research by respondents with lower degrees, for researchers affiliated with institutions based in the technical sciences in comparison to those in the social sciences, and for institutions according to their varying degrees of experience with research in the field and external funding.

The research reported here may help individual researchers raise their consciousness about their own research.

This is the first empirical study to analyze research paradigms within logistics and SCM in the Nordic countries. It identifies a number of significant differences in regard to research patterns among various categories of researchers and institutions.

Integration is a key element of supply chain management (SCM) and a lot of research has been executed within the field of supply chain integration (SCI). The purpose of this paper is to particularly identify the intellectual research front and foundation of SCI and how they developed over time.

The authors examined more than 1,700 peer-reviewed academic papers that were published between 1995 and 2019 in nearly 40 relevant peer-reviewed academic journals (all indexed in Web of Science). The authors analysed the structure of more than 55,000 individual references with the R-package bibliometrix and used VOSviewer for visualization.

The SCI research front is characterized by papers that show the effects of SCI on the firm performance, the consequences of SCI on SCM in general and present the enablers of SCI. The research front is embedded within the resource-based, transaction cost and contingency theory. The intellectual foundation refers to conceptual modelling, definitional clarification and integration dimensions. The research identifies Frohlich and Westbrook’s (2001) paper as the central reference for this research area. The dynamic evolution of the intellectual foundation of SCI changed from theorising in Phase 1 (1995–2006) towards empirical testing in Phase 2 (2007–2019).

The results refer to the SCI discussion within a preselected number of peer-reviewed academic journals and to the data quality as provided by the Web of Science.

The study explored the research front and intellectual foundation of SCI. It reveals the most important papers and journals of this area by using bibliometric tools such as bibliometrix, biblioshiny and VOSviewer. The paper shows trends in research themes, theories and methodological developments.

The discussion of rigor vs relevance is an ongoing debate in academic environment. Ambitions to fulfill one of these two objectives might not exclude the other. Instead, they could and should be achieved simultaneously. However, what seems to be missing in supply chain management (SCM) research is the unfolding of symmetrical balance between the two dimensions of relevance – theoretical vs practical relevance. The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of this symmetrical balance and to change the conversation to also include the practical relevance dimension.

The paper is based on literature studies as well as the results of a questionnaire survey distributed to the Danish Supply Chain Panel consisting of 113 supply chain executives (as per the beginning of 2017). A short interview about the questionnaire results was also carried out with three panel members.

With an increased focus on journal rankings, there is a risk of pursuing more theoretically relevant SCM research at the expense of practically relevant SCM research. Both types of relevance are important for growing the discipline. But the current development seems to favor theoretical relevance, further widening the gap with respect to practical applications. Practical relevance is important both in the knowledge production and in the knowledge transfer stages.

There is a need to further explore different resources to close the gap between theoretical and practical relevance in SCM research. Researchers ought to follow an ambidextrous research strategy. This paper advises to bring back the core of the profession – the research process. This paper encourages researchers to be more creative and intensify the focus, equally, on both the theoretical and practical relevance in their research.

This research showcases a variety of different approaches for researchers to engage with practice so as to reduce any prejudices from both sides and enhance SCM decision-making processes. This paper recommends adding a new type of paper “practical paper” and including practitioners in the review board to evaluate the practical content of the research paper. This initiative would strengthen the interaction between researchers and practitioners.

This paper provides new insights on the need for symmetrical balance between theoretical and practical relevance being important for both academia and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to compare perspectives on humanitarian logistics (HL) and supply chain management (SCM) among programmes and logistics/support staff.

Underpinned by services supply chain management (SSCM) theory, a single case study of a leading international non-governmental organisation is presented based on a web-based survey of the organisation’s global operations staff, supplemented by semi-structured interviews conducted with senior representatives.

The study is believed to be the first to consider the different perspectives of programmes and logistics staff on the interpretation of logistics and SCM. The results indicate both significant divergence between the views of these two cohorts, as well as a general lack of clarity over the concept of SCM, its relationship with logistics and the cross-functional nature of SCM.

Insufficient responses from programme staff limit the generalisability of the findings. Suggestions for future research include further examination of the potential of applying SSCM and demand chain management concepts to the humanitarian context.

The results support the notion that a broader, more strategic interpretation of SCM, more clearly distinguished from the practice of HL, may assist in breaking down perceived jurisdictional boundaries, bridging the gap between programmes and logistics teams, and strengthening demand-chain influences and the “voice of the beneficiary”.

By taking into account the views of non-logisticians, a broader, cross-functional interpretation of SCM is offered leading to revised definitions for both SCM and HL within this sector, together with a framework that integrates SCM across humanitarian relief and development contexts.

The concept of interestingness has been investigated in several management disciplines but studies mobilizing such concept in supply chain management (SCM) to develop strategies for the field's advancement are relatively scarce. This research paper aims to investigate how SCM scholars rank attributes of interestingness and the strategies to harness interestingness in the field of SCM.

The authors adopt a mixed methods research design in which a survey on SCM researchers' ranking of interestingness' attributes and qualitative interviews with selected academics are conducted.

The findings highlight the importance given by SCM scholars to attributes such as rigor, relevance, novelty and communication and how they are interrelated. Also, other interestingness attributes are underlined by scholars during the qualitative interviews including inquisitiveness, engaging the reader, imaginativeness and entertainment. Furthermore, a research agenda to synthesize the propositions to develop interesting research is also proposed.

Interestingness attributes such as rigor, relevance and novelty are discussed. Recommendations for interesting research are suggested which can be useful to scholars and journal editors. The findings of this research are also relevant for practitioners for a better understanding of academic/practice relationships to develop high impact collaboration.

This paper is among the few studies that focus on interestingness in SCM research from the perspective of scholars. In doing so, the authors seek to contribute to the classic debate in SCM field about “relevance-rigour” duality by providing a broader outlook based on interestingness and proposing a research agenda for prospective studies in the field.

This paper aims to review logistics and supply chain management topics where theories have been applied to better understand the supply chain management (SCM) discipline identity. The purpose is threefold: to identify research topics in logistics and supply chain management where one or more theories have been examined; provide commentary on the theories that have been applied to the various logistics and SCM research topics; and to provide reference material and direction for future research.

This structured literature review (SLR) examines research papers in logistics and SCM from 1991 to 2015 published in eight leading academic journals. Papers in the data set are grouped by topic and further analyzed in terms of research method, purpose, year and journal.

This research categorizes papers by the topics that were studied to understand important insights about how these topics have been examined by researchers. Within each topic area, theories that researchers have used to investigate the topics are identified. This method exposes insights such as: how topics have evolved over time, which topics have lost prominence, which topics may be particularly promising for future research and how topics are treated in the literature.

Despite multiple calls for clarification regarding how theory has been used in logistics and SCM, the logistics and SCM disciplines continue to grow without adequate research on how theory has been used to examine SCM topics. This SLR therefore provides a broad compilation of logistics and SCM research that uses named theories and that is organized by SCM topic to better understand the SCM discipline.

The field of supply chain management (SCM) evolves dramatically due to factors of globalization, innovation, sustainability, and technology. These changes raise challenges not only to higher education institutions, but also to students, employing organizations, and third parties like SCM-related professional bodies. To understand the challenge, the purpose of this paper is to examine the gap between demand and supply of SCM-related knowledge areas, answer-related design questions, and make recommendations to close the gaps.

To compare the demand and supply of SCM-related knowledge areas, demand data is collected from a professional career website and supply data is gathered from operations management (OM) and SCM course syllabi from AACSB-accredited business schools in the USA. Cluster analysis identifies how supply and demand are matched on the data collected.

First, gaps exist between SCM talent requirements from industry and the knowledge/skill training by US business schools. This paper identifies matching, under-supplying, and over-supplying knowledge areas. Under-supply in emerging areas such as SCM information technology and certain logistics management topics are found. Some traditional OM topics are over-supplied due to out-of-date industry applications and should be revised to reflect the field’s transition from an OM to SCM view. Last, this paper makes recommendations to different stakeholders in this matching supply with demand process.

This study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it provides an up-to-date understanding on demand and supply of SCM talent in USA. Second, it provides insights and recommendations not only to educators on curriculum design, but also to potential candidates interested in SCM careers, to companies’ job recruiters, and to professional organizations (such as APICS and Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals) to reduce the gaps between demand and supply.

This paper aims to present a survey of the perceptions of the barriers to implementing reverse logistics (RL) practices in South Australian (SA) construction organisations. Despite the extensive research on forward logistics and RL, there is a paucity of studies that examine the barriers to implementing RL particularly within the Australian construction industry. This study builds on the ongoing research being undertaken by the authors, entitled “Designing for reverse logistics (DfRL) within the building life cycle: practices, drivers and barriers”, which is examining the best practices and drivers that could be used as a “road map” for developing appropriate solutions for the successful implementation of RL.

Data were collected by utilising a triangulated data collection approach, a literature review and 49 questionnaires. The review of the literature identified 16 barriers to implementing RL. The quantitative survey data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics with correlation analysis to examine the relationships between different pairs of variables comprising RL’s critical barriers.

The following barriers were indicated as most significant: lack of incorporation of salvaged materials by designers; regulation restrictions to usage of recovered materials and components; potential legal liabilities; higher costs; and longer-time association with deconstructing buildings. The least ranked barriers were mostly drawn from the operational and industrial categories as being: organisational lack of support for deconstruction due to incompatible design; lack of organisational support for deconstructing buildings due to higher health and safety risks; and inadequate skills and experience for deconstruction (operational). The industrial barrier was related to “higher costs of salvaged materials in comparison to virgin products”.

First, the reported findings are focussed on one study that used questionnaire surveys within the construction industry; therefore, the results may not be generalisable to other contexts. Further, studies should be conducted and extended to other industrial sectors beyond the construction industry. Second, the quantitative study (n = 49) used a smaller sample, and the survey items were based on the review of the literature.

The identified barriers could be used as a “road map” for the development of appropriate solutions for the successful implementation of RL, and to improve the environment-related decision-making processes of contractors.

This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on the subject of RL within a previously unexplored SA context. In addition, the study provides some insights on the contributory effects of the barriers to the implementation of RL. It is the first work undertaken to determine the barriers to the adoption of RL within the SA construction industry.