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In spite of growing research interest in cyber security, inter-firm based cyber risk studies are rare. Therefore, this study aims to investigate cyber risk management in supply chain contexts.

Adapting a systematic literature review process, papers from interdisciplinary areas published between 1990 and 2017 were selected. Different typologies, developed for conducting descriptive and thematic analysis, were established using data mining techniques to conduct a comprehensive, replicable and transparent review.

The review identifies multiple future research directions for cyber security/resilience in supply chains. A conceptual model is developed, which indicates a strong link between information technology, organisational and supply chain security systems. The human/behavioural elements within cyber security risk are found to be critical; however, behavioural risks have attracted less attention because of a perceived bias towards technical (data, application and network) risks. There is a need for raising risk awareness, standardised policies, collaborative strategies and empirical models for creating supply chain cyber-resilience.

Different types of cyber risks and their points of penetration, propagation levels, consequences and mitigation measures are identified. The conceptual model developed in this study drives an agenda for future research on supply chain cyber security/resilience.

A multi-perspective, systematic study provides a holistic guide for practitioners in understanding cyber-physical systems. The cyber risk challenges and the mitigation strategies identified support supply chain managers in making informed decisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic literature review on managing cyber risks in supply chains. The review defines supply chain cyber risk and develops a conceptual model for supply chain cyber security systems and an agenda for future studies.

This paper aims to explore how purchasing could respond to disruptive technologies by examining the assumptions underlying purchasing strategic alignment and purchasing maturity through a contingency lens.

This study uses a systematic review across purchasing maturity and purchasing strategic alignment literature. This is supplemented with exploratory case studies to include practitioners’ views.

This research demonstrates that neither purchasing maturity nor purchasing strategic alignment are suitable approaches to respond to disruptive technologies. Purchasing maturity does not allow purchasing managers to select relevant practices. It also shows no consideration of any contingencies, which practitioners highlight as important for the selection of practices. Purchasing strategic alignment includes the company strategy as a contingency but does not provide any practices to choose from. It does not include any other contextual contingencies considered important by practitioners. The findings indicate that linking the two research streams may provide a more suitable approach to responding to disruptive technologies.

This research demonstrates the requirement to develop a new approach to responding to disruptive technologies, by linking purchasing maturity and purchasing strategic alignment to contextual contingencies. This is a currently unexplored approach in academic literature, which refutes the generally accepted premise that higher maturity unilaterally supports a better positioning towards technological disruption. This research also highlights a requirement for practitioners to shift their approach to “best practices”.

This is the first research to systematically review the relationships between purchasing maturity and purchasing strategic alignment. It adds to contingency theory by suggesting that purchasing maturity models can support the achievement of strategic alignment. Also, future research directions are suggested to explore these relationships.

Attracting and educating the right supply chain managers are a critical challenge to the realization of most supply chain objectives irrespective of the state of the economy (shortage of personnel several months ago or increasing lay‐offs currently). This is because of the richness of capabilities required to do the job well. Much of our teaching in logistics and supply chain management focuses on the technical aspects of the role. However, the importance and criticality of the human aspects are becoming increasingly apparent. A new approach to the people dimension is called for. This paper uncovers a set of emotional capabilities, which, if combined with the technical capability that is undoubtedly needed as well, would transform the industry. One emotional capability, the ability to influence, is examined by way of illustrating what we mean by emotional capability. Suggestions are offered for furthering managerial capabilities in supply chain management.

A definition recently proposed by the Institute of Logistics states that: “Logistics is the time‐related positioning of resources”. Experience indicates that major benefits can be derived by focusing on the effective management of the key resources of the business. The key to success involves understanding what constitutes best practice in management of these resources with respect to time and how this can be applied, given the unique characteristics of a particular business. By viewing logistics as a time‐based strategy many benefits can be obtained. Presents an overview of the strategic issues based on experience with partner companies at the Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick. Discusses the tools and measures used for re‐engineering the supply chain through the use of time, and gives a brief example demonstrating the success of this approach.

The purpose of this paper is to record an interview with Richard T. Pascale, an international business consultant.

The paper uses an interview technique to reveal Richard T. Pascale's views on the relevance of complexity science to management.

The paper reveals that Pascale believes that there are some common properties to all living things that have great relevance to business. These are: prolonged equilibrium is a precursor to death; innovation occurs near the edge of chaos; all living things exhibit the capacity for self‐organisation and emergence (most recently popularised by the idea of the tipping point); and when you tamper with living things, you confront the law of unintended consequences. All four of these ideas have begun to penetrate managerial consciousness.

This paper provides some usual views on the relevance of complexity science to management from a well‐known international business consultant.

Since the late 1950s it has been recognised that the systems used internally within supply chains can lead to oscillations in demand and inventory as orders pass through the system. The uncertainty generated by these oscillations can result in late deliveries, order cancellations and an increased reliance on inventory to buffer these effects. Despite the best efforts of organisations to stabilise the dynamics generated, industry still experiences a high degree of uncertainty from this source. The “supply chain complexity triangle” describes the interaction of deterministic chaos, parallel interactions and demand amplification. It provides a framework for understanding the generation of uncertainty within supply chains. The implications for supply chain strategy and manufacturing logistics are discussed.