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The literature on knowledge management in sustainable supply chain (KMSSC) has witnessed significant growth in the past two decades. However, a scientometric review that consolidates the primary trends and clusters within this topic has been notably absent. This paper aims to scrutinize recent advancements and identify the intellectual underpinnings of KMSSC research conducted between 2002 and 2022.

The present review employs a scientometric analysis approach via visualization maps of prolific contributions, co-citation, co-occurrence and thematic networks to examine a total of 114 articles and conference papers on KMSSC.

Emerging research frontiers and hotspots are revealed and a state-of-the-art framework of KMSSC research structure is developed.

The review provides significant implications that guide KMSSC research and better inform sustainability decisions in the supply chain context.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first review to thoroughly synthesize the intersected domain of KMSSC using scientometric analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how three core elements of critical management studies (CMSs), “de-naturalisation”, “reflexivity” and “(non)-performative intent”, can help expand the current debate in the supply chain management (SCM) field.

The authors used a systematic literature review to select 103 articles published in 12 high-ranking journals in the SCM field based on the Academic Journal Guide of the Chartered Association of Business Schools.

The findings of this study suggest that SCM studies can be narrowed down into four major CMSs themes: “power”, “ethics and environmental issues”, “diversity” and “working conditions”, but even these themes are still under-discussed and undertheorized in SCM. The literature the authors reviewed is more concerned with explaining these phenomena than questioning them and proposing new agendas. This paper, therefore, will discuss how these three core elements of CMS can help transform the “hidden” issues of SCM, which it will do by illustrating it in the context of buyer–supplier relationships and lean manufacturing.

This research will encourage SCM scholars who are interested in conducting more critical studies and teaching the harmful effects of global supply chains.

This paper highlights that a combination of SCM and CMS approaches is important when we decide to adopt a more critical “constructive” view of supply chain challenges and engage practical and critical views, respectively, to generate knowledge that not only increases (corporate) performance but also highlights social needs and values.

Over the last two decades, green supply chain management (GSCM) has enabled businesses to operate in an environmentally friendly manner. The present review examines 234 research articles and proposes a methodical literature review on GSCM, focusing on the aspects of sustainable development.

The work examines conceptual, analytical, empirical and non-empirical research articles, analyzing at all levels of the organization, such as firm, dyad, supply chain and network. The objective of the review is to provide insights into the state and scope of existing research in the domain of GSCM, to identify the prevalence of GSCM and to consolidate the trend of future research. The literature review follows a systematic methodology for analyzing the literature.

The findings can support researchers in identifying research areas with significant impact and streamline research on GSCM in the future. Practitioners can utilize this structured classification to strategize their green initiatives in their firms.

The work contributes to providing literature that explores a detailed review in GSCM. The proposed literature review captures critical aspects in the domain of GSCM and offers future research directions.

In this paper, the authors emphasize that COVID-19 pandemic is a serious pandemic as it continues to cause deaths and long-term health effects, followed by the most prolonged crisis in the 21st century and has disrupted supply chains globally. This study questions “can technological inputs such as big data analytics help to restore strength and resilience to supply chains post COVID-19 pandemic?”; toward which authors identified risks associated with purchasing and supply chain management by using a hypothetical model to achieve supply chain resilience through big data analytics.

The hypothetical model is tested by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique on the primary data collected from the manufacturing industries.

It is found that big data analytics tools can be used to help to restore and to increase resilience to supply chains. Internal risk management capabilities were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic that increased the company's external risk management capabilities.

The findings provide valuable insights in ways to achieve improved competitive advantage and to build internal and external capabilities and competencies for developing more resilient and viable supply chains.

To the best of authors' knowledge, the model is unique and this work advances literature on supply chain resilience.

The aim of this conceptual study is to analyze the effects of state-of-the-art research streams on supply chain risk management (SCRM) based on organizational theoretical background and direct future research toward the use of other related organizational theories. This paper seeks to provide a framework for understanding various organizational theories that can impact the understanding of SCRM.

A systematic literature review on articles published from 1998 to 2020 was conducted manually in the following databases: Emerald, Science Direct, Taylor & Francis Online, and Wiley online library. Among these articles, the paper by Smeltzer and Siferd (1998) is the first article published on the topic. Therefore, that serves as a starting point for the papers' analysis. A total of 109 articles have been selected and reviewed in detail.

The results of the study indicate that the articles which utilize theories in SCRM research have been mostly published in the last three years. The quantitative and case studies have been prevalently applied methods in the articles. In total, 34 theories are listed from the investigated articles. The four commonly studied theories among these are the information processing theory, transaction cost theory, contingency theory, and resource-based view.

This paper is the pioneer in the sense that the paper specifically and directly reviews the SCRM literature in terms of organizational theory usage. For future research, this study offers a diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory that explains the factors which can affect the adoption or diffusion of SCRM practices.

The purpose of this article is to discuss how the mastery of resilience in operations and supply chains plays a significant role in the transition to a more sustainable future. Furthermore, it is supposed to propose avenues for future research on operational and supply chain resilience, interacting with the sustainability literature in our field.

A conceptual review of resilience and sustainability themes within operations and supply chain management research is conducted. Reflections on the topic are informed by relevant literature published over the last decade.

The major conceptual contributions are threefold: (1) This article elaborates on the understanding of operational resilience and supply chain resilience concepts and reviews their respective primary research streams. (2) It proposes resilience as the missing element in the pursuit of excellence in organizations that want to contribute to a more sustainable future. (3) The article offers a research framework that provides a future research agenda at the intersection of resilience and sustainability in operations and supply chain management research.

The article highlights gaps in current research and illustrates further areas of research that need to be addressed to maximize the contribution of operations and supply chain management research in supporting practitioners to achieve a more sustainable future.

This study aims to examine the blockchain landscape in supply chain management by drawing insights from academic and industry literature. It identifies the key drivers, categorizes the products involved and highlights the business values achieved by early adopters of blockchain technology within the supply chain domain. Additionally, it explores fingerprinting techniques to establish a robust connection between physical products and the blockchain ledger.

The authors combined the interpretive sensemaking systematic literature review to offer insights into how organizations interpreted their business challenges and adopted blockchain technology in their specific supply chain context; content analysis (using Leximancer automated text mining software) for concept mapping visualization, facilitating the identification of key themes, trends and relationships, and qualitative thematic analysis (NVivo) for data organization, coding and enhancing the depth and efficiency of analysis.

The findings highlight the transformative potential of blockchain technology and offer valuable insights into its implementation in optimizing supply chain operations. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of product provenance information to consumers, with blockchain technology offering certainty and increasing customer loyalty toward brands that prioritize transparency.

This research has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, there is a possibility that some relevant investigations may have been missed or omitted, which could impact the findings. In addition, the limited availability of literature on blockchain adoption in supply chains may restrict the scope of the conclusions. The evolving nature of blockchain adoption in supply chains also poses a limitation. As the technology is in its infancy, the authors expect that a rapidly emerging body of literature will provide more extensive evidence-based general conclusions in the future. Another limitation is the lack of information contrasting academic and industry research, which could have provided more balanced insights into the technology’s advancement. The authors attributed this limitation to the narrow collaborations between academia and industry in the field of blockchain for supply chain management.

Practitioners recognize the potential of blockchain in addressing industry-specific challenges, such as ensuring transparency and data provenance. Understanding the benefits achieved by early adopters can serve as a starting point for companies considering blockchain adoption. Blockchain technology can verify product origin, enable truthful certifications and comply with established standards, reinforcing trust among stakeholders and customers. Thus, implementing blockchain solutions can enhance brand reputation and consumer confidence by ensuring product authenticity and quality. Based on the results, companies can align their strategies and initiatives with their needs and expectations.

In essence, the integration of blockchain technology within supply chain provenance initiatives not only influences economic aspects but also brings substantial social impacts by reinforcing consumer trust, encouraging sustainable and ethical practices, combating product counterfeiting, empowering stakeholders and contributing to a more responsible, transparent and progressive socioeconomic environment.

This study consolidates current knowledge on blockchain’s capacity and identifies the specific drivers and business values associated with early blockchain adoption in supply chain provenance. Furthermore, it underscores the critical role of product fingerprinting techniques in supporting blockchain for supply chain provenance, facilitating more robust and efficient supply chain operations.

Although scholars argue that artificial intelligence (AI) represents a tool to potentially smoothen the bullwhip effect in the supply chain, only little research has examined this phenomenon. In this article, the authors conceptualize a framework that allows for a more structured management approach to examine the bullwhip effect using AI. In addition, the authors conduct a systematic literature review of this current status of how management can use AI to reduce the bullwhip effect and locate opportunities for future research.

Guided by the systematic literature review approach from Durach et al. (2017), the authors review and analyze key attributes and characteristics of both AI and the bullwhip effect from a management perspective.

The authors' findings reveal that literature examining how management can use AI to smoothen the bullwhip effect is a rather under-researched area that provides an abundance of research avenues. Based on identified AI capabilities, the authors propose three key management pillars that form the basis of the authors' Bullwhip-Smoothing-Framework (BSF): (1) digital skills, (2) leadership and (3) collaboration. The authors also critically assess current research efforts and offer suggestions for future research.

By providing a structured management approach to examine the link between AI and the bullwhip phenomena, this study offers scholars and managers a foundation for the advancement of theorizing how to smoothen the bullwhip effect along the supply chain.

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the supply chain performance through collaborative effectiveness, from the organisations of Asia–Pacific region perspective, compared with that of global organisations based on collaborative supply chain practices.

The survey research methodology was adopted, involving the collection of survey data from 223 participants across 10 different industries and 6 geographic regions. Data included 103 organisations in the Asia–Pacific region including Australia, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

From a collaborative effectiveness perspective, the supply chain performance of Asia–Pacific organisations is different when compared with that of global organisations. It was also found that global organisations are driven by sales performance, while Asia–Pacific organisations are focussing mainly on the cost in terms of the number of employees, and therefore productivity. The metal industry stands out to be the best performing industry from a collaborative effectiveness perspective in the Asia–Pacific region and globally.

The research findings can be used as a guide by industry practitioners to develop benchmarks for collaborative supply chain practices by industry and region of operations. This research has been limited to a few industries such as manufacturing, logistics, service and retail industries.

This research generates new knowledge on the relationship between the collaborative effectiveness and supply chain performance, from the perspectives of both Asia–Pacific and global organisations, based on a collaborative effectiveness framework. The study proposes an innovative approach of assessing supply chain performance through collaborative effectiveness from the perspectives of geographical boundaries and industry types.

This paper aims to adopt a resource-based view (RBV) to investigate the link between marketing (MRKT)–supply chain management (SCM) alignment, supply chain resilience (SCR) and firm performance. It aims to cover two gaps in the SCM literature: the missing links between MRKT–SCM alignment and the performance of a firm, mediated by the SCR, and the role of absorptive capacity (AC) in shaping such links.

After the identification of a key capability in SCM, i.e. firms’ ability to align their’ MRKT–SCM processes and the role of AC, the relationships with performance are empirically tested in a sample of 133 firms in the fast-moving consumer goods industry in Saudi Arabia. The data was analyzed using SPSS 27 through hierarchal multiple regression and the PROCESS macro.

First, MRKT–SCM alignment capabilities provide a significant direct effect on SCR, and in turn, SCR also had a significant indirect effect on firm performance. Second, there is a significant mediating effect of SCR on the MRKT –SCM alignment and firm performance relationship. Third, a novel finding shows a statistically significant interaction effect and the interaction pattern supported that absorptive capacity would substitute the positive effect of SCR on firm performance, which implies that in the absence of SCR, AC can substitute the role of SCR. Finally, the results suggest a significant moderation and mediation effect for the overall model.

The investigation is based on a self-reported cross-sectional analysis, and it is specific to a single economy. Nonetheless, it suggests a number of interesting implications. Achieving excellence in SCR requires the development of a distinct set of capabilities because the management of core supply chain activities and the alignment of MRKT with the supply chain are not mutually exclusive, rather they are complementary. Contrary to common expectations, an alignment of MRKT–SCM processes leads to improved interfunctional coordination.

In the postCOVID-19 world firms should develop and integrate their AC to capitalize on their MRKT–SCM alignment to pursue better performance. Investment in AC is required to develop, maintain and use it. It can play an important role against uncertainties in the long run.

This paper is unique in that it employs the RBV – to unpack the mechanisms through which MRKT–SCM activities contribute to SCR, and firm performance. It represents a first response to the call for research into the use of such theoretical frameworks which has recently been made in the SCM literature because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper also offers the first empirical test of how the MRKT–SCM interacts with existing capabilities to create SCR, providing clear guidance on how to exploit its often undervalued potential.