Supply Chain Management Journal最新文献

Purpose

Traceability systems (TS) have enabled significant improvements in supply chain management. Despite these advancements, there is room for further enhancement in the acceptance and diffusion of TS among stakeholders in emergent agri-food supply chains. Conducting a strategic analysis of TS is crucial to reveal the associated challenges, opportunities, pros and cons. Doing so will foster the development of emergent agri-food supply chains and unlock their potential.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a modified quantitative four-round Delphi methodology among experts, selected according to the quadruple helix model, covering end-to-end the supply chain. The research was carried out in Greece, as its agri-food sector epitomizes the type of emergent supply chain under investigation.

Findings

This study reveals the impact of TS in emergent agri-food industries, emphasizing the firm-focused positive effects like improving their supply chain performance. The research also highlights the benefits of TS adoption, suggesting that they outweigh any drawbacks based on the TS internal-external environment analysis. The multi-stakeholder participatory approach resulted in a blend of well-informed policy-making recommendations and managerial insights, paving the way for a broader and more efficient TS adoption in emergent agri-food supply chains.

Research limitations/implications

Impediments on sampling require caution when extending these findings to other contexts. Yet, it is crucial to conduct further research using a similar approach in a broader area, not just limited to Greece but also in other economies with similar conditions characterized by nascent supply chains.

Originality/value

The comprehensive and holistic approach used in this study, examining the extended supply chain context instead of just dyads, offers valuable insights that contribute to theory development in supply chain management. Such an output is momentous when researching emergent supply chains and complex issues like traceability, which require information sharing and involve interdependencies and hidden dynamics among stakeholders that are impossible to explore otherwise.

Purpose

Drawing on panarchy theory and adaptive cycles, this study aims to investigate the role of reorganisation capabilities on firms’ supply chain resilience. The conceptual model underpinned by panarchy theory is tested in the agrifood supply chains disrupted by a geopolitical crisis and faced with material shortage. The study considers circularity as a core reorganisational capability and measures its interplay with two other capabilities: new product development and resource reconfiguration capabilities to achieve supply chain resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research design is followed to test the relationships between circularity capabilities, resource reconfiguration capabilities, new product development capabilities and supply chain resilience. A cross-sectional survey is applied to a sample drawn from food manufacturers who are dependent on wheat and sunflower oil as raw material and who are faced with material shortages in the aftermath of a geopolitical crisis. Measurement models and hypotheses are tested with the partial least squared structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) based on 324 responses.

Findings

The results show that new product development and resource reconfiguration capabilities fully mediate the relationship between circularity capabilities and supply chain resilience. In other words, the food producers achieved supply chain resilience in response to agrifood supply chain disruption when they mobilised circularity capabilities in combination with new product development and resource reconfiguration capabilities.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that producers in the agrifood industry and even those in other industries need to develop circularity capabilities in combination with new product development and resource reconfiguration capabilities to tackle supply chain disruptions. In a world that is challenged by geopolitical and climate-related crises, this means leveraging 3R practices as well as resource substitution and reconfiguration in new product development processes.

Originality/value

The study explores the release and reorganisation phases of adaptive cycles in a panarchy by analysing the interplay between different capabilities for building supply chain resilience in response to disruptions challenging supply chains from higher levels of the panarchy. The results extend the theoretical debate between circularity and supply chain resilience to an empirical setting and suggest the introduction of new variables to this relationship.

Purpose

The integration of blockchain technology (BT) in supply chain management (SCM) is at the forefront of technological advancements, yet it faces significant barriers that hinder its widespread adoption. This study aims to delve into these challenges, employing the diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory to systematically investigate and propose a strategic framework for overcoming the technological barriers to BT adoption within SCM.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) of 155 publications, complemented by rigorous content analysis and expert interviews, this research identifies and categorizes 16 primary technological barriers, including scalability and privacy issues, that impede BT integration.

Findings

The proposed framework, informed by DOI theory, outlines tailored strategies across three critical adoption stages: initiation, where the focus is on mitigating high energy consumption and scalability issues; adoption decision, emphasizing the formulating international standards for blockchain architecture, embedding abstraction layers within software projects; and implementation, concentrating on enhancing security, interoperability and system efficiency.

Originality/value

This research contributes significantly to both academic literature and practical applications. Academically, it extends the DOI theory within the SCM context and enriches the blockchain literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the specific barriers to BT adoption. Practically, it offers a roadmap for industry practitioners, delineating actionable strategies to navigate the adoption process effectively. This study not only bridges the gap between theoretical insights and practical implementations but also serves as a vital resource for policymakers and standard-setting bodies in facilitating and regulating BT adoption in SCM, thereby fostering innovation and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to theoretically hypothesise and empirically explore the relationships between operations and supply chain management (O&SCM) and marketing/sales (OMS) collaboration, social media (SM) usage, organisational resilience and performance. This paper considers how collaboration through SM can enhance organisational resilience capability and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted among 395 organisations in the UK. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The empirical findings of this study support the significant mediating role of O&SCM–OMS collaborative activities through internal and external SM for better organisational resilience, capability, cost efficiency, customer-focused and business performance. This also extends to exploring differences based on product versus service industries.

Originality/value

Through empirical research, the findings contribute to the theoretical development and managerial guidance on O&SCM–OMS collaboration and resilience capability by emphasising the strategic deployment of SM across functions through the lens of contingency theory and resource-based view.

Purpose

The European Union (EU) and European companies are striving for net-zero carbon targets by 2050 and are therefore focused on urgent decarbonization efforts. Manufacturing contributes to 20% of European carbon emissions, although the primary challenge lies in supply chain (SC) emissions, which highlights the field's need to transform. Amid the dissonance between public and private net-zero commitments and persistent carbon emissions, uncertainties surround the development of net-zero carbon supply chains (NZCSCs). This paper aims to address this lack of knowledge by presenting an exploration of the development of NZCSCs within the EU through 2050.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a real-time Delphi methodology and tool from durvey.org, this study involves a multiphase panel discussion process with 67 SC and sustainability experts. Twelve prospective theses for NZCSC development in the EU were formulated through desk research, interviews and an expert workshop. The panel assessed these theses in terms of impact, desirability and anticipated occurrence year and provided justification for their evaluations.

Findings

The study identifies three clusters that influence NZCSC development, comprising 68 implications that scholars, managers and policymakers should consider during this transition.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the available information regarding NZCSCs by offering insights from a multilevel perspective into the influences on NZCSC development in the EU's manufacturing sector.

Purpose

This study aims to shape the future trajectory of scholarly research on traditional, reputational and societal supply chain risks and their management.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a narrative literature review of the overview type. To control bias stemming from the subjectivity of the methodology, the authors synthesized the relevant literature transparently and established various safeguarding procedures.

Findings

The established research stream on traditional supply chain risk has generated a wealth of concepts that can potentially be transferred to the study of reputational and societal risks. The maturing research stream on reputational risks has mostly focused on risk manifestation, from the upstream perspective of the focal firm. The emerging scholarship on societal supply chain risks has anecdotally highlighted detrimental effects on contextual actors, such as society-at-large.

Research limitations/implications

This study shifts scholarly attention to the role of the context in the risk manifestation process – as a potential risk source for traditional supply chain risk, during the risk materialization for reputational supply chain risk, and as the locus of the risk effect for societal supply chain risk.

Originality/value

This review is unique in that it fosters a holistic understanding of supply chain risk and underscores the increased importance of the context for it. The socioeconomic, institutional and ecological contexts connect the three reviewed research streams. Detailed research agendas for each literature stream are developed, comprising 23 topical areas in total.

Purpose

This study aims to explore the potential of blockchain technology in the field of supply chain management (SCM). The research is motivated by the emerging significance of blockchain as a disruptive technology that can potentially address a range of challenges faced by SCM professionals globally.

Design/methodology/approach

In our approach, this paper utilized a knock-out criteria approach to break down 150 identified challenges in SCM to a more manageable number of 12. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was then used to prioritize these challenges in order of their relative importance and suitability for resolution through blockchain.

Findings

The analysis identified key challenges to be addressed by blockchain technology in SCM. Most notably, it highlighted concerns related to price stability and global financial flows, which closely intertwine. Another significant group of issues pertains to tracking, tracing and the demonstration of sustainability, thus suggesting a substantial potential for blockchain application in these areas. The fifth notable challenge revolves around establishing ownership rights over digital assets or software.

Originality/value

This study identified key challenges in SCM with significant potential for blockchain intervention including price stability, global financial flows, tracking, tracing and the establishment of digital asset ownership. Research gaps exist despite notable progress in applications such as inflation control and tracking – especially in areas like ownership rights and e-commerce. The findings indicate that blockchain has the potential to address SCM challenges and that further exploration and implementation are necessary.

Purpose

To investigate the effects of supply chain (SC) distance on sustainability adoption, this study aims to advance the way prior studies on SC sustainability presume that SC structures are well-developed and stable. Since SC members face structural voids in different regions, we recognize that the information flow is impacted as SC partners often have limited knowledge of their direct partners. Thus, by studying a multi-stakeholder partnership, this article sheds light on the institutional foundation of sustainability adoption issues largely neglected to date.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study was used with members of an MSP (i.e. a roundtable), to understand the beef SC located in Brazil. Overall, 18 h of interview recordings and notes from 18 h of meeting observations were gathered, equaling 36 h of primary data.

Findings

Four dimensions of SC distance (physical, organizational, cultural and institutional) were identified, generating three driving effects on symbolic sustainability adoption and, consequently, a degree of invisibility for beef SC members. The results explain the process of sustainability adoption and highlight that smaller and more upstream suppliers show lower degrees of substantive adoption of SC sustainability practices.

Originality/value

This study investigates how SC distance affects the alignment of SC members in terms of sustainability adoption. By providing reflections on how institutional distance can hinder suppliers from adopting sustainability requirements they received from the SC, this research contributes to shifting from sustainability discourse to real practice and proactive partner engagement.

Purpose

Extant research shows collaboration among supply chain (SC) partners can address the significant environmental impacts of industrial food systems, but can be risky and resource-intensive. Past studies have predominantly treated buyer–supplier sustainability collaborations as a single aggregate concept missing the theoretical richness. This study aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of these collaborations for jointly improving sustainable food supply networks.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study was conducted covering 8 SCs in the Dutch food processing industry, using data from 27 interviewees and extensive secondary material.

Findings

By applying the dynamic relational view, this study identifies three types of buyer–supplier collaboration, reflecting three paths of sustainable value creation: (1) the bilateral path, featuring equal participation and extensive collaboration, yielding substantial environmental and economic benefits; (2) the buyer-driven path, where the buyer leads the collaboration to address sustainability issues that are raised by stakeholders, relying on supplier expertise to improve SC traceability and sustainability reputation, albeit at higher costs; (3) the supplier-driven path, where the supplier leads the collaboration for incremental environmental and economic improvements.

Practical implications

The taxonomy results provide practical guidelines to assist managers in selecting the most suitable collaboration type for their specific sustainability goals and more effectively address sustainability challenges.

Originality/value

The three identified types of collaboration form a novel taxonomy for improving sustainability in food supply networks, representing different paths for SC partners to achieve progressively more substantial sustainability improvements. This taxonomy challenges the perspective that adopting sustainability invariably leads to increased costs by providing evidence of simultaneous economic and environmental improvements.