Martin C. Schleper, Stefan Gold, Alexander Trautrims and Duncan Baldock
This Impact Pathways paper aims to provide a timely and structured discussion of real-world problems at Marks and Spencer and in retail in general, evoked through the current…
Abstract
Purpose
This Impact Pathways paper aims to provide a timely and structured discussion of real-world problems at Marks and Spencer and in retail in general, evoked through the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The article presents collaborative research based on more than five hours of interviews and several iterative paper writing steps between management scholars and Marks & Spencer’s Head of Procurement - Logistics and Supply Chain. Continuous discussions for more than ten months among the research team assure the timeliness and relevance of the findings. The exceptional position of the executive and his career biography allowed the integration of a variety of intra-organisational and inter-organisational stakeholders.
Findings
This paper highlights the impacts of the current COVID-19 pandemic on operations and supply chain management (OSCM) in the retail industry, structured in upstream, internal and operational, and downstream and customer perspectives. The paper concludes with a practice-infused research agenda, which aims to trigger relevant research about the current and potential future crises.
Research limitations/implications
Although the research agenda is directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the retail industry, the future research pathways are expected to inform business responses to potential future external shocks other than pandemics and in different industries as well.
Originality/value
Despite a plethora of studies already published on COVID-19 and OSCM, little is known on how the outbreak affects specific firms and industries. This paper offers an overview of COVID-19 related change as it happens at the retailer and in the retailing industry in general. This article is among the first to provide a practice-infused call for research on urgent issues being faced by business leaders directly relevant to our domain.
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Kate McLoughlin and Joanne Meehan
The purpose of this paper is to examine how, and by whom, institutional logics are determined in the action of sustainable organisation. The authors analyse a supply chain network…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how, and by whom, institutional logics are determined in the action of sustainable organisation. The authors analyse a supply chain network structure to understand how multiple stakeholders' perceptions of sustainability emerge into a dominant logic and diffuse across an organisational field.
Design/methodology/approach
Stakeholder network theory provides novel insights into emerging logics within a chocolate supply chain network. Semi-structured interviews with 35 decision-makers were analysed alongside 269 company documents to capture variations in emergent logics. The network was mapped to include 63 nodes and 366 edges to analyse power structure and mechanisms.
Findings
The socio-economic organising principles of sustainable organisation, their sources of power and their logics are identified. Economic and social logics are revealed, yet the dominance of economic logics creates risks to their coexistence. Logics are largely shaped in pre-competitive activities, and resource fitness to collaborative clusters limits access for non-commercial actors.
Research limitations/implications
Powerful firms use network structures and collaborative and concurrent inter-organisational relationships to define and diffuse their conceptualisation of sustainability and restrict competing logics.
Originality/value
This novel study contributes to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) through presenting the socio-economic logic as a new conceptual framework to understand the action of sustainable organisation. The identification of sophisticated mechanisms of power and hegemonic control in the network opens new research agendas.
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Kari Lepistö, Minna Saunila and Juhani Ukko
This study examines whether certification improves the dimensions of total quality management (TQM) and whether the impact of certification is similar across companies of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines whether certification improves the dimensions of total quality management (TQM) and whether the impact of certification is similar across companies of different sizes and industries. The benefits of certification for companies have been widely discussed in recent years. The general debate has been partly marked by the dispute about whether companies will benefit more from certification or the implementation of TQM. This debate has led to numerous studies on the benefits of certification; however, few studies simultaneously have examined traditional TQM issues and the requirements of the new quality standard, ISO 9001: 2015, as well as the updated European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) criteria.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted via a survey of Finnish SMEs and covered both industrial and service companies. The study comprehensively compared industrial companies with service companies and small companies with medium-sized companies.
Findings
In industrial and small enterprises, certification clearly has a positive effect on the dimensions of TQM, but a similar effect was not observed in medium-sized enterprises or in the service sector.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to examine the effect of certification on TQM in different types of SMEs while simultaneously considering EFQM and ISO 9001:2015 in Finland. The significant originality of this research lies in the formation of a comprehensive research framework for the dimensions of TQM.
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Sumit Kumar Maji and Sourav Prasad
Present bias (PB) is a cognitive bias that stimulates the individual decision-maker to favour the present reward even over the higher reward in the future to avoid the uncertainty…
Abstract
Purpose
Present bias (PB) is a cognitive bias that stimulates the individual decision-maker to favour the present reward even over the higher reward in the future to avoid the uncertainty attached to the reward in an uncertain future. The article attempts to examine the prevalence of PB amongst Indians and the effect of such bias on savings and borrowings.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data on 47,132 respondents from the Financial Inclusion Insights, 2017 database was used in the study. The theory of self-control, which is captured by the widely accepted hyperbolic discounting model, was used to explore the presence of PB. Suitable statistical techniques and the binary probit regression model were employed to attain the objectives of the study.
Findings
The prevalence of PB was found amongst 8.2% of the sample respondents. The outcome of the study endorses the view of previous researchers that present-biased people tend to save less and borrow more.
Originality/value
Although the exploration of the role of various cognitive biases on financial behaviour is gaining momentum in recent times, there is a dearth of studies exploring the prevalence of PB and its implication towards financial behaviour, especially in the context of the emerging economy of India. The study makes an original contribution in this regard by using a very rich dataset of 47,132 individuals in the Indian context for the first time.
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Ivan Russo, Ilenia Confente, Jan Holmström, Mikael Öhman and Travis Tokar
The purpose of this research is to highlight the significance of advancing research methodologies in logistics, operations and supply chain management. It seeks to expand the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to highlight the significance of advancing research methodologies in logistics, operations and supply chain management. It seeks to expand the scope of research questions and explore areas previously constrained by traditional methodological approaches, thereby enhancing the exploration of complex, real-world business issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This commentary introduces and discusses the special issue on “Advances in Research Methodologies for Logistics and Supply Chain Management,” exploring methodological innovations, diversity and their potential to address complex business and disciplinary challenges. The commentary assesses a broad spectrum of methodologies, ranging from traditional qualitative and quantitative approaches to overlooked methods such as qualitative comparative analysis, netnography, design science, Bayesian networks, machine learning and repertory grid technique. This diverse methodological approach enables a comprehensive examination of emerging and ongoing challenges in the supply chain. In the final summary section, we highlight additional areas of research method innovation not covered in this special issue, offering a broader perspective on future directions for methodological advancements in SCM research.
Findings
The findings suggest that integrating less explored methodologies from various disciplines encourages a richer, multi-level analysis of the supply chain management landscape. This integration facilitates a deeper understanding of emerging challenges, such as geopolitical issues, global supply chain disruptions and the integration of new technologies. Additionally, the exploration of ‘white space' in research methodologies indicates significant potential for discovering new insights that bridge practical problems with theoretical contributions.
Originality/value
The value of this methodological diversity extends beyond academic enrichment. It catalyzes the generation of innovative insights crucial for business practitioners, policymakers, consultants and academics. By adopting varied research designs and methodologies, the research note can offer a broader spectrum of analytical perspectives, crucial for uncovering nuanced insights into complex, cross-cultural and relationship-based dynamics in supply chain research.
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The concept of a sustainable warehouse management system (WMS) is a relevant yet under-researched area within warehousing logistics. The purpose of this research is twofold…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of a sustainable warehouse management system (WMS) is a relevant yet under-researched area within warehousing logistics. The purpose of this research is twofold: first, to review the literature on the topic of socially and environmentally sustainable practices; second, to lay the theoretical base for identifying social and environmental sustainability practices in warehousing operations that can serve as focus areas for WMS operational functions.
Design/methodology/approach
This research built knowledge on a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis in Scopus Elsevier and Web of Science Core Collection databases. After comprehensively filtering English literature from 2016 to 2024, only 43 out of the initial 601 studies comprised relevant warehousing practices that can be incorporated into the scope of WMS activities.
Findings
As a result, retrieved practices were allocated to a specifically designed warehouse model within the main processes, equipment and resources. This model could serve as a baseline for incorporating 48 sustainable WMS practices. The prevailing share of practices focuses on environmental rather than social warehouse sustainability. WMS should adopt sustainable warehousing practices to reduce warehouses' carbon footprint, energy and resource consumption and improve working conditions in a warehouse.
Originality/value
There have not been any existing reviews on warehouses' social and environmental sustainability to synthesize knowledge and serve as a base for WMS sustainability. This research will contribute to developing more sustainable and environmentally responsible warehousing operations, ultimately benefiting society and the environment. By incorporating such practices into WMS, warehouse owners can ensure efforts toward social and environmental sustainability while still maintaining efficient operations.
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Martin C. Schleper, Sina Duensing and Christian Busse
This study aims to shape the future trajectory of scholarly research on traditional, reputational and societal supply chain risks and their management.
Abstract
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.
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Anna Zhuravleva and Anna Aminoff
The European Union (EU) member states are obligated to implement the separate collection of textile waste by the year 2025. Nowadays, non-profit organizations (NPOs) are the…
Abstract
Purpose
The European Union (EU) member states are obligated to implement the separate collection of textile waste by the year 2025. Nowadays, non-profit organizations (NPOs) are the largest collectors of post-use textiles. In support of upcoming changes, this study develops an understanding of barriers and drivers for establishing partnerships between NPOs and companies in reverse textile supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts the embedded single-case design. The main data source is semi-structured interviews with NPOs, companies and research institutes in Finland, identified through intensity case sampling. The drivers and barriers are categorized into seven categories: environmental, economic, social, institutional, technological and informational, supply chain and organizational categories.
Findings
This study elaborates on the barriers and drivers in a new context of textile valorization and prioritizes them. The study identifies the alignment of interests and goals, increased transparency and clarity of terminology and other main factors in establishing the partnership.
Research limitations/implications
Expanding the geographical boundaries of current research will capture the experiences of NPOs and companies in other contextual settings.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the existing knowledge with a broad picture of different barriers and drivers. The findings intend to support the integration of NPOs in reverse textile supply chains.
Social implications
The partnership can potentially minimize the export of post-use textiles to developing countries, thus reducing the negative environmental footprint and social impact of the textile industry.
Originality/value
The study looks at an emerging form of partnership between NPOs and companies in reverse supply chains for enabling valorization of post-use textiles.
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Oscar F. Bustinza, Luis M. Molina Fernandez and Marlene Mendoza Macías
Machine learning (ML) analytical tools are increasingly being considered as an alternative quantitative methodology in management research. This paper proposes a new approach for…
Abstract
Purpose
Machine learning (ML) analytical tools are increasingly being considered as an alternative quantitative methodology in management research. This paper proposes a new approach for uncovering the antecedents behind product and product–service innovation (PSI).
Design/methodology/approach
The ML approach is novel in the field of innovation antecedents at the country level. A sample of the Equatorian National Survey on Technology and Innovation, consisting of more than 6,000 firms, is used to rank the antecedents of innovation.
Findings
The analysis reveals that the antecedents of product and PSI are distinct, yet rooted in the principles of open innovation and competitive priorities.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is based on a sample of Equatorian firms with the objective of showing how ML techniques are suitable for testing the antecedents of innovation in any other context.
Originality/value
The novel ML approach, in contrast to traditional quantitative analysis of the topic, can consider the full set of antecedent interactions to each of the innovations analyzed.
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Hakan Karaosman, Donna Marshall and Irene Ward
Just transition is a fundamental concept for supply chain management but neither discipline pays attention to the other and little is known about how supply chains can be…
Abstract
Purpose
Just transition is a fundamental concept for supply chain management but neither discipline pays attention to the other and little is known about how supply chains can be orchestrated as socioecological systems to manage these transitions. Building from a wide range of just transition examples, this paper explores just transition to understand how to move beyond instrumental supply chain practices to supply chains functioning in harmony with the planet and its people.
Design/methodology/approach
Building from a systematic review of 72 papers, the paper identifies just transition examples while interpreting them through the theoretical lens of supply chain management, providing valuable insights to help research and practice understand how to achieve low-carbon economies through supply chain management in environmentally and socially just ways.
Findings
The paper defines, elaborates, and extends the just transition construct by developing a transition taxonomy with two key dimensions. The purpose dimension (profit or shared outcomes) and the governance dimension (government-/industry-led versus civil society-involved), generating four transition archetypes. Most transitions projects are framed around the Euro- and US-centric, capitalist standards of development, leading to coloniality as well as economic and cultural depletion of communities. Framing just transition in accordance with context-specific plural values, the paper provides an alternative perspective to the extractive transition concept. This can guide supply chain management to decarbonise economies and societies by considering the rights of nature, communities and individuals.
Originality/value
Introducing just transition into the supply chain management domain, this paper unifies the various conceptualisations of just transition into a holistic understanding, providing a new foundation for supply chain management research.