Supply chain performance measures and metrics: a bibliometric study

Performance measurement of e-commerce supply chains using BWM and fuzzy TOPSIS

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to persuade a hybrid framework, which can be used to assess the performance of various supply chains and can be further used to segregate supply chains concerning critical KPMs. The KPMs have been selected in the COVID-19 pandemic condition.

Design/methodology/approach

A real case of e-commerce is presented to illustrate the working of the proposed framework comprising a hybrid methodology of BWM and Fuzzy TOPSIS to measure the performance of the e-commerce supply chains by identifying the critical key performance metrics (KPMs) and measuring the performance of the considered supply chains against these.

Findings

The proposed framework is illustrated using real-time data from experts, collected through interviews and discussions. It is found that rate of return on investment (SCPM 27), flexibility of service systems to meet particular customer needs (SCPM 23) and supplier lead time against industry norm (SCPM 33) are significantly weighed in assessing performance of the selected supply chains, with weights 0.07764, 0.06863 and 0.0547, respectively. Amazon and Flipkart are seen to stand out among the other supply chains taken for the present study with closeness coefficients as 0.945 and 0.516, respectively.

Originality/value

The contemporary world has seen the drastic attack of COVID-19 on many firms worldwide, and hence measuring the performance of the supply chains has become necessary so as to understand the critical factors affecting performance, their relative importance and the firm's relative standings. There have been studies in the recent past where researchers worked on similar motives to generate a framework to measure performance of supply chains, but it is seen that the methodologies lack flexibility with respect to effectively handling large data, uncertainty in human emotions, consistency, etc. This is where the current study stands out in effectively measuring the performance of supply chains so as to aid many firms affected by the pandemic.

An integrated Industry 4.0-Sustainable Lean Six Sigma framework to improve supply chain performance: a decision support study from COVID-19 lessons

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic era has severely hampered the economy over the globe. However, the manufacturing organizations across all the countries have struggled heavily, as they were among the least who worked on online mode. The organizations are adopting various innovative quality methodologies to improve their performance. In this regard, they are adopting the Sustainable Lean Six Sigma (SLSS) concept and Industry 4.0 technologies to develop products at a faster rate. The use of Industry 4.0 technologies may reduce material movement and supply chain disruptions with the help of smart intelligent systems. There is a strong synergy between SLSS and Industry 4.0 technologies, resulting in an integrated approach for adoption. This study aims to develop a framework that practitioners can use to adopt Industry 4.0-SLSS practices effectively.

Design/methodology/approach

This study portrays 31 Industry 4.0-SLSS practices and 22 performance metrics identified through a literature review to improve the manufacturing supply chain performance. To compute the weights of these practices, the Robust Best–Worst Method (RBWM) is used. The Pythagorean fuzzy combined compromise solution (PF-CoCoSo) method is used to rank performance metrics.

Findings

According to the RBWM results, “Process Development Practices (PDP)” are first among the major criteria, followed by “Organizational Management Practices (OMP)” at second, “Technology Adoption Practices (TAP)” at third, “Strategy Management Practices (SMP)” at fourth and “Executive Management Practices (EMP)” at fifth, whereas the PF-CoCoSo method resulted in the performance metric “On time product delivery” ranking first.

Research limitations/implications

The identified practices have the potential to significantly improve the performance of the manufacturing supply chain. Practices that encourage a sustainable manufacturing supply chain and the usage of emerging technology will benefit organizational effectiveness. Managers can assess performance using prioritized performance metrics.

Originality/value

During the COVID-19 pandemic era, this is one of the unique attempts to provide a framework to improve the manufacturing supply chain performance. This study integrates and identifies Industry 4.0-SLSS practices and performance metrics for enhancing overall performance.

Mapping the field of sustainable procurement: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose

The study aims to analyze the intellectual structure in sustainable procurement (SP) research to identify the knowledge research clusters and provide potential avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The study conducted a bibliometric analysis to analyze the intellectual structure in the area of SP. Overall, 1,294 articles were selected from the Scopus database published between 2000 and 2022. The analysis was conducted using bibliometric R package, Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software. Further, content analysis of research clusters was carried out to set the future research agenda.

Findings

The study identifies four major knowledge research clusters of SP, namely, (1) green supply chain practices, (2) socially responsible purchasing, (3) environmental purchasing and (4) public procurement and policy. The study suggests a few research directions in the SP field. Moreover, the future research directions are aligned with specific organizational theories applicable in the area of SP research.

Research limitations/implications

The study is dependent on the Scopus database for the source of research publications on SP. Future studies may consider other research database sources.

Practical implications

Identifying knowledge research clusters of SP research is of paramount importance for developing policies in the near future. These policy initiatives pave the way for the adoption of SP practices in the business. The findings indicate the issues managers encounter while implementing SP in organizations.

Originality/value

The study offers valuable insights concerning parameters such as significant publication outlets, influential countries concerning the number of publications, impactful authors, title keywords and identifying major knowledge research clusters of SP to suggest future research directions. Further, the present study highlights emerging areas that require further research, including process governance, supplier diversity, innovation, the role of emerging technologies and the application of organizational theories in SP.

How do food supply chain performance measures contribute to sustainable corporate performance during disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic emergency?

Purpose

This study aims to the development of the scale of supply chain performance measures (SCPMs), food supply chain resilience (FSCS) and sustainable corporate performance (SCP) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging market. Based on this purpose, the study examines the relationships between SCPMs and SCP by exploring the mediating role of FSCS in emerging markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a comprehensive literature review on the SCPMs, FSCS and SCP, the author evaluates the nexus of these constructs on disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency in an emerging market. The article follows a quantitative approach. A total of 567 valid responses from managers at senior and middle levels were received and used for data analysis. The Smart PLS version 3.3.2 was employed to analyse Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to investigate the relationships between constructs and latent variables.

Findings

This study provides some theoretical contributions to expand the extant literature on the domain of SCPMs. First, the findings determine that multidimensional measures of flexibility, diversity, agility, inventory efficiency, redundancy and robustness are appropriate for measuring food SC performance in disruptions during the COVID-19 emergency. Besides, this study enriches the existing literature on SC disruption by providing extensive empirical evidence on SCPMs in disruptions during the COVID-19 emergency. Finally, this research provides an integrated empirical model that explores the link between the identified food SCPMs to FSCS and SCP.

Originality/value

The contributions may be of interest to business practitioners, business leaders and academics. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence to demonstrate that food SC performance, as measured by these measures, is strongly related to the firm's food supply chain resilience. This is the novel contribution of this study to the current literature on food SC management. Furthermore, this study provides further empirical evidence demonstrating the partial mediating role of the firm's food supply chain resilience in the nexus between food SC performance and SCP. The unique contribution of this study is an extension of the body of knowledge of SC management literature from a comprehensive approach by providing a proven set of performance measures of SC management to which it can drive SC resilience and SCP for food manufacturing SMEs in an emerging economy that hardly found in the current literature.

Adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies by organizations: a maturity levels perspective

This study employs a structured literature analysis considering Industry 4.0 technologies and their adoption stages (intention, adoption, implementation, routinization, continuance, and diffusion). We identify the technology adoption stage for each technology type, which in turn supports a maturity level categorization, as well as future research suggestions and challenging open research questions. By considering an integrated view of all the adoption stages of Industry 4.0 key technologies, we reveal the key technologies and their development stages, as well as a novel maturity level categorization perspective. The proposed categorization brings valuable research insights in the form of guidelines for practitioners and decision-makers interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the maturity level of key Industry 4.0 technologies.

Learning from failure to enhance performance: a systematic literature review of retail failure

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to develop a map of the contours of the phenomenon of retailer failure by aggregating, parsing and extracting known findings regarding business failure in marketing, business and other streams of inquiry to provide a comprehensive understanding of research on the topic. Defined as the converse of retailer performance, an understanding of retail failure is expected to yield insights for performance measurement and benchmarking studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper includes a systematic literature review, employing state-of-the-art tools such as VOSViewer.

Findings

The analysis reveals patterns in the intellectual structure of the research on retail failure, as well as patterns of influence. While the discipline of marketing has been surprisingly limited in the study of retail failure, study of retail failure has been pursued by other branches of the business discipline, and even some disciplines other than business.

Originality/value

This paper provides a comprehensive and systematic literature review on the topic of retail failure.

Coordination issues in managing the reverse supply chain: a systematic literature review and future research directions

Purpose

Reverse supply chain (RSC) is one of the ways to handle product returns efficiently. Recovery of residual value from product returns also helps in achieving sustainability. Its successful implementation requires coordination among all the channel members involved in the activities, from the acquisition to collection to the disposition of returned products. This article aims to review the literature about coordination issues in the RSC.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review of 151 articles published during 2004–2021 is carried out. Theory, context and methodology (TCM) framework of the literature review is used to identify the research gaps for future research directions.

Findings

This study identifies the characteristics of RSC coordination. It includes channel structures; coordination mechanisms; performance measuring parameters; the methodology applied and explored industries. The review shows that game-theoretical modeling in RSC coordination is the most commonly used method to coordinate the channels. It was found that issues like disruption, fairness and corporate social responsibility are not explored in-depth and offer much potential for future research.

Originality/value

There are very limited studies on coordination issues in the RSC. The proposed articles add value by considering RSC issues from different strategic, government, consumers' behavior and functionality decision-making point of view.

Location of competitive facilities: a comprehensive review and future research agenda

Purpose

The research in competitive facility location (CFL) is quite dynamic, both from a problem formulation and an algorithmic point of view. Research direction has changed immensely over the years to address various competitive challenges. This study aims to explore CFL literature to highlight these research trends, important issues and future research opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilises the Scopus database to search for related CFL models and adopts a five-step systematic approach for the review process. The five steps involve (1) Article Identification and keyword selection, (2) Selection criteria, (3) Literature review, (4) Literature analysis and (5) Research studies.

Findings

The paper presents a comprehensive review of CFL modelling efforts from 1981 to 2021 to provide a depth study of the research evolution in this area. The published articles are classified based on multiple characteristics, including the type of problem, type of competition, game-theoretical approaches, customer behaviour, decision space, type of demand, number of facilities, capacity and budget limitations. The review also highlights the popular problem areas and dedicated research in the respective domain. In addition, a second classification is also provided based on solution methods adopted to solve various CFL models and real-world case studies.

Originality/value

The paper covers 40 years of CFL literature from the perspective of the problem area, CFL characteristics and the solution approach. Additionally, it introduces characteristics such as capacity limit and budget constraint for the first time for classification purposes.

Sustainable Supply Chain and Business Performance: The Impact of Strategy, Network Design, Information Systems, and Organizational Structure

Technological advancement and the highly competitive nature of business have forced organizations to use multiple strategies to streamline their business operations. Current research investigates the relationship between sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and business performance, focusing on operational and financial performance. It provides insights into the operational structure, resource utilization, and the identification of strategic tools needed to strengthen organizational performance. The researchers conducted unstructured interviews with 41 industrialists and analyzed them via open-source coding and deducing reasoning. A questionnaire was developed by analyzing critical scientific literature and unstructured interviews. Empirical responses were taken from 202 industrial corporations. The structural analyses indicate that the effective execution of SSCM significantly improves firms’ operational and financial performance. The findings also provide detailed information about different components of SSCM, namely supply chain strategy (SCS), supply chain network design (SCND), organizational structure, and information system, and explain how it relates to the previous literature review by using a multivariate statistical analysis, followed by structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings of current research highlight the significant role of SSC in accelerating firms’ operational and financial performance and suggest that SSCM should be taken as a secondary strategy and must be integrated with the overall business strategy.

Conjoint analysis: the assumptions, applications, concerns, remedies and future research direction

Purpose

Since the inception of the conjoint analysis technique in the year 1971, papers addressing the epistemological aspects of conjoint analysis are scant. Hence, this paper attempts to address the vacuum of qualitative discourse addressing the epistemological and methodological aspects of conjoint analysis including different issues, challenges, probable solutions, limitations and future direction of conjoint analysis in the recent decade.

Design/methodology/approach

For exploring the methodological and epistemological aspects of conjoint analysis, the seminal papers on conjoint analysis were reviewed. Moreover, the authors' experience for the state-of-art review was also taken into consideration.

Findings

The findings suggest that conjoint analysis that roots back since 1971 has not seen much exploration in Asian regions and is mainly used for new product development in the field of marketing or allied areas. Moreover, the reliability and validity of conjoint analysis is always a matter of concern for the researchers that hinders this technique's wider adaptability. Thus, the paper presents some probable solutions to address the focal issues useful for improved reliability and validity of the conjoint analysis technique.

Research limitations/implications

This paper attempts to familiarize the researchers with epistemological and methodological aspects of conjoint analysis with certain solutions to evolve beyond existing conjoint analysis dimensions in terms of improved validity, reliability, epistemological and methodological aspects of conjoint analysis (CA). Moreover, it acts as a call for research in different research domains, especially in the Asian continent.

Originality/value

There exist certain seminal research papers on epistemological aspects of conjoint analysis. However, there is a dearth of such attempt in the recent decade addressing the application issues of conjoint analysis incorporating the recent issues as well. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to usher the future researcher to understand the methodological aspects of conjoint analysis. It may prevent them from violating the basic assumptions and methodological threshold. This research technique is preferred equally by academicians and practitioners, thus making it imperative to have clarity beforehand for improved research rigor.

Assessment of Sustainable Collaboration in Collaborative Business Ecosystems

Advances in information and communication technologies and, more specifically, in artificial intelligence resulted in more intelligent systems, which, in the business world, particularly in collaborative business ecosystems, can lead to a more streamlined, effective, and sustainable processes. Following the design science research method, this article presents a simulation model, which includes a performance assessment and influence mechanism to evaluate and influence the collaboration of the organisations in a business ecosystem. The establishment of adequate performance indicators to assess the organisations can act as an influencing factor of their behaviour, contributing to enhancing their performance and improving the ecosystem collaboration sustainability. As such, several scenarios are presented shaping the simulation model with actual data gathered from three IT industry organisations running in the same business ecosystem, assessed by a set of proposed performance indicators. The resulting outcomes show that the collaboration can be measured, and the organisations’ behaviour can be influenced by varying the weights of the performance indicators adopted by the CBE manager.

Systematic review of manufacturing strategy studies focusing on congruence aspect

Purpose

This study provides a systematic review of the literature within the manufacturing strategy (MS) domain focusing on the congruence aspect of different strategic functions to determine the state-of-the-art research progression and the trend of publications.

Design/methodology/approach

We have adopted a five-stage review methodology consisting - 1) Article Identification; 2) Inclusion/Exclusion; 3) Review of the Articles; 4) Literature Analysis; 5) Future research directions. 121 articles focusing on congruence aspects and specific to the MS domain are identified and reviewed. Bibliometric analysis comprising keyword co-occurrence using a VOSviewer© software, and citation analysis is performed. Further, content analysis is carried out to categorize articles based on the type of research methodology, type of tool/method used, and aspects considered for congruence study.

Findings

Based on the research gaps identified in the existing literature on the congruence aspect within the MS domain, this study offers future research directions. Majorly, the work found is an empirical survey. Literature scants to develop a framework that helps to quantify the congruence between two strategic functions.

Research limitations/implications

This study facilitates researchers and practitioners to understand the congruence between different strategic aspects studied in the literature and the level of fit between them. Further, the identified research directions can encourage researchers and practitioners to conceive novel approaches to conduct future works on congruence theme.

Originality/value

The unicity of the current review lies in its theme, i.e. congruence aspect within MS. To the best of author's knowledge, no comparable study is observed to review the congruence aspect in any other domain.

Blockchain technology in the smart city: a bibliometric review

Blockchain can function as a foundational technology with numerous applications in smart cities. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it provides a detailed overview of the extant literature on blockchain applications in smart cities; second, it reveals the trends and suggests future research directions for scholars who wish to contribute to this rapidly growing field. We conducted a bibliometric review using a keyword co-occurrence network and article co-citation analysis. The analysis includes the assessment of 148 articles published between 2016 and 2020 in 76 academic journals. The review results demonstrate that the number of articles devoted to the study of blockchain applications and smart cities has increased exponentially in recent years. More importantly, the research identifies some of the most influential studies in this area. The paper discusses trends and highlights the challenges related to the deployment of blockchain in smart cities. To the authors’ best knowledge, this represents the first study to review the literature from leading journals on blockchain applications in smart cities using bibliometric techniques.

Measuring agri-food supply chain performance: insights from the Peruvian kiwicha industry

Purpose

Agri-food firms face many challenges when assessing and managing their performance. The purpose of this research is to determine important factors for an integrated agri-food supply chain performance measurement system.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses the Peruvian kiwicha supply chain as a meaningful context to examine critical factors affecting agri-food supply chain performance. The research uses interpretative structural modelling (ISM) with fuzzy MICMAC methods to suggest a hierarchical performance measurement model.

Findings

The resulting kiwicha supply chain performance management model provides insights for managers and academic theory regarding managing competing priorities within the agri-food supply chain.

Originality/value

The model developed in this research has been validated by cooperative kiwicha associations based in Puno, Peru, and further refined by experts. Moreover, the results obtained through ISM and fuzzy MICMAC methods could help decision-makers from any agri-food supply chain focus on achieving high operational performance by integrating key performance measurement factors.

Omnichannel retailing: a bibliometric and network visualization analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the extant research literature on omnichannel retailing and map the research trends in this field through a bibliometric analysis and network visualization exercise.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs bibliometric analysis techniques on research literature retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases over the period 2013–2020 and assesses indicators such as research production and citation trends, top contributing authors, countries, journals and organizations through tools offered by the Scopus/Web of Science databases as well as Biblioshiny. A network visualization analysis of patterns such as keyword co-occurrences and co-authorship linkages between contributing countries has been investigated through the use of VOSviewer.

Findings

The bibliometric analysis indicates that research in this field is currently dominated by USA and China with Germany and UK also being key contributors. The analysis has indicated that the field of omnichannel retailing straddles multiple domains such as logistics, distribution, operations and consumer behavior, thereby offering significant future scope for research linking omnichannel retailing with these subject areas.

Originality/value

This study maps the structure of research done in the field of omnichannel retailing and outlines the key contributors in terms of authors, journals and organizations that can serve as an input for future research. The study also identifies possible avenues for future research in the knowledge domain of omnichannel retailing.

Sustainable service supply chain management: from a systematic literature review to a conceptual framework for performance evaluation of service only supply chain

Purpose

Despite increasing attentions to sustainable service supply chain management (SSSCM), a framework for performance evaluation of sustainable service only supply chain management (SSOSCM) is still missing. This paper tries to fill this gap and provides a novel conceptual framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The articles related to SSSCM are fetched from the databases of SCOPUS and Web of Science. Analysis of 174 articles identified by the systematic literature review is further carried out.

Findings

This research identifies the sustainable practices for service only supply chain (SOSC) as environmental management, social management, economic management, customer management, health, safety and risk management, technical sustainability, institutional sustainability, information and technology management as well as two performance measurement criteria as operational performance and organizational performance. This paper provides a novel conceptual framework for the performance evaluation of SSOSCM. The results call for future exploration in the following three broad directions-(1) customer's perception, involvement and their behaviour towards sustainability in SOSC context; (2) trade-off, incentive mechanism and multilevel evaluation for achieving sustainability in SOSC and (3) sustainability in SOSC from various point of views.

Practical implications

The managers can use the framework to assess the performance of the organization while researchers can explore the discussed research gaps.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that provides a novel conceptual framework for the performance evaluation of SSOSCM as well as potential future research directions.

Thirteen years of Operations Management Research (OMR) journal: a bibliometric analysis and future research directions

The journal of Operations Management Research (OMR) is a rigorous journal that started its publication in 2008. It publishes short, focused research studies that advance both the theory and practice of operations management. Considering the relevant OMR’s contribution to the field of Operations Management in the last years, this study provides an overall assessment of the journal performance by conducting a retrospective review. To elaborate on OMR's temporal development in terms of publications, authors, affiliated institutions and countries, citation patterns, and conceptual structure, we extract publications from Scopus database for the period 2008–2020. We rely on bibliometric techniques in addition to bibliographic coupling, keyword analysis, and content analysis. 166 documents were analyzed using RStudio, VOSviewer, and Microsoft Excel. Findings emphasize OMR’s steady productivity growth (3.24%). Narrowly, Olhager J. is the most productive authors while Kalchschmidt M. and Stentoft J. are the most influential authors (H-index of 4). Furthermore, USA contributes to the highest number of publications while UK is the most influential country in terms of citations. Cranfield School of Management, UK stands as the top cited university. The analysis of the thematic evolution concludes to three main clusters: "Manufacturing and Supply chain Performance", "Six Sigma and Lean Management", and "Reshoring, Backshoring and Offshoring". This study recommends to further investigate the implications of the fourth industrial revolution and the sequels of COVID-19.

Effect of information sharing in supply chains: understanding the roles of supply chain visibility, agility, collaboration on supply chain performance

Purpose

Exploring ways to acquire, sustain and improve competitive positions in supply chains through information sharing, supply chain visibility, collaboration and agility have been essential for scholars and practitioners. Basing on the relational view, resource based view and the extended resource based view, this study assesses the critical role of information sharing in supply chains through emphasizing its effect on supply chain visibility, collaboration, agility and supply chain performance. Particularly, the study proposes that information sharing, supply chain visibility, collaboration and agility collectively have crucial direct and indirect influences on supply chain performance which lead to superior gains, competitiveness and flexibility.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a survey research design, a quantitative approach and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in making data analysis and interpretations due to its suitability for predictive research models.

Findings

The results indicate information sharing positively and significantly influenced supply chain visibility, collaboration, agility and performance. Supply chain visibility presented significant effects on collaboration, agility and performance, while supply chain collaboration and agility had significant impact on supply chain performance. The study findings connote that information sharing is key to enhancing competitive gains and superior supply chain performance.

Originality/value

The study is among the few to probe on how information sharing as a variable interacts with supply chain visibility, collaboration, agility and performance. Although, information sharing has received a lot of attention in supply chains, this study is among the first to capture the study variables in a single model and thus, exposes the vital need for information sharing in improving supply chain performance seeing that it ensured significant and robust impacts on the study variables.

Measuring supply chain performance: the triple E model

Purpose

This work aims to measure the performance of an electric motors supply chain (SC) by using the Triple E performance measurement model to assess three performance dimensions simultaneously: efficiency, efficacy and environmental impact.

Design/methodology/approach

This research presents a real case of a Brazilian company as an example for applying the Triple E performance measurement model and the discrete-event simulation to assess the performance of an SC.

Findings

Performance measurements for the three dimensions were the following: (1) for efficiency, a high inventory cost in the SC, driven by the distribution center (DC) (49.7% total cost); an order cycle time operating with an average of 21.7 days and a logistic channel transport capacity of 88%; (2) for efficacy, a service level of 98% for all channels; (3) for environmental impact, the SC emits a total of 395,733 kg of CO2 annually, with the DC and the regional distribution center (RDC2) being the largest emitters.

Originality/value

This work allowed to measure the performance of an SC interface (manufacturing process, a DC and three regional distribution centers). It was possible to measure the inventory holding cost and out-of-stock inventory costs, order cycle time, SC service level, transport capacity utilization and CO2 emissions in the transportation process of each SC stage and the whole SC. This study can be used as a decision support guide for academics and practitioners to measure and improve the SC performance.

Trajectory of research on maritime transportation in the era of digitization

Purpose

The literature on Maritime Transportation (MT) is experiencing a transition phase where the focus of the research is repositioning. It registered steep growth in recent years with its beginning articles on the concepts of cost minimization to the current focus on achieving sustainable operational effectiveness using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Thus, this becomes a right time to investigate the trajectory of research on MT.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed study aims to explore the potential of data analytics techniques such as data mining and network analytics to reflect the trajectory of research in the maritime supply chain over time. This study identifies the eight main dimensions of the research published under maritime paradigm through network analytics. The in-depth review of these dimensions rendered us to segregate them further into sub-dimensions for the ease of understanding and interpretability. Further, the text mining is employed to extract thematic evolution of the research.

Findings

The evolved themes are completely exclusive from the conventional MT research with artificial intelligence, digital storage, waste management and biofuels emerging as contemporary themes. It is found that although there are a sufficient amount of literature on sustainable port practices but their policy implications are still underexplored. The inter-dimension research is needed to achieve the motive of economic efficiency and environmental sustainability simultaneously.

Originality/value

The study has contributed on the methodology side of conducting literature reviews. The dimensions, sub-dimensions and themes are obtained using data analytics tools and techniques. This omits the possibility of personal bias and thus making the results verifiable.

Exploring the influence of supply chain collaboration on supply chain visibility, stakeholder trust, environmental and financial performances: a partial least square approach

Purpose

The need to stay competitive amidst ever-changing business environment has shifted competitive strategies from firms to supply chains. Managers are now basing competitive strategies on supply chains acknowledging that supply chains present competitive advantages among other resources. The purpose of the study is to explore the predictive relevance of supply chain collaboration and the extent to which it influences supply chain visibility, stakeholder trust, environmental and financial performances. This study focused on manufacturing firms due to their supplier relationships, consumption of resources, energy and emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a survey research design, a quantitative approach and partial least square structural equation modelling technique in making data analysis and interpretations due to its suitability for predictive research models as is the case in this study.

Findings

The study hypothesized that supply chain collaboration positively and significantly interacts with supply chain visibility, stakeholder trust, environmental and financial performances. The study results confirmed supply chain collaboration as a significant, positive and a robust influence on supply chain visibility, stakeholder trust, environmental and financial performances thereby projecting win-win scenarios for firms that engage in collaborative supply chain practices.

Originality/value

The study is among the few to indicate findings in relation to the scope of supply chain collaboration's potency in influencing performance from the perspective of manufacturing firms operational in an emerging economy. Thus, this study contributes to understanding the wider scope of supply chain collaboration, its interactions with other firm variables and how it informs decisions of managers, scholars and supply chain partners.

Medicine Shortages: From Assumption to Evidence to Action - A Proposal for Using the FMD Data Repositories for Shortages Monitoring

Medicine shortages may negatively impact patient care and the patient experience. Shortages should be a priority of industry, supply chain stakeholders and national competent authorities, and deserve more than empathy or "lip-service" but serious engagement and action. Under the overarching principle that without correct measurements in place there cannot be any improvement in overall performance (1), stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain, notably pharmaceutical manufacturers have made the call for all relevant sources of information to be used in order to provide additional intelligence about the root causes and drivers of shortages, including the identification of bottlenecks in the supply chain. This paper outlines a proposal for using the data stored in the interoperable network of national repositories being set up in the context of the Falsified Medicines Directive (Directive 2011/62/EU) and its Delegated Regulation 2016/161/EU on safety features for providing additional intelligence in monitoring shortages. The paper analyses the potential feasibility and readiness of using this data for monitoring shortages as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. We explore also what are some of the other complementary data sources that could be analyzed in conjunction with the data in the repository system to sharpen the overall analysis. Lastly, we provide a theoretical but concrete use case for using the abovementioned data for better informing decisions to prevent and mitigate shortages. In doing so, we explain the interlink between patient needs at country level, demand from economic actors, intra-EU parallel trade and manufacturer-imposed supply quotas and propose a mechanism for collaboration between national competent authorities and supply chain stakeholders for early detection and action to prevent medicine shortages from occurring.

Black swan: bibliometric analysis and development of research agenda

Purpose

There has been an increasing interest amongst the researchers to work and explore, “Black Swan” events which are not well studied. However, the “Black Swan” events hold an eminent relevance amongst academicians and practitioners. The present study offers nuanced understanding of “Black Swan” events.

Design/methodology/approach

We undertook an extensive bibliometric analysis of the extant literature using “Black Swan” as guiding keyword with the help of SCOPUS database.

Findings

The search for articles only yielded 59 articles. Our analyses highlight the prominent works, authors and journals. Further, this study reveal the research gaps that may help guide future scholars interested in “Black Swan” events to examine in different context.

Research limitations/implications

The current study develops a research agenda and offers numerous research directions. Research on “Black Swan” events can be apprehended at three different stages – pre-black swan event, about black swan event and post-black swan event with identified sub-themes.

Originality/value

This paper is the pioneer research work to dedicatedly analyse the existing set of literature with “Black Swan”.

The thematic landscape of literature on supply chain management in India: a systematic literature review

Purpose

To assess the state of supply chain management (SCM) research in India and to understand the research trends and methodologies used. The present study also aims to create a taxonomy of the subject areas researched in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study employed the systematic literature review methodology. Literature from 395 peer journal papers in 67 leading journals over a 20-year period (2000–2020 Quarter-1) was comprehensively reviewed and assessed.

Findings

SCM research in India started around the year 2000. The quantum of research was low (single digit) until 2010. There has been steady growth over the last decade, and over 50% of the total papers up until now has been published in the last four years. The present study created a three-tiered taxonomy of the subject areas and classified the papers as per it. The first tier (level-1) has seven categories (SCM strategy, network design, SCM processes and integration, IT systems, skills, performance measurement and others). A perusal of the newly created taxonomy revealed that, except for a few areas under level-1 categories (such as SCM processes and SCM strategy), the other level-1 categories have not seen much research. Similarly, there is little or no research in a large number of level-2 categories (such as outsourcing strategy, channel strategy, demand management, demand fulfillment, customer relationship management, integrated supply chain planning, new product development, returns, supply chain orientation, performance monitoring, performance improvement, SCM adoption process, SCM implementation issues and quantified benefits of SCM). Methodologically, the rigor of SCM research in India needs improvement.

Originality/value

A comprehensive taxonomy of SCM subject areas researched in India at three cascading levels was created for the first time in the present study. The taxonomy will help provide researchers with a clear understanding of the structure of the subject areas and help in identifying areas where research has been carried out and the subject areas where gaps exist for future research to proceed. The present study also provides an overview of the methodological rigor of SCM research in India and points out some of the limitations that researchers should avoid in future studies.

Service supply chain: from bibliometric analysis to content analysis, current research trends and future research directions

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to carry out the systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis and content analysis of extant literature of service supply chain (SSC).

Design/methodology/approach

Systematic literature review (SLR) technique was used for identifying the research papers. In the first step after reading titles, abstracts and keywords and, full-length articles wherever required, papers not related to SSC were removed. In second steps papers were read more critically and papers not related to SSC were removed. Finally on 502 papers bibliometric and content analysis was further carried out. Content analysis was based on the clusters formed by bibliographic coupling. Further, content analysis of the recent articles revealed the current research trends and research gaps.

Findings

This paper identified the six existing research diversifications in SSC as (1) logistics SSC, (2) model, framework and conceptual papers, (3) third-party logistics service providers, (4) articles from various perspective, (5) measurement of quality and performance on services and (6) impact of adoption of technology, cooperation and branding on logistics service providers. Further, six future research directions are also provided.

Practical implications

This research provides a clear view of the progression of publication, research diversification, research themes of six identified clusters, sub-themes of clusters and content analysis of each cluster. Content analysis of recent articles reveals the current research trend and future research directions.

Originality/value

This is a first of its kind of study which presents the diversification of research areas within SSC, bibliometric analysis, content analysis and provides actionable future research direction.

Twenty-five years’ contribution of “Benchmarking: an International Journal” to manufacturing strategy: a scientometric review

Purpose

This study aims at reviewing the articles on the themes of manufacturing strategy (MS) published in “Benchmarking: An International Journal (BIJ)” and investigating the trends of publication for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Five-stage methodology to conduct a literature review is adopted comprising: (1) article collection, (2) inclusion/exclusion criteria, (3) reviewing the articles, (4) analyzing the articles and (5) future research directions. A total of 57 articles specific to MS domain published in BIJ are reviewed. Further, a bibliometric analysis comprising keywords co-occurrence, citation and co-citation using a VOSviewer© software followed by content analysis to analyze the type of research, type of industry and type of tool/method used is carried out.

Findings

The study helps to find the scope of the journal and research gaps in the MS domain to provide future research directions. Most of the work found is survey-based or case-based in nature. However, there is a need for empirical research to be done in the field of MS.

Research limitations/implications

The study facilitates researchers willing to publish in BIJ to understand different themes of accepted papers concerning MS domain. The identified research gaps and future research direction can motivate researchers and practitioners to coin new approaches in the MS domain.

Originality/value

A comprehensive review and analysis of the MS literature published in BIJ has been provided. To the best of authors' knowledge, the current study is the only review study in MS domain focusing on one specific journal.

Performance measurement for supply chains in the Industry 4.0 era: a balanced scorecard approach

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical approach based on the balanced scorecard (BSC) with regard to performance measurement – PM in supply chains for the Industry 4.0 era.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper combines the literature of PM and specifically the BSC with the literature related to the dimensions of supply chain in the context of Industry 4.0.

Findings

Dimensions extracted from the literature based on supply chains within the context of Industry 4.0 showed a strong alignment with the four perspectives of the BSC, which make it suitable to be considered as a performance measurement system (PMS) for supply chains in this new context.

Research limitations/implications

From theoretical perspective, this study contributes to the limited literature on PM for supply chains in Industry 4.0 era. The study proposes a supply chain 4.0 Scorecard and strongly support researchers to conduct future empirical researches in order to get a deeper understanding about PM in supply chains in the Industry 4.0 era. As limitations, the theoretical framework proposed needs further empirical research in other to validate it and obtain new insights over the investigation conducted and presented into this paper.

Practical implications

Practitioners can use this study as a guide to develop more effective performance measurement systems – PMSs in their organizations.

Originality/value

This research is unique as it addresses a significant knowledge gap related to PM in supply chains in the Industry 4.0 era. It brings a significant contribution in terms of understanding how to measure performance in supply chains in this new era.

Emerging trends in the literature of value co-creation: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the extant literature on value co-creation using bibliometric analysis in an attempt to gauge the evolving journey of this concept since its inception in the business and management domain.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a bibliometric analysis of 458 research articles retrieved from the Thompson Reuters’ Web of Science Core Collection™ for the period of 2004–July 2018, this study carries out the following bibliometric techniques: citation analysis, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence of author keywords.

Findings

The study reveals the nature and direction of research that the field of value co-creation has taken over the past decade. Three significant areas emerge out as prominent themes in the literature of value co-creation: value co-creation in the context of customer service, value co-creation in the context of enhancing brand value and value co-creation for marketing of services through the adoption of service logic. Apart from these, the study also reveals the most influential authors, journals, institutions and countries pertaining to the research on value co-creation, along with the possible future directions of research in this area.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations in terms of usage of a single database and its inability to contextualize the citation structure of articles revealed from the review.

Practical implications

This study would enable practitioners gain a comprehensive understanding of the concept of value co-creation that they can eventually adopt as a strategy for enhancing their business growth, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Originality/value

This study identifies the intellectual structure of the value co-creation literature and maps out the gradual advancement of the field over the years.

The relationship between quality and governance mechanisms

Purpose

Recent literature has highlighted the importance of quality and governance in supply networks. Usually, the relationships between the actors are complex, comprising both formal and informal interactions. Despite recent advances in quality and governance in supply networks, extant literature highlights the lack of quality in healthcare supply-chain networks in relation to governance mechanisms. This paper aims to investigate the role of governance mechanisms and their influence on the quality of healthcare supply networks, and assumes that governance instruments can support quality performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple-case research approach was employed. Six organisations in the Brazilian healthcare sector were analysed (four operate only with renal replacement therapy, one is a material supplier, and one operates with renal replacement therapy and collective procurement).

Findings

Findings showed that there is no formalised supply network structure in these organisations. A possible consequence of this is that the supply-network governance is dominated by informal relationships. In the quality dimension, managers' awareness is limited, but there are mechanisms in place to control the quality of the materials.

Practical implications

Healthcare managers can actively invest in the social aspects of the relationship between buyer and supplier, such as trust and commitment, thus increasing responsiveness in patient care. However, this informal procedure can lead to problems with tracking and reliability, ultimately leading to quality problems. Therefore, it is recommended that formal and informal governance instruments be used jointly to improve service quality.

Originality/value

This study suggests that the integration of formal and informal mechanisms of governance can improve the quality of supply networks. Additionally, if the administrative process is purely formal, network relationships and their efficiency will be impaired.

Research status in Halal: a review and bibliometric analysis

Purpose

Halal is an emerging business sector and is steadily gaining popularity among scholars and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate and review the reported literature in the broad area of Halal using bibliometric technique and network analysis tools. Moreover, this paper also proposes future research directions in the field of Halal.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employed a systematic review technique followed by bibliometric analysis to gain insight and to evaluate the research area associated with Halal. Furthermore, data mining techniques are used for analysing the concerned article title, keywords and abstract of 946 research articles obtained through the Scopus database. Finally, network analysis is used to identify significant research clusters.

Findings

This study reports top authors contributing to this area, the key sub-research areas and the influential works based on citations and PageRank. We identified from the citation analysis that major influential works of Halal are from the subject area of biological science and related areas. Further, this study reports established and emerging research clusters, which provide future research directions.

Research limitations/implications

Scopus database is used to conduct a systematic review and corresponding bibliometric study; the authors might have missed some peer-reviewed studies not reported in Scopus. The selection of keywords for article search may not be accurate for the multi-disciplinary Halal area. Also, the authors have not considered the banking/financial aspects of Halal. The proposed four research clusters may inform potential researcher towards supporting the industry.

Originality/value

The novelty of the study is that no published study has reported the bibliometric study and network analysis techniques in the area of Halal.

Application of graph-theoretic approach for the evaluation of lean-six-sigma (LSS) critical-success-factors (CSFs) facilitating quality-audits in Indian small & medium enterprises (SMEs)

Purpose

One of the major challenges for developing countries is the lack of mechanisms for the evaluation of critical success factors (CSFs) of quality initiatives, which hampers the journey toward sustainability. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been one of the most widely used initiatives supporting quality improvement with wastes reduction and facilitating sustainability. To expedite LSS and its spread, it is important to evaluate key CSFs. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to provide an approach for the evaluation of LSS-CSFs for Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a graph theoretic approach and demonstrates the evaluation of LSS-CSFs by proposing an index. The development of index is illustrated using a set of seven prioritized CSFs based on the literature review paper (Lande et al., 2016).

Findings

This study guides about the translation of CSFs in the form of an index (number) and will benefit both researchers and practitioners, who wish to study the role of key CSFs for implementation and audit requirements for sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

Authors remain confined only to Indian SMEs.

Originality/value

LSS possesses the potential to enhance the performance of manufacturing SMEs, but its evaluation is not easy. This attempt for offering a useful evaluation scheme involving CSFs, in the areas of LSS in developing country contexts, is the first. The approach also facilitates both quality audits and benchmarking between different sets of CSFs. The approach is generalizable and can be extended in other areas.

Trends of puffery in advertising – a bibliometric analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively assess the essential trends of existing research on “puffery in advertising” through bibliometric analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses citation data collected through Scopus and Google Scholar for the research area “puffery in advertising” to investigate the most productive journals, top countries of affiliation and prominent years with maximum citations. The study analyses the 87 articles related to “puffery in advertising,” published during 1840 to 2018. Moreover, this study also presents graphical analysis through network maps.

Findings

“Puffery in advertising” has remained an under-researched area. However, records of past ten years indicate marginal growth in the number of publications. USA dominates this research area with most numbers of articles published till date. Through clustering of subject areas, it is found that majority of articles have been published under the subject area of “Business, Management and Accounting.” Interestingly, the results of the network maps slightly differ from that of citation table.

Practical implications

This paper is useful for any reader or researcher who wants to understand the trends of “puffery in advertising” in terms of citation analysis, authors and affiliation countries, and prominent years with maximum citations, which would further enable them to discover emerging research areas, potential research collaborations and publications.

Originality/value

To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first ever bilbiometric study on “puffery in advertising” providing a bird’s-eye view of the essential trends.

Performance measurement for supply chain management and quality management integration

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for performance measurement (PM) for the integration of supply chain management (SCM) and quality management (QM).

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review on SCM and QM was conducted to develop key performance measures related to six areas of integration between QM and SCM: leadership; continuous improvement and innovation; sustainability performance; stakeholders; information system; and management and strategic planning.

Findings

Supported by the literature concerning to supply chain quality management (SCQM) integration, a set of nine propositions about performance measures, that contribute to the integration of SCQM, were developed.

Originality/value

This study contributes to QM practices within a supply chain environment from an integrated perspective. Additionally, the propositions have significant implications from both managerial and theoretical perspectives. This study also extends the concept of supply chain quality integration by focusing on key aspects of PM that may help to improve the overall performance of the supply chain.

Environmentally Sustainable Logistics Performance Management Process Integration between Buyers and 3PLs

To ensure environmentally sustainable logistics, organizations need to have an environmentally sustainable logistics performance management (ESLPM) process. In line with supply chain management (SCM) literature, there is a desire towards integrating processes with supply chain partners to increase performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for ESLPM process integration and to illustrate this framework in practice between buyers and third-party logistics (3PLs) providers. The method used is multiple case studies of three dyads of 3PLs and buyers from the public and private sector. Data were collected through 10 semi-structured interviews. Our major result is a proposed framework with criteria for the degree of ESLPM process integration between buyers and 3PLs. It includes six activities: Selecting environmentally sustainable logistics performance (ESLP) variables, defining ESLP metrics, setting ESLP targets, measuring ESLP metrics, ESLPM feedback, and analyzing ESLP outcomes and processes. It considers suggested operationalization of each activity and the corresponding degree of integration. The framework can provide guidelines for practitioners in identifying current degree of process integration. It may also support decisions regarding actions needed to advance to a higher degree. This framework is the first to address logistics performance management process integration including environmental sustainability.

Key characteristics for designing a supply chain performance measurement system

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a review of the literature that gives insight into design elements for constructing a supply chain performance measurement (SCPM) system.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of published research on SCPM systems and frameworks over the last two decades was conducted with the purpose of categorising key functions of SCPM systems by providing an insight into the design, functionality, implementation and practical implications of SCPM systems.

Findings

The review revealed a set of functions governing the SCPM system that have not been fully explored in previous research: the process focus, prioritisation, integration and causality functions of a SCPM system. A relationship between two or more functions can be created to include more functionality based on the needs of the company to create a comprehensive performance measurement system.

Research limitations/implications

The paper concludes with a conceptual framework to guide future research in the area of designing a SCPM system and define the main aspects that should be considered when developing a SCPM system.

Practical implications

The paper brings a new dimension to the SCPM research by identifying the main functions of SCPM systems that could benefit practitioners to set up a SCPM system relevant to its intended function. The paper presents multiple potential stages of merging different functions in one SCPM system. Based on the company’s needs and context, the functionality of the SCPM system can be designed at four levels creating ten possible scenarios when designing a company’s SCPM system.

Originality/value

The paper integrated the literature and findings of 269 research papers of the last two decades, upon which a conceptual framework was developed as a guide for constructing an effective SCPM system.

Importance of innovation and flexibility in configuring supply network sustainability

Purpose

The alignment of procurement strategy with overall business strategy is important for superior firm performance. It is also essential for firms’ purchasing structure to fit the purchasing strategy whether it is cost reduction; value analysis and/or improving delivery and increasing flexibility for achieving superior purchasing performance. The purpose of this paper is to scientifically examine the influence of organization culture (OC), green supplier development (GSD), supplier relationship management, flexibility and innovation on sustainability in supply network (SSN) under the moderation effect of institutional pressures and resources availability.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is grounded by integrating institutional theory (IT) and resource-based view (RBV) theory. The study empirically tests the conceptual model through survey data gathered from 175 respondents in the KwaZulu-Natal province of Southern Africa using structural equation modeling which is a multivariate data analysis technique that permits to simultaneously examine many relationships among manifest and latent variables.

Findings

It was found that OC plays a crucial role in shaping the workforce behavior and responsible for enhancing GSDs and building good relationship with suppliers which ultimately results into increased flexibility and innovativeness. Coercive pressures (CPs) play a moderating role between the causal relationship of innovation and SSN. Therefore, CPs have got the ability to amplify or reverse the effect between innovation and SSNs.

Research limitations/implications

The study suffers from few limitations. First, the study is restricted to one particular province in South Africa. Second, cross-sectional data were used for testing of model in the research study.

Practical implications

The findings are of great importance for both the researchers and supply chain practitioners. Supply chain practitioners may use this knowledge for benchmarking the supply network configuration process and continuously improve the process. The tested model actually shows the mechanism for enhancing SSNs. In today’s dynamic and uncertain business environment, all firms in the supply network aims to minimize risks and maximize profitability. The findings show that CPs play a moderating effect on the relationship between innovation and SSN. Whenever government authorities and institutions pressurize firms for minimizing pollution levels, we see a trend of increased innovations in the form of new product developments, usage of eco-friendly raw material and application of eco-friendly technology which ultimately minimizes the carbon footprint. Through such initiatives steel and engineering firms conform to the government norms and regulations. However, innovations are possible through collaboration with specialist suppliers and sub-suppliers by adopting a common standard across the supply network. Through this overall process of innovation, the focal firm and sub-suppliers linked in the network will benefit and ultimately achieve a competitive edge. Therefore, firms can experience multiple benefits in terms of lower development costs, lower project cycle completion time, improvement in design for re-manufacturability, low downtime, low supply risks, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, sustainable development.

Originality/value

The study is unique from dual perspective – both in terms of scope and contribution to supply chain management literature. First, the study integrates flexibility and innovation to study the impact on SSNs. Second, it integrates both IT and RBV theory of firm to test the moderation effect and the findings further opens up window for future research.