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Researchers’ Perspectives on Supply-Chain Risk Research
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Supply chain risk management is a nascent area with researchers who have approached the area from different domains and can therefore be expected to be diverse in how they perceive the scope and the appropriateness of different research tools. This chapter presents our study of this diversity among operations and supply chain management scholars that involves literature review and surveys. Our findings characterize the diversity in terms of three “gaps”: a definition gap in how researchers understand supply-chain risk management, a process gap in terms of inadequate coverage of response to risk incidents, and a methodology gap in terms of inadequate use of empirical methods. We also list ways to close these gaps as suggested by the researchers we surveyed.
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The list of papers that have cited my work till March, 31 2018 (self-cites not included)
- This paper describes the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure. Some features of the process, such as problem definition and construct validation, are similar to hypothesis-testing research. Others, such as within-case analysis and replication logic, are unique to the inductive, case-oriented process. Overall, the process described here is highly iterative and tightly linked to data. This research approach is especially appropriate in new topic areas. The resultant theory is often novel, testable, and empirically valid. Finally, framebreaking insights, the tests of good theory (e.g., parsimony, logical coherence), and convincing grounding in the evidence are the key criteria for evaluating this type of research.
This chapter provides the reader with a brief introduction on logistics and supply chain management. It identifies the major supply chain issues in the humanitarian sector, particularly as they relate to emergencies and also reveals the need for cross-learning between the private and the humanitarian sector, a topic that we elaborate on throughout the book.
Effective supply chain management is a critical component of any company's ability to meet consumer demand. Disruptions to the supply chain disturb the normal flow of goods and materials and, as a consequence, expose firms to operational and financial risks. Managing Supply Chain Risk and Vulnerability, a book that both practitioners and students can use to better understand and manage supply chain risk, presents topics on decision making related to supply chain risk. Because a supply chain disruption can be potentially so harmful and costly, there has been a recent surge in interest - from academics and practitioners alike - in supply chain disruptions and related issues. Leading academic researchers, as well as practitioners, have contributed chapters focusing on developing an overall understanding of risk and its relationship to supply chain performance; investigating the relationship between response time and disruption impact; assessing and prioritizing risks; and assessing supply chain resilience, as well as providing tools and methods for assisting with decision making and risk mitigation in the supply chain. Supply chain managers will find Managing Supply Chain Risk and Vulnerability a useful tool box for methods they can employ to better mitigate and manage supply chain risk. On the academic side, the book can be used to teach senior undergraduate engineering, supply chain, and operations students focusing on current supply chain topics, as well as graduate-level engineering and MBA students. Additionally, researchers may use the text as a reference in the area of supply chain risk and vulnerability.
There are two broad categories of risk affecting supply chain design and management: (1) risks arising from the problems of coordinating supply and demand, and (2) risks arising from disruptions to normal activities. This paper is concerned with the second category of risks, which may arise from natural disasters, from strikes and economic disruptions, and from acts of purposeful agents, including terrorists. The paper provides a conceptual framework that reflects the joint activities of risk assessment and risk mitigation that are fundamental to disruption risk management in supply chains. We then consider empirical results from a rich data set covering the period 1995-2000 on accidents in the U.S. Chemical Industry. Based on these results and other literature, we discuss the implications for the design of management systems intended to cope with supply chain disruption risks.
Recognizing various natural and man-made disasters have caused major supply chain disruptions over the last two decades, this chapter illustrates the vulnerability of many global supply chains and provides justifications for companies to develop a systemic approach to managing supply chain risks. Viewing supply chain risk management as comprising four steps—identifying risks, accessing risks, mitigating risks, and responding to risks—this chapter highlights the overall structure and key objectives of the book.
Supply chain management implies that companies cooperate in delivering products and services to customers. As a consequence, related empirical research should collect data from more than one stage of the supply chain. This has rarely been the case so far, as often only one company is approached, implicitly carrying the problem that statements on the supply chain cannot be validated by a view from other participants. Therefore, it is important to select appropriate supply chains and companies for empirical research on supply chain management. One research method that can be applied in such a setting is case study research. This method allows a flexible data collection, which is appropriate for analyzing supply chains and managerial issues therein. While research in supply chain management imposes further difficulties, it also carries the chance to validate collected data by triangulating information obtained at different stages of the supply chain. This paper will outline some basic issues on case study research, and also portray three examples of how such research has been conducted.
Strategies of research in the field are examined, with particular reference to quantitative documentation. To avoid fruitless contreoversy it is necessary to distinguish among frequency data, incidents (and histories), and institutionalized norms and statuses; and to recognize that the "participant observer" employs not one but three methods-participant observation, informant interviewing, and enumeration (or sampling). Three strategies are fundamental, according to criteria used here: enumeration to document frequency data; participant observation to describe indicents; and informant interviewing to learn institutionalized norms and statuses. Other strategies are not ruled out and nine that are frequently used are examined here.