Theoretical perspectives in operations management:an analysis of the literature

Purpose - It is important to advance operations management (OM) knowledge while being mindful of the theoretical developments of the discipline. The purpose of this paper is to explore which theoretical perspectives have dominated the OM field. This analysis allows the authors to identify theory trends and gaps in the literature and to identify fruitful areas for future research. A reflection on theory is also practical, given that it guides research toward important questions and enlightens OM practitioners. Design/methodology/approach - The authors provide an analysis of OM theory developments in the last 30 years. The study encompasses three decades of OM publications across three OM journals and contains an analysis of over 3,000 articles so as to identify which theories, over time, have been adopted by authors in order to understand OM topics. Findings - The authors find that the majority of studies are atheoretical, empirical, and focussed upon theory testing rather than on theory development. Some theories, such as the resource-based view and contingency theory, have an enduring relevance within OM. The authors also identify theories from psychology, economics, sociology, and organizational behavior that may, in the future, have salience to explain burgeoning OM research areas such as servitization and sustainability. Research limitations/implications - The study makes a novel contribution by exploring which main theories have been adopted or developed in OM, doing so by systematically analyzing articles from the three main journals in the field (the Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, and the International Journal of Operations and Production Management), which encompass three decades of OM publications. In order to focus the study, the authors may have missed important OM articles in other journals. Practical implications - A reflection on theories is important because theories inform how a researcher or practicing manager interprets and solves OM problems. This study allows the authors to reflect on the collective OM journey to date, to spot trends and gaps in the literature, and to identify fruitful areas for future research. Originality/value - As far as the authors are aware, there has not been an assessment of the main theoretical perspectives in OM. The research also identifies which topics are published in OM journals, and which theories are adopted to investigate them. The authors also reflect on whether the most cited papers and those winning best paper awards are theoretical. This gives the authors a richer understanding of the current state of OM research

Sourcing Uncertainties: The Case of Outsourcing and Global Sourcing

This article investigates uncertainties in global sourcing and outsourcing. The empirical research design is a multiple-case study that captures the uncertainties that companies face when sourcing low-cost countries (LCC) and when outsourcing to supplier markets that are in close proximity, but are non-developed. This article finds that, regardless of whether companies source to LCC or outsource to nearby suppliers, they face the problem of suppliers not having experience with the operations they run.Under such circumstances, operational uncertainties come into focus, particularly in the absence of a well-functioning supplier market. For practitioners, it is important to consider that a company must mitigate or manage uncertainties when it does not have a given supplier partner. The present study has found that mixed strategies, in which parallel production is continued in-house whilst also outsourcing, are a particularly effective way of managing multiples of uncertainties

Theoretical perspectives in purchasing and supply chain management: an analysis of the literature

The research presented in this paper is work-in-progress and aims to investigate to what extent purchasing and supply chain management (SCM), as a relatively new area of academic enquiry, is ready or able to join the select group of modern scientific disciplines. The analysis indicates that the discipline lacks coherence and exhibits significant and increasingly interdisciplinary breath and is some way off becoming a natural science. Furthermore, it is argued that SCM research has diverse agendas and therefore it is unlikely that one dominant paradigm will emerge.N/

Reporting Controversial Issues in Controversial Industries

Purpose: This article explores how companies in multiple controversial industries report their controversial issues. For the first time, we use a new conceptualization of controversial industries, focused on harm and solutions, to investigate the reports of 28 companies in seven controversial industries: Agricultural Chemicals, Alcohol, Armaments, Coal, Gambling, Oil and Tobacco.Methodology: We thematically analyzed company reports to determine if companies in controversial industries discuss their controversial issues in their reporting, if and how they communicate the harm caused by their products or services, and what solutions they provide.Findings: From our data we introduce a new legitimacy reporting method in the controversial industries literature: the solutions companies offer for the harm caused by their products and services. We find three solution reporting methods: no solution, misleading solution and less harmful solution. We also develop a new typology of reporting strategies used by companies in controversial industries based on how they report their key controversial issue and the harm caused by their products or services, and the solutions they offer. We identify seven reporting strategies:Ignore, Deny, Decoy, Dazzle, Distort, Deflect and Adapt.Originality: This paper develops a new typology of reporting strategies by companies in controversial industries and adds to the theory and discourse on social and environmental reporting (SER) as well as the literature on controversial industries.Research implications: Further research can test the typology and identify strategies used by companies in different institutional or regulatory settings, across different controversial industriesor in larger populations.Practical implications: Investors, consumers, managers, activists and other stakeholders of controversial companies can use this typology to identify the strategies that companies use to report controversial issues. They can assess if reports admit to the controversial issue and the harm caused by a company’s products and services and if they provide solutions to that harm

The ‘T-Shaped Buyer’: a transactional perspective on supply chain relationships

This paper challenges the normative view of interdependent buyer-seller relationships and provides a more holistic perspective of the contextual reality that shapes buyer behaviour. By proposing an innovative qualitative methodology, which focusses on boundary-spanning, pre-sales interactions, the research penetrates complex and commercially sensitive buyer-seller relationships. The longitudinal research design uses web-based diaries and follow-up interviews to explore conditions of power based interdependence between buyers and sellers. The ensuing data is mapped using qualitative content analysis and the results are aggregated graphically for assessment. Using this approach the study develops a nuanced view of the dominant patterns of buyer behaviour, and challenges the opinion that a search for competitive advantage will strengthen cooperative relationships in conditions of power based interdependence. The paper introduces the metaphor of the 'T-Shaped Buyer' to explain the empirical findings and, while acknowledging the contextual limits of the study, suggests that this metaphor may cause both academics and practitioners to reflect on normative thinking

Managing Imbalanced Supply Chain Relationships for Sustainability: A Power Perspective

This study adopts a power perspective to investigate sustainable supply chain relationships and specifically uses resource dependence theory (RDT) to critically analyze buyer–supplier–supplier relationships. Empirical evidence is provided, extending the RDT model in this context. The concept of power relationships is explored through a qualitative study of a multinational company and agricultural growers in the UK food industry that work together to implement sustainable practices. We look at multiple triadic relationships involving a large buyer and its small suppliers to investigate how relative power affects the implementation of sustainable supply-management practices. The study highlights that power as dependence is relevant to understanding compliance in sustainable supply chains and to identifying appropriate relationship-management strategies to build more sustainable supply chains. We show the influences of power on how players manage their relationships and how it affects organizational responses to the implementation of sustainability initiatives. Power notably influences the sharing of sustainability-related risks and value between supply chain partners. From a managerial perspective, the study contributes to developing a better understanding of how power can become an effective way to achieve sustainability goals. This paper offers insights into the way in which a large organization works with small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to implement sustainable practices and shows how power management—that is, the way in which power is used—can support or hinder effective cooperation around sustainability in the supply chain

Processes and integration in the interaction of purchasing and marketing: considering synergy and symbiosis

Effective integration of both purchasing and marketing functions is central to effective value creation and alignment of an organization with its business environment. Rapidly changing environments create gaps in the value creation process that compromises the delivery of value to the customer and risk misalignment of value propositions to their needs. Despite the clear imperative for research in this area, the extant literature is partial and delivers limited coherence. Ours is a theoretical article that—in drawing on previous literature—introduces the new work collected in this special issue and considers this against our own empirical evidence. We present a framework that maps out the landscape of internal organizational integration with a particular emphasis on purchasing and marketing integration. Implications for theory and managers are explored

Supply market uncertainty:exploring consequences and responses within sustainability transitions

Often it is commercial, not technological, factors which hinder the adoption of potentially valuable innovations. In energy policy, much attention is given to analysing and incentivising consumer demand for renewable energy, but new technologies may also need new supply markets, to provide products and services to build, operate and maintain the innovative technology. This paper addresses the impact of supply constraints on the long-term viability of sustainability related innovations, using the case of bioenergy from organic waste. Uncertainties in the pricing and availability of feedstock (i.e. waste) may generate market deadlock and deter potential investors. We draw on prior research to conceptualise the problem, and identify what steps might be taken to address it. We propose a research agenda aimed at purchasing and supply scholars and centred on the need to understand better the interplay between market evolution and supply uncertainty and 'market shaping' - how stakeholders can legitimately influence supply market evolution - to support the adoption of sustainability related innovation

Green supply chain performance measures: A review and bibliometric analysis

The concept of green supply chain management is evolving rapidly and gaining popularity in the research community. This research reviews the literature on green supply chain performance measures for the purpose of providing thorough insight into the field. Using bibliometric and network analysis, the research critically evaluates 653 articles published over the past 22 years and identifies some of the top contributing authors, organizations and key research topics related to the field. In addition, the most influential works based on citations and PageRank are also obtained and compared. At last, major research areas and potential future directions are identified by conducting network analysis

Creating a Sustainable UK Farming and Food Industry: An Analysis of Partnership Thinking as a Solution to the Problems in the UK Farming and Food Industry

This thesis focuses on UK Government policy-making as it pertains to the UK farming and food industry. This sector faces many serious economic problems. In response, the UK Government has developed policies and strategies to create profitable, sustainable and internationally-competitive farming and food chains. One policy has been to promote ‘partnerships’. Considerable time and money has been spent on implementing this policy. However, the many initiatives launched have only been partially successful. A key reason for this is that many of those trying to implement ‘partnering’ have not recognised that, whilst there are many tangible and intangible advantages to be derived from ‘partnerships’, they are not always appropriate or possible. A key factor in determining when a ‘partnership’ is either appropriate or possible and whether an attempted ‘partnership’ was successful is buyer-supplier power. Unfortunately, the concept of power never featured in UK Government policy documents. The thesis also aims to improve our understanding of buyer-supplier power. While the cases showed that power was an important factor in affecting relationship success, they also showed that current power-related methodologies (Cox et al., 1999; Cox et al., 2000; Cox et al., 2003) may be too crude and require further development