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“Big data” has become ubiquitous. It is impacting every aspect of how companies organize and manage their supply chains. Supply chains are evolving into digital networks connected via devices and sensors revolutionizing how data is generated, shared, and communicated. It is also unlocking new research streams. In this study, we introduce papers in this issue and showcase Big Data research trends across supply chain management.

The ability to monitor supplier performance is a critical capability for maintaining strong buyer–supplier relationships. Monitoring type B suppliers is especially challenging as they are not as cl...

Big data has the potential of offering valuable insights into the way organizations function, and it is changing the way organizations make decisions. Nine invited essays provide a wide range of perspectives on the role of big data in customer‐driven supply chains, healthcare operations, retail operations, demand planning and manufacturing, environmental and social issues, humanitarian operations, agriculture supply chains, and service operations. Decision makers should have clean, valid, and reliable data, and they should have a thorough understanding of the contexts of applications. Big data shorten virtual distance to customers, and thus facilitate personalization of products and services. Successful implementation of big data applications requires sharing the data with appropriate stakeholders.

To accelerate research discoveries—those required to address paramount challenges facing business today—researchers from diverse disciplines must work together. Interdisciplinary research (IDR) is a research that involves bringing together perspectives from two or more disciplines in an integrative manner to address complex and multifaceted supply chain management (SCM) problems. IDR is needed to address contemporary business challenges. We look at SCM research through the lens of the Behavioral Theory of the Firm (BTF) drawing parallels in research evolution and noting similar antecedents in theoretical development. We point to the advances BTF has offered to organizational theory built on IDR and consider the possibilities for SCM. We make a case for methodological diversity in supporting this research, further paralleling lessons from BTF. Last, we describe the state of IDR in SCM today, discuss the objective of this special issue, and showcase the five contributing papers.

Since its introduction over three decades ago, the field of supply chain management (SCM) has undergone numerous transformations. Today it is a prevailing theme in scholarly and popular research, and numerous disparate disciplines claim its ownership. Despite the field's evolution there continues to be little agreement on the domain and unifying theory of SCM, as well as a consensus definition. The result has been a lack of clarity as to the scope of SCM, �siloed� research methodologies, and parallel research efforts. We interviewed 50 academic scholars across disciplines, as well as 20 SCM business executives, to extract commonality of opinion and discuss the future of SCM. The most important of these findings are the identification of �common ground� regarding the definition and scope of SCM, establishment of the need for interdisciplinary research, the recognition of the existence of �inner� and �outer core� functions central to SCM, and the nature of functional involvement in interdisciplinary research. In this paper we present these findings and provide a path forward based on the collective wisdom of these scholars and executives.

Since the term supply chain management (SCM) was first introduced over 30 years ago, the field of SCM has undergone numerous transformations. Today, it is a prevailing theme in scholarly and popular research, and numerous disciplines claim its ownership. However, current and emerging SCM research challenges are becoming increasingly more complex. Fragmented and "siloed" research efforts across a range of disciplines may not be adequate to address the full complexities associated with these phenomena. We interviewed 50 SCM academic thought leaders, across a range of disciplines, and 20 SCM executives with the goal of helping researchers develop a consistent stream of work that builds on existing research, identifies relevant research directions, and provides guidance for the future. Although there were some differences in opinions, there was consensus on the boundary characteristics of SCM, as well as the identification of interdisciplinary research (IDR) as necessary for the enablement of SCM to address the numerous current and emerging intractable SCM challenges. In this article, we present these findings and provide a path forward based on the collective wisdom of these academics and executives.

o achieve differential performance in today’s marketplace, supply chain decision makers must manage complex, multifaceted, andnuanced issues. To help decision makers, and advance the supply chain discipline, researchers need to consider how multidisciplin-ary and⁄or multimethod research can provide greater insight into today’s and tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities. We explorequestions related to the supply chain–finance interface and global supply chain management to exemplify how multidisciplinary andmultimethod research can increase the insight and influence of our research contributions.Keywords: supply chain management; research methodology; multidisciplinary; multimethodTHE EVOLVING LANDSCAPEThe competitive landscape is changing. The challenges man-agers face—for example, globalization, process integration,risk management, and sustainability—are more complex andnuanced than in the past. For us to remain relevant as a dis-cipline, our research must provide insight into an evolvingenvironment and help decision makers develop the logisticsand supply chain capabilities needed to manage these chal-lenges successfully.Unfortunately, discipline-focused (i.e., myopic, siloed, orsingle-perspective) views limit our ability to address the com-plex, interdependent, and multidimensional research chal-lenges ahead. Likewise, single-method research is oftenunable to provide the rigorous breadth and depth of under-standing needed to generate research that is both ‘‘interestingand influential’’ (Fawcett and Waller 2011). Together, multi-disciplinary and multimethod research creates complementar-ity that adds richness to problem understanding.Importantly, logistics research, focused on operational topicssuch as order management, inventory, warehousing, andtransportation (Bowersox et al. 2010), has given rise to anintegrated focus across the organization and the supply chain(Frankel et al. 2008). Likewise, supply chain research hasincreasingly taken on a more strategic, boundary-spanningorientation toward value creation. We believe that a morepurposeful application of multidisciplinary and multimethodresearch approaches can help advance the logistics and sup-ply chain disciplines. Our purpose is therefore to call for,and exemplify, the use of multidisciplinary and multimethodapproaches.LEARNING VIA MULTIPLE LENSES AND METHODSSupply chain management (SCM) is a strategic discipline thatrequires internal and external integration of the flows of mate-rials, information, and funds (Chopra and Meindl 2010), andmust extend traditional competitive strategic priorities, suchas cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, and innovation (Wardet al. 1998) to areas such as globalization, sustainability, andrisk. To make a more meaningful contribution, researchers areincreasingly required to go beyond traditional perspectivesand take multidisciplinary and multimethod approaches.Multidisciplinary research is research that involves bring-ing together research from two or more disciplines in anintegrative manner (Klein 1996; Ausburg 2006). Similarlymultimethod research involves the utilization of multiplemethodologies, either from the same or different disciplines,to study a phenomenon (Roth 2007; Boyer and Swink 2008;Davis et al. 2011). The research complexities of SCM war-rant the increased use of multidisciplinary perspectives offer-ing the opportunity to draw from broader sources of data,methods, and expertise. Reliance on multiple methods tostudy a phenomenon enhances rigor and reliability of find-ings. The result is greater insights into research problems,reduction in the myopic, disciplined-based perspective, andgreater potential for innovative SCM breakthroughs.Table 1 depicts four contemporary SCM topic areas andhow multidisciplinary and multimethod approaches can beapplied to develop more complete and holistic solutions. Wenext explore questions related to the supply chain–financeinterface and global SCM to provide exemplars of multiper-spective multimethod use.Supply chain–finance interfaceWhile researchers have extensively studied supply chain per-formance measurement (Griffis et al. 2004) and the variouscomponents of working capital (and in particular inventory)(e.g., Eroglu and Hofer 2010; Protopappa-Sieke and Seifert2010), there are numerous topics at the supply chain–financeinterface that warrant further study.Corresponding author:Nada R. Sanders, College of Business and Economics, Depart-ment of Management, Lehigh University, 621 Taylor Street,Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA; E-mail: nrs209@lehigh.eduJournal of Business Logistics, 2011, 32(4): 317–323 Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals

The connectivity and communication requirements of leading supply chains have created the emergence of a more advanced role for third-party logistics providers 3PLs. They have evolved from providing logistics capabilities to becoming orchestrators of supply chains that create and sustain a competitive advantage. This article uses a theoretical perspective based on resource-based theory, network theory and transaction cost economics, and a thorough literature review, to develop a model with seven propositions. Finally, using structured interviews of industry executives from a leading 3PL, we offer empirical support for the model and propositions that can be used to define the orchestrator role of a 3PL.

The growth of interest in supply chain management continues unabated. Supply chain journals continue to climb in impact, and the importance of supply chains continues to bourgeon because of the con...

The post–WWII economic expansion of economies such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and more recently China and India was enabled to a significant degree by the increasingly complex, global supply chain networks of large Original Equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the United States, European Union, and Japan. By linking buyers and suppliers across countries and industries, supply chain management (SCM) practices have a large impact on the economic fortunes of companies and countries throughout the world. Nowhere has the effect of this mutual interdependence been felt more strongly than between the U.S. companies and the Asia-Pacific market. Although the benefits of SCM are well documented, some evidence suggests that the reality of SCM implementation can create additional pressures for suppliers. We identify key problem areas experienced by suppliers and their link to the type of information shared by buying firms. The problem area experienced by most suppliers relates to issue...

The use of e-business technologies between supply chain organizations has primarily been examined from the viewpoint of buying firms or retailers, with little attention given to the benefits accrued to suppliers. Further, previous studies have been limited to either financial or marketing performance measures, or a narrow range of operational measures. This study builds on research in this area by testing a model of the relationship between supplier use of e-business technologies in communication with their primary buyer, degree of buyer-supplier coordination, and a complete set of benefits that include strategic and operational performance measures. Using data from 241 first-tier OEM suppliers in the computer industry, the findings show that supplier use of e-business technologies positively impacts organizational benefits both directly and indirectly by promoting buyer-supplier coordination.

The use of information technologies between supply chain organizations has been shown to promote organizational coordination and have a positive impact on performance. Drawing from organizational theories of learning, we build on this research by proposing a model that relates the pattern of supplier use of IT to specific types of supply chain coordination activities and a comprehensive set of organizational benefits. Specifically, we evaluate how two patterns of IT use by suppliers (exploitation and exploration) relate to two specific types of coordination activities with their buyers (operational and strategic coordination), which in turn are posited to promote specific organizational benefits. Using data from 241 first-tier OEM suppliers in the computer industry, our findings show that each pattern of IT use directly promotes a specific type of coordination activity. Although both types of coordination activities are needed to achieve both strategic and operational benefits, we find each coordination activity to be uniquely promoted by a specific pattern of IT use. IT use for exploitation is found to be an antecedent to operational coordination; IT use for exploration is found to be an antecedent to strategic coordination. No crossover between pattern of use and coordination activities is found. Our findings show that to achieve a complete set of benefits, suppliers must ultimately use IT for both exploration and exploitation. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the mechanism of how the pattern of IT use can result in a comprehensive set of organizational benefits for supplier firms.

The development and use of information technology (IT) have been thematic in recent literature. IT has been viewed as an enabler of internal and external firm collaboration, which is the foundation of supply chain management. Firm collaboration and information sharing, in turn, are expected to improve firm performance. A model of the relationship between firm IT capability, internal and external collaboration, and firm performance is proposed and tested, using empirical data. The findings show that firm IT capability directly impacts internal and external collaboration as well as firm performance. This finding has important implications for managers as they evaluate investment in information technologies.

This study profiles organizational differences between firms based upon their level of information technology (IT) use. The three key dimensions examined are: (1) organizational competitive priorities; (2) choice of specific IT applications; and (3) performance measures achieved. A mail survey to manufacturing, retailing, warehouse and distribution and transportation firms was used for data collection. The survey contained questions about general company information, the nature of the strategic planning process, focus on competitive priorities, the degree of IT usage, reliance on specific IT applications and achievements on specific performance measures. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) Firms with a high level of IT use focus on a different set of competitive priorities than firms with low or medium IT use; (2) High IT firms have significantly higher usage of specific information technologies compared to low or medium IT firms; and (3) Firms with high IT usage have significantly higher performance compared to firms with low or medium IT usage. Findings indicate that high IT firms compete on flexibility and place a greater emphasis on supply chain management in the strategic planning process. The level of IT usage also appears related to aggregate company performance with a higher percentage of high IT firms reporting substantial growth in market share over the past five years than low and medium IT firms.