International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

Malini Natarajarathinam; Ismail Capar; Arunachalam Narayanan

2009 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/09600030910996251

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the literature to describe the current practices and research trends in managing supply chains in crisis. This paper also provides directions for future research in supply chain crisis management. Design/methodology/approach – Articles published prior to August 2008 are analyzed and classified. Findings – A unique five‐dimensional framework to classify the literature is provided. The study reveals that there has been extensive research done in this area in recent years. Much of the research is focused on proactive approaches to crisis in supply chains. Management during various internal crises such as supplier bankruptcy or loss of key clients is a new, challenging area that requires further investigation. Research limitations/implications – This paper does not include articles that are not peer‐reviewed. Practical implications – This paper will serve as a guide to supply chain managers who would like to know how crises, disasters, and disruptions in supply chains have been handled in existing academic literature. Originality/value – To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first literature review in the area of managing supply chains during crisis that looks at both SCM and operations research/management science journals. This paper identifies the various methods that have been used to handle crisis situations and provides a framework to classify the literature. Additionally, this paper identifies gaps in the literature that can provide ideas for future research in this area.

Judith M. Whipple; M. Douglas Voss; David J. Closs

2009 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/09600030910996260

Purpose – This paper compares firms purchasing and/or selling food products internationally to those with domestic supply chains in order to determine if international firms: place greater managerial importance on security; and are more likely to engage supply chain partners in security‐related verification and information exchange. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between security initiatives and firm performance in terms of security outcomes, product quality, and customer service. Design/methodology/approach – A series of one‐way ANOVA tests are used to assess the differences between firms with international and domestic supply chains. Additionally, cluster analysis is conducted to group firms based on their performance levels. Findings – Initial results indicate respondents with international supply chains perceive that their firms place more importance on security and are more likely to assess the security procedures of supply chain partners. Results further indicate that, in general, respondents in international firms perceive better security performance is achieved in terms of the ability to detect and recover from security incidents. Once firms are grouped by performance, respondents in the high‐performance cluster, represented predominantly by international firms, perceived significantly higher performance in the areas examined. Originality/value – This paper is the first to compare, the differences in security measures employed by firms maintaining internationally oriented as opposed to domestically oriented supply chains and also relates the implementation of supply chain security measures to security and firm performance.

Zachary Williams; Jason E. Lueg; Ronald D. Taylor; Robert L. Cook

2009 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/09600030910996279

Purpose – The events of September 11, 2001 heightened the awareness of supply chain professionals to the threat of man‐made disasters on the security of supply chains. According to institutional theory, the environment in which an organization operates creates pressures (normative, coercive, and mimetic) to adopt “institutionalized” norms and practices in order to be perceived as “legitimate.” Using an institutional theory perspective, this paper identifies and explores the environmental drivers that motivate firms to engage in supply chain security (SCS) practices to thwart man‐made supply chain disasters. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research in the form of 19 depth interviews with mid‐to‐high level supply chain management professionals is conducted. Findings – The findings of the qualitative research indicate that four primary drivers of SCS exist: government, customers, competitors, and society. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided. Research limitations/implications – The qualitative findings call for future empirical testing. Practical implications – Practitioners will benefit from the research presented here by better understanding what environmental factors are causing improved security measures in the supply chain. Originality/value – This paper investigates drivers of SCS, an issue that is currently having an impact on supply chain operations worldwide. This is the first SCS study to investigate the reason behind why supply chains are implementing security strategies.

R. Glenn Richey Jr

2009 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/09600030910996288

Purpose – The research on supply chains concerning disaster and crisis situations is in its infancy, but rapidly expanding on the backs of top researchers in the field. As with most young research streams there is very little theoretical grounding in extant studies. The purpose of this research is to integrate four prominent existing theoretical perspectives to provide a concise yet holistic framework for grounding future research. Design/methodology/approach – The development of the disaster recovery pyramid is completed following an extensive review of the resource, risk and crisis/disaster recovery, and preparedness literature. Additionally, literature from the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm, communication theory, competing values theory, and relationship management theory are canvassed. Business professional and academics are also interviewed to validate the pyramid. Findings – The proposed framework is a call for future studies in the supply chain management and logistics disaster, and crisis management arena. The findings suggest that much of the work in supply chain disaster and crisis preparedness and recovery can be theoretically supported in combination of four mature theoretical perspectives: the RBV of the firm, communication theory, competing values theory, and relationship management theory. Originality/value – This is the first attempt to theoretically support the areas of supply chain disaster and crisis preparedness and recovery. The motivation of this paper is to both develop a framework and support a drive for growing multiple research streams in the area. Avenues of future research and theoretical grounding are suggested in a graphic representation.