A complexity perspective on logistics management. Rethinking assumptions for the sustainability era

• Pages: 681-698
• Date: 12 August 2019
• Published date: 12 August 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-06-2019-0168
• Author: Fredrik Ralf Nilsson
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations

A complexity perspective on

logistics management

Rethinking assumptions for

the sustainability era

Fredrik Ralf Nilsson

Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how perspectives and assumptions embedded in the

complexity paradigm contribute to make logistics management research better aligned with real-life logistics.

This is necessary, due to increasing supply chain complexity caused by an increasing request for sustainable

development (SD).

Design/methodology/approach –The research is exploratory and based on a narrative literature review

of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) from a complexity science perspective. Qualitative research

interviews have been conducted with 12 logistics and supply chain managers in international companies and

have focussed on their daily experiences and the underlying assumptions related to their actual work.

Findings –Logistics and SCM research is embedded in the functionalistic paradigm with reductionistic

assumptions as the dominant logic. These do not sufficiently align with the complexity related, for example,

to the daily work of SD in logistics management practice.

Research limitations/implications –It is proposed that the inclusion of complexity-based assumptions in

logistics management research can increase realism in the advancement of the discipline. A key result is that

the recognition of logistics as complex means inclusion of human and social aspects –which is apparent in

any logistics process or phenomenon –in logistics knowledge creation processes.

Practical implications –Increased realism in logistics management research by addressing complexity,

instead of merely reducing it, will provide logistics and supply chain managers with increased understanding

and appropriate knowledge when they deal with emerging challenges such as SD.

Originality/value –Based on Boulding’s levels of complexity, this paper challenges the underlying

assumptions of logistics management in research and practice, and provides reflective frameworks for

advancingthe discipline and aligningit to the complexity of contemporarychallenges in logisticsmanagement.

Keywords Sustainability, Europe, Decision making, Agile, Supply chain processes, Qualitative interviews

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

The concern of complexity in logistics and supply chain management (SCM) is often

mentioned in the literature (Sanders et al., 2013; Bode and Wagner, 2015). While most

literature only describes complexity in general terms, a growing body of literature explicitly

addresses it in logistics and SCM (e.g. Christopher, 2016; Manuj and Sahin, 2011;

Gerschberger et al., 2017). In the recent special issue of Journal of Operations Management

on complex adaptive systems (CAS), Nair and Reed-Tsochas (2019) conclude that

complexity perspectives can contribute by providing increasing realism regarding models

and by providing more understanding of the highly interconnected nature of contemporary

supply chains. They (Nair and Reed-Tsochas, 2019 p. 80) also declare that in much of SCM

research, “we consider the simplistic conceptions of organizational and interorganizational

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 30 No. 3, 2019

pp. 681-698

Emerald Publishing Limited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-06-2019-0168

Received 10 June 2019

Accepted 11 June 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

© Fredrik Ralf Nilsson. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and

create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to

full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at

http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

681

Assumptions

for the

sustainability

era

structures, linear relationships between practices and performance, and ignore the adaptive

nature of strategies and processes”.

With the increasing concern for environmental and social issues in society, companies

have to consider sustainable development (SD) in their strategies and not only prioritise

financial performance and results (Porter and Kramer, 2011; Nair et al., 2016). Consequ ently,

the need to handle increased complexityfor logistics and SCM can be expected (Sanderset al.,

2013; Carter andRogers, 2008; Wittneben et al., 2009). Cruz et al. (2006, p. 872) state thatSD is

“perhaps one of the most complex and important demands that has occupied managers’

reflection”, and Hall and Vredenburg (2003) report on the major difficulties which managers

have in dealing with SD. Furthermore, Russel et al. (2018, p. 37) state that “everything about

achieving sustainable logistics and supply chain management is complex”. For example,

based on the multifaceted nature of SD, the interpretation of what SD meansin different parts

of an organisation or a supply chain is difficult to comprehend (Abbasi and Nilsson, 2012).

SD became popular after the Brundtland Commission report of 1987. Today, the

perspective on SD requires economic, social and environmental considerations (United

Nations, 2005) as sustainability is required to provide economic profitability, social

responsibility and environmental conservation (Elkington, 1998). Such an accomplishment

requires power,commitment and collaborationas there is not necessarily any correspondence

between economic,social and environmentalsustainability (Low and Gleeson, 2003).Logistics

is an area which is severely challenged when it comes to reaching the goals of Agenda 2030

(UN General Assembly, 2015). The movementof goods requiring set-up of logisticsnetworks,

transports between nodes (McKinnon etal., 2010) and delivery policies have all contributed to

the huge amounts of emissions affecting our planet today (IPPC, 2014). Furthermore, on the

competitive European transport market, depletion of logistics charges has led to lowering of

salaries and worse working conditions for drivers (Kummer et al., 2014).

The quest for logistics management research is to evaluate current and former practices

and provide guidance to practitioners and policy makers on what to do and how to act in

relation to present and future challenges. In the era of SD, this means evaluation of and

guidance sustainable practices, theories and methods, i.e. providing the logistics discipline

with knowledge on how to work and act in order to achieve Agenda 2030 goals and develop

sustainable logistics practices. However, as it is argued in this paper and pointed out in

several previous studies (e.g. Mears-Young and Jackson, 1997; Arlbjørn and Halldorsson,

2002; Nilsson, 2006; Carter et al., 2015), the logistics discipline has evolved from

problem-solving issues in industry and has been theoretically based on a positivistic

epistemology with reductionism as the central assumption.

Coming from this functionalis tic paradigm with central assumption s such as

controllability, optimality, rationality and objectivity (Nilsson and Gammelgaard, 2012;

Nilsson andChristopher, 2018), it is challenging in many waysto handle the rapid change and

the multi-natured challenges related to SD. Reflecting on the magnitude of logistics and

supply chain activities involving several tiers of suppliers which are globally dispersed,

theory recommends that these activities are broken into sub-units in order for us to

understand and deal with them, i.e. reduce scope, context and complexity. However, what

would happen if we took a holistic perspective and treated the role of logistics in SD in its

complex entirety? What if, instead of trying to reduce phenomena to “controllable”and

independentparts, we actually studiedand understood the emergent outcomesfrom everyday

interactions among individuals based on their self-organising processes (deliberate or not)?

What happens if, instead of indisputably believing in unfolding predetermined strategies

( formativeand deterministic), weregard development as being more transformative as it uses

adaptive strategies and activities (transformative and emergent)? As a result, what type of

knowledge can we produce by addressing and understanding logistics management from a

new set of assumptions better aligned to the complex reality we often experience?

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