Doctoral dissertations in supply chain management: a review of Chinese contributions from 1995 to 2019

• Pages: 479-509
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-03-2020-0125
• Date: 23 November 2020
• Published date: 23 November 2020
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics
• Author: Lu Yang,Baofeng Huo

Doctoral dissertations in supply

chain management: a review

of Chinese contributions from

1995 to 2019

Lu Yang

School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, and

Baofeng Huo

College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

Abstract

Purpose –This study aims to investigate Chinese doctoral dissertations in supply chain management (SCM)

by providing an overview of the evolution of this topic over the past 25 years.

Design/methodology/approach –This study reviews 1,945 doctoral dissertations in SCM from 39 Project

985 universities in China.

Findings –The annual number of SCM doctoral dissertations in China varied significantly over time, and the

top producers are all strong players in the SCM field with long histories of research. The dissertations use

multiple methods, of which mathematical, econometric modeling and simulation, and survey are the most

frequently used. Most of the frequently used theories are borrowed from other disciplines. Traditional research

topics are frequently investigated in Chinese doctoral dissertations in SCM, but the popular research topics

differ by period.

Originality/value –This study has examined Chinese doctoral dissertations in SCM through a literature

review.This study provides implications for research topics, methodological approaches, and theoretical lenses

for future research. It also disseminates Chinese SCM knowledge to the global academic network to stimulate

more SCM research.

Keywords Doctoral dissertation, Supply chain management, Literature review, China

Paper type Literature review

1. Introduction

China’s rapid and sustained economic growth has led to its designation as the second-largest

economy since 2010, and this country accounted for 16 percent of the global economy in 2019

(www.stats.gov.cn). As manufacturing activities have increasingly been outsourced to China,

it has become a manufacturing centre with an important role in the global supply chain (SC)

(Qi et al., 2011;Zhao et al., 2007;Gereffi, 2011). The National Bureau of Statistics states that

China’s total import and export value reached $31.54 trillion in 2019, during which year

Chinese manufacturing contributed nearly 30 percent of the global industrial SC (www.stats.

gov.cn). Chinese companies, such as Haier and Foxconn, have established global competitive

advantages with excellent supply chain management (SCM) practices. Foreign companies are

increasingly moving to China because of its huge market potential, relatively low labour

costs, and improving business environment (Zhao et al., 2006). Because of its rapid economic

growth and dominant role in the global SC, China is emerging as an interesting and important

object for academic research in SCM (Qi et al., 2011;Zhao et al., 2007).

Doctoral

dissertations in

SCM in China

479

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (#71525005, #71821002,

#71961137004). The authors thank participants in the Workshop on Empirical Operations and Supply

Chain Management, Tianjin University (2019) for useful comments. The authors also thank Prof. Tyson

R. Browning and Prof. Xenophon Koufteros for their helpful discussions and valuable assistance.

Received 10 March 2020

Revised 11 August 2020

30 October 2020

Accepted 1 November 2020

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 32 No. 2, 2021

pp. 479-509

© Emerald Publishing Limited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-03-2020-0125

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

https://www.emerald.com/insight/0957-4093.htm

In recent decades, many studies have examined SCM in China. Cai et al. (2010) investigated

the effects of the institutional environment on the development of trust and integration of

information between suppliers and buyers in China. Shan and Zhu (2013) examined the

inventory performances of Chinese firms. Furthermore, a literature subset has systematically

reviewed China-based SCM studies in academic journals to better understand SCM issues in

China (Zhao et al., 2007;Liu, 2014;Jiang et al., 2007;Huo et al., 2018;Liu and McKinnon, 2016).

For example, Jiang et al. (2007) and Huo et al. (2018) reviewed China-related production and

operations management (POM) research in leading journals from 1998 to 2016. They

summarized the research trends in China-related POM research and proposed potential

topics, such as green SCM, risk management, and service operations management, for

future POM research in the Chinese context. However, Chinese doctoral dissertations,

which contain first-hand SCM knowledge, have not been well summarized and

disseminated worldwide. These doctoral dissertations were completed in Chinese, and

most of them have not been published in international academic journals because many

Ph.D. students do not engage in academic research after graduation. An extensive review

that summarizes and disseminates Chinese doctoral dissertations in SCM is lacking.

However, in Western countries, doctoral dissertations in SCM have been well digested

through a series of literature reviews. These reviews have tracked the research trends and

provided future research directions (Stock, 1987,2001;Stock and Luhrsen, 1993;Stock and

Broadus, 2006;Nakhata et al., 2013). Appendix summarizes previous SCM-related doctoral

dissertation reviews. In China, Zhang et al.’s (2009) review of 157 doctoral dissertations in

SCM from 1999 to 2006 is the only such publication. The authors summarized the research

focus, industry, and degree-granting institution of each dissertation and provided

suggestions for future research.

However,severalgapsintheliteratureremain.First,theextantliteraturedoesnotcover

the methodological approaches and theoretical lenses used in doctoral dissertations. Yet,

these aspects are important for obtaining a comprehensive understandingof the evolution

and contribution of SCM doctoral research in China. Second, Chinese doctoral dissertations

in SCM have embraced many opportunities and challenges that have arisen since 2006

because of economic and technological changes. For example, the logistics industry was

included in China’s Five-Year Plan in 2006 to boost rapid growth, and China also faced

significant pressure to upgrade its industries to sustain economic growth after the 2008

global economic crisis. Therefore, it is important to summarize the methodological

approaches, theoretical lenses, and popular research topics in Chinese doctoral

dissertations in SCM in recent decades. This review aims to provide an overview of the

evolution of SCM doctoral research in China, based on national conditions and SCM

practices. More importantly, in recent decades, the main contributors to management

knowledge have been Western scholars who have mainly focused on the management

practices of the Western world. Although China is the world’s second-largest economy, it

has contributed little of this knowledge. In fact, given China’s unprecedented economic

development and dominant role in the global SC, academic researchers in SCM worldwide

want to know more about SCM research and practices in China. In particular, China’splace

at the centre of the global SC is being promoted further by the Belt and Road Initiative,

which aims to promote the connectivity of the Asian, European, and African continents and

their adjacent seas; establish and strengthen partnerships among the countries along its

route; set up omni-dimensional, multitiered and composite connectivity networks; and

realize diversified, independent, balanced and sustainable development in these countries,

and the Made in China 2025 program, which covers the first decade of China’sstrategyto

become a manufacturing power. Consequently, it is time to investigate Chinese doctoral

dissertations in SCM over the past several decades and summarize their evolution and

unique contributions.

IJLM

32,2

480