Practical relevance of theory-driven supply chain management research. Evidence from China

• Pages: 76-95
• Published date: 11 February 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-12-2017-0337
• Date: 11 February 2019
• Author: Xiaohong Liu,Alan C. McKinnon
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics

Practical relevance of

theory-driven supply chain

management research

Evidence from China

Xiaohong Liu

Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics,

Beijing, China, and

Alan C. McKinnon

Department of Logistics, Kuehne Logistics University, Hamburg, Germany

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which theory-driven supply chain

management (SCM) research is of practical relevance. It does this on the basis of empirical research in China.

Design/methodology/approach –A two-pronged approach was adopted. First, 57 theory-driven SCM

studies based in China published in ten leading journals between 2006 and 2015 were surveyed. Second, a

questionnaire survey of Chinese managers identified their practical concerns and assessed their alignment

with the content of the academic papers.

Findings –Some academic research on SCM does probe industry-relevant problems. From an academic

perspective, this confirms that theory-driven SCM research can be of practical value. Overall, however, the

surveyfound that much of the SCM research works do not translateinto actionable knowledgefor practitioners.

Academic research in this field could pursue a more pragmatic path and enhance its practical utility.

Two critical components of this path, “practicalobservation”and “practical verification,”are highlighted.

Research limitations/implications –As the literature review was confined to ten leading journals,

relevant papers in other journals were possibly excluded. The research was confined to China and so the

results are not necessarily generalizable to other countries.

Practical implications –Chineseacademics and practitionerscould collaborate in definingresearch agendas

and directions. This wouldhelp researchers direct their theory buildingto issues of relevance to business.

Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relevance

of theory-driven SCM research from academic and practitioner perspectives in China. It shows how this

research might have greater impact on business practice.

Keywords China, Management research, Mixed method, Supply chain processes

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

Supply chain management (SCM) is an applied science. Thus, SCM research is usually

intended to address practical supply chain problems in the real world by applying existing

scientific knowledge. In order to explore diverse issues, problems and phenomena affecting

real supply chains, multiple theories have proven useful in SCM research (Defee et al., 2010;

Halldórsson et al., 2015; Kauppi, 2013; Ketchen and Hult, 2007; Miles and Snow, 2007; Stock,

2009; Walker et al., 2015). The application of theory has not only improved the rigor of an

SCM research, it has advanced the maturity of SCM as a scientific discipline (Carter, 2011;

Fawcett and Waller, 2011; Mentzer, 2008; Stock, 2009). Nevertheless, despite the highly

conceptualized theoretical relevance of SCM research and its significance to academics, the

strengthening of SCM’s theoretical foundations has not necessarily increased its relevance

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 30 No. 1, 2019

pp. 76-95

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-12-2017-0337

Received 12 December 2017

Revised 29 June 2018

19 August 2018

12 September 2018

Accepted 26 September 2018

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

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

This study is being supported by a Grant from National Social Science Foundation of China

(No. 15BGL002). The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to the reviewers and the

editor for their valuable comments and suggestions on improving the paper.

76

IJLM

30,1

to practitioners. For example, the nature of SCM phenomena is complex, and interrelated

with multilevel nesting (Carter et al., 2015). As recognized, the majority of an SCM research

continues to conceptualize research questions at a single level; thus, a multilevel theorization

and analysis of the SCM reality, to a large extent, is still lacking (Carter et al., 2015). This

situation makes it challenging for practitioners to understand the complexity of real-world

SCM, since they are surrounded by a variety of multilevel phenomena daily.

Theory is “a coherent description, explanation and representation of observed or

experienced phenomena”(Gioia and Pitre, 1990, p. 587). Its relevance to practice has been

a longstanding theme in research (Hambrick, 1994; Thomas and Tymon, 1982).

The theoretical principles of research, as MacKenzie et al. (2007) have reinforced, are not

only intended to reveal the practical world but also to alter practices within it. This is also

termed as the “performativity”of scientific theories (Kieseret al., 2015; MacKenzie et al., 2007).

In this sense, whenpractical problems have not been effectively tackledby the application of

theoretical approaches, the effects cannot be said to be actionable.

Therefore, this paper investigates the practical relevance of theory-driven SCM research

by posing the following questions:

RQ1. To what extent is current theory-driven SCM research of practical relevance?

RQ2. How can the practical utility of theory-driven SCM research be strengthened?

In answering the abovequestions, this study makes severalcontributions to the body of SCM

knowledge.First, unlike the majority of existing studies, whichview practical relevance solely

from an academicperspective, this study takes a dyadicview, i.e. offering both academicand

industryperspectives concerning thevalue of theory-driven SCMresearch. Second, it provides

a pragmatic pathto enhance the practical utility of theory-driven SCM research. Third, China

representsa unique research setting for this empiricalexamination. As the largest transitional

economy in the world,China provides a quasi-experimental setting within which theoriescan

be efficientlyassessed for applicability(Peng et al., 2001), which is crucialto the present study.

The remainder of this paper will be structured as follows. The next section will present a

literature review of SCM research, addressing the main concepts influencing practical

relevance and identifying the research gap. Then, a two-pronged approachwill be described,

includinga literature surveyand a questionnairesurvey with an SCM practitioners addressing

practical issues. The research results will then be presented, followed by a comprehensive

discussion of the research and managerial implications. Finally, a conclusion will be offered.

2. Literature review

This section reviews two research areas, namely the practical relevance of SCM research,

and theory-driven empirical SCM research. The purpose of exploring the existing literature

is to understand the potential practical application of theory-driven SCM research, and the

reasons for its failure to meet that potential. An initial literature review forms the basis of

the current study.

2.1 Practical relevance of SCM research

In the field of management research, practical relevance is directed toward the influence of

research results on management practice, such as change, modification or confirmation of

how managers think, talk and act (Nicolai and Seidl, 2010). Specific to the SCM area, as

specified by Carter (2008b), it is understood that the knowledge created by an SCM

academics can benefit managers by providing suggestions that can positively affect their

practices when managing supply chains. Given its practice-rooted nature, the practical

relevance of an SCM research is of great importance within the SCM community. As Flynn

(2008) asserted, if it were not for problems affecting real supply chains, there would be no

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Supply chain

management

research