Barbara B. Flynn

Supply chain management researchers are increasingly using archival data to push boundaries of existing knowledge. Archival data provide opportunities to address new research questions and offer fresh perspectives on old questions. This editorial seeks to establish a common ground regarding research design, measurement validity, and endogeneity to help both authors and reviewers fully utilize archival data to advance supply chain management knowledge.

The Journal of Supply Chain Management’s 2020 Emerging Discourse Incubator hopes to stimulate the development of supply chain specific theory. Well‐executed case‐based research will always be an appropriate means for developing supply chain theory. However, this EDI seeks to highlight emerging approaches to theory building that provide alternatives to case‐based research or can be used as a source of triangulation with it. To start that discourse, this issue offers three emergent approaches. In “Theorizing Supply Chains with Qualitative Big Data and Topic Modeling,” Tima Bansal, Jury Gualandris, and Nahyun Kim explore the application of topic modeling to develop supply chain theory from qualitative textual big data evidence. Anne Touboulic, Lucy McCarthy, and Lee Matthews illustrate the use of critical engaged research to develop supply chain theory in “Re‐Imagining Supply Chain Challenges Through Critical Engaged Research.” In “A New Methodology for Supply Chain Management: Discourse Analysis and its Potential for Theoretical Advancement,” Cynthia Hardy, Vikram Bhakoo, and Steve Maguire describe the potential for discourse analysis for developing supply chain management theory. These are but a few examples of potential approaches to developing supply chain theory. We welcome submissions on additional approaches and sources of data that are used in other disciplines, but have yet to be applied in the context of developing supply chain theory, and submissions on approaches that are emergent in the social sciences, in general. JSCM welcomes submissions for this EDI through the end of 2020.

This study investigates the way firms reconfigure their supply base and reshape their production network to capture value from Free Trade Zone incentives to capture value from incentives. Six production networks located in Manaus, Brazil are analyzed using the Global Production Network framework and factors related to plant type and supplier relationships. A multiple case study was conducted. Data was collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews administered in loco, and the selected the firms were leaders in three different industries: transportation, mechanical assembly and chemicals. The results indicate that, if effectively applied, incentives can impact production network configuration from an embeddedness perspective, causing a firm to change its strategic role. Based on the analysis, we propose five propositions that challenge the relationships among autonomy, value creation, plant types and levels of embeddedness. The propositions are particularly useful for suppliers and distributors, as well as public agencies, including infrastructure providers and policymakers.

Pour établir les fondations de l’étude du pouvoir au sein de la chaîne d’approvisionnement, nous examinons les configurations du pouvoir au niveau des dyades de pouvoir imbriquées (DPI), en observant l’effet simultané du pouvoir en amont et en aval. Nous partons de quatre concepts clés : l’asymétrie de la dépendance (théorie de la dépendance envers les ressources), la dépendance conjointe (perspective d’imbrication), le différentiel entre les types de pouvoir et l’asymétrie des sources de pouvoir. Au cours de cette étude, nous cherchons à déterminer la nature de la relation entre les DPI et les performances opérationnelles de l’entreprise concernée, en développant des hypothèses basées sur l’asymétrie de la dépendance, la dépendance conjointe, le différentiel entre les types de pouvoir et l’asymétrie des sources de pouvoir au sein des DPI. Nous avons interrogé plus de 600 répondants en Chine pour collecter des données sur les perceptions des entreprises visées concernant le pouvoir amont et le pouvoir aval, et l’analyse typologique a donné huit DPI. L’analyse inférentielle a révélé l’importance des concepts de dépendance conjointe, d’asymétrie de la dépendance, de différentiel entre les types de pouvoir et d’asymétrie des sources de pouvoir pour les performances opérationnelles de l’entreprise visée.

Survey research in supply chain management has been and will continue to be an important methodology in advancing theory and practice. However, supply chain scholars have multiple, divergent views regarding what is acceptable in terms of survey design, especially regarding respondents. We build on insights and commentaries provided by JSCM associate editors to develop and share general guidelines we will use during our tenure as editors to consider the rigor of survey research designs. We also outline ways that survey designs for supply chain research can be strengthened. The aim of this editorial was to clearly communicate expectations to the JSCM community, so that authors and reviewers can be more successful in advancing the theory and practice of supply chain management.

Purpose: Using the combined theoretical umbrella of organizational legitimacy theory, service-dominant logic, fairness heuristic theory and two-factor theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of different food recall strategies (recall proactiveness and compensation) in terms of both how consumers react (perceived organizational legitimacy and purchase intention) and how recall norms would influence the effectiveness in three countries. In addition to the reporting of important results, this paper provides implications for food companies to handle effectively the recalls, especially when the recalls are cross-country. Design/methodology/approach: A 2 compensation (high vs low) ×2 recall strategy (proactive vs passive) scenario experiment was conducted in Hong Kong, the USA and Mainland China. After checking the effectiveness of manipulation, the paper tested the main effect and interaction effect of recall proactiveness and compensation on perceived organizational legitimacy and purchase intention. In addition, the mediating effect of perceived organizational legitimacy between recall strategies and purchase intention was also tested. Findings: Significant main effect, interaction and mediation effect were found across the three countries with a different pattern. For the USA and Mainland China which have strong recall norms, the interaction found followed the predictions of the two-factory theory. However, the pattern found in Hong Kong, which has weak recall norms, followed the predictions of the fairness heuristic theory. Full mediation effect of perceived organizational legitimacy between compensation and purchase intention was found in the USA and Mainland China, while it was only partial in Hong Kong. For the mediation between proactiveness and purchase intention, full mediation was found in Hong Kong and the USA, while it was only partial in Mainland China. Originality/value: First, this study differentiated food recall strategy into two dimensions – recall proactiveness and compensation. Second, this study tested the applicability of two-factor theory and fairness heuristic theory in recalls by testing the competing hypotheses proposed according to the two theories. Finally, this study can further help our understanding of the recall effectiveness across different recall norms.

To lay the foundation for the study of supply chain power, we study power configurations at the level of interlocking power dyads (IPDs), viewing the simultaneous effect of upstream and downstream power. We build on four key constructs: dependence asymmetry (resource dependence theory), joint dependence (embeddedness perspective), power type differential (based on French & Raven, 1959), and power source asymmetry. We examine the research question of what the relationship is betweenIPDs and the focal firm's operational performance, developing hypotheses based on the dependence asymmetry, joint dependence, power type differential, and power source asymmetry of theoreticalIPDs. A survey of over 600 respondents in China was used to collect data on focal firm perceptions of upstream and downstream power, with cluster analysis yielding eightIPDs. Inferential analysis revealed the importance of joint dependence, dependence asymmetry, power type differential, and power source asymmetry to the operational performance of the focal firm.

This article develops a theoretical conceptualization of supply chain uncertainty, based on the foundation provided by contingency theory, classical organization theory, and information processing theory. We develop a theoretical analogy between a supply chain and an organization, then highlight key differences, which leads us to hypothesize that there are three key types of supply chain uncertainty. Micro‐level uncertainty is based on the variability of inputs to the technical core of a supply chain, corresponding to the traditional operationalization of uncertainty in the supply chain and operations management literature. Meso‐level uncertainty is the lack of information needed by a supply chain member, corresponding to the information processing theory perspective. This is often due to the conflicting pressures of differentiation and interdependence in a supply chain, where members may withhold information that they feel could compromise their interests. Macro‐level uncertainty, based on the equivocality construct, is related to unclear and ambiguous situations faced by supply chain members in rapidly changing external environments. We propose that all three types of uncertainty coexist in a supply chain and may interact with each other. Based on contingency theory's focus on alignment of process and structure with the environment, we test the relationship among supply chain integration (process), centralization, formalization and flatness (organization structure) and the dimensions of uncertainty (environment). Hypotheses are tested using hierarchical regression on data collected from 339 globally distributed manufacturing plants. It reveals that, as hypothesized, micro‐level and meso‐level uncertainty are positively related to SCI and that macro‐level uncertainty is inversely related to it. The organization structure variables of centralization and formalization had a moderating effect, strengthening or reducing the main effects of uncertainty. The results are discussed in terms of their consistency with the theoretical foundation, implications for decision makers facing supply chain uncertainty and future research opportunities.