Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management

While supply chain management has risen to great prominence in recent year, there are hardly related developments in research methodologies. Yet, as supply chains cover more than one company, one central issue is how to collect and analyse data along the whole or relevant part of the supply chain. Within the 36 chapters 70 authors bring together a rich selection of theoretical and practical examples of how research methodologies are applied in supply chain management. The book contains papers on theoretical implications as well as papers on a range of key methods, such as modelling, surveys, case studies or action research. It will be of great interest to researchers in the area of supply chain management and logistics, but also to neighbouring fields, such as network management or global operations.

Table of Contents:
Is There a Right Research Design for Your Supply Chain Study?.- Substantive Justification for Theory Building.- A Balanced Approach to Research in Supply Chain Management.- A Critical Discussion on the Theoretical and Methodological Advancements in Supply Chain Integration Research.- Measuring Supply Chain Integration — Using the Q-Sort Technique.- Supply Chain Management and the Challenge of Organizational Complexity — Methodological Considerations.- The Configurational Approach in Supply Chain Management.- Conducting a Literature Review — The Example of Sustainability in Supply Chains.- Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management — What Do We Know?.- Surveys in Supply Chain Management.- The Role and Importance of Survey Research in the Field of Supply Chain Management.- Web-based Surveys in Logistics Research: An Empirical Application.- SCM Research Methodologies: Employing Structural Equation Modeling.- Structural Equation Modeling as a Basis for Theory Development within Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research.- Customers’ Perceptions of Service Quality by TPL Service Providers in the United Kingdom — A Confirmatory Factor Analysis.- Third Party Logistics in Thailand — From the Users’ Perspective.- A Market-Oriented View of SCM — Researching Criteria and Instruments in the Public Procurement Process.- Case Study Research in Supply Chains.- Case Study Research in Supply Chains — An Outline and Three Examples.- A Proposal for Case Study Methodology in Supply Chain Integration Research.- Using Case Study Methods in Researching Supply Chains.- Multilevel Issues in Supply Chain Management.- Cost Management along the Supply Chain — Methodological Implications.- Case Studies and Surveys in Supply Chain Management Research — TwoComplementary Methodologies.- Towards Triangulation — Blending Techniques in Supply Chain Management Context.- Action Research in Supply Chains.- Action Research in Supply Chain Management — An Introduction.- The Application of Action Learning and Action Research in Collaborative Improvement within the Extended Manufacturing Enterprise.- Integrating Environmental and Social Standards into Supply Management — An Action Research Project.- Supply Chain Diagnostics to Confront Theory and Practice — Re-Questioning the Core of Supply Chain Management.- A Logistics and Supply Chain Approach to Seaport Efficiency — An Inquiry Based on Action Research Methodology.- Modelling Supply Chains.- Supply Chain Management Research Methodology Using Quantitative Models Based on Empirical Data.- Of Stocks, Flows, Agents and Rules — “Strategic” Simulations in Supply Chain Research.- Analysis of Supply Chain Dynamics through Object Oriented Simulation.- The Potential of Cooperative Game Theory for Supply Chain Management.- Modeling the Effect of Product Architecture Modularity in Supply Chains.- Heuristics in the Multi-Location Inventory System with Transshipments.- Contract Typology as a Research Method in Supply Chain Management.- Load Dependent Lead Times — From Empirical Evidence to Mathematical Modeling.- Recovery Network Design for End-of-Life Vehicles.- Modeling and Integrated Assessment of Mass and Energy Flows within Supply Chains.- Socrates Thematic Network to Enhance European Teaching and Research of Operations as Well as Supply Chain Management.