Sustainable Supply Management
Reading 1.1 – Purchasing and supply management as a multidisciplinary research field: Unity
in diversity? Wynstra et al. (2019)
The number of publications tripled in the most recent years, particularly driven by the OM
journals. “… a strong indicator of the high and growing scientific relevance of our field.”
Considering PSM as a multidisciplinary application field holds an intrinsic appreciation of
diversity and opens one’s eyes to how different disciplines may interact within the field and
influence one another.
Purchasing and supply management is typically defined as the design, initiation, control and
evaluation of strategic, tactical and operational processes within and between organizations,
aimed at acquiring products and services at the most favourable conditions.
PSM research Discipline Application field
Discipline = a common focus of a set of research who might perform research in varied
paradigms and/or theoretical perspectives.
In this study, we propose and validate this view of PSM as multidisciplinary application field.
This article is a phenomenon-centred body of knowledge in which various disciplinary
perspectives are employed to define and explain phenomena related to PSM.
1) The first, more quantitative research question is how PSM research has developed
over time in terms of the absolute number of publications and its prevalence (market
share) in the respective journals. The common understanding is that PSM research
has grown substantially over time but to date little evidence has been presented that
spans several decades and a broad range of journals.
2) The second, more content-related question is which topics have been addressed and
which theories have been used in PSM research over time, and how these trends
compare for the core contributing disciplines to PSM research.
In other words, the review seeks to establish whether, beyond having a common study
object the field is characterized by unity in diversity. Is there such a thing as ‘e pluribus
unum’ – do the different constituting disciplines have a common focus?
2522 PSM publications in a multidisciplinary set of 18 high-impact management journals,
over period 1995-2014.
1965: The first academic journal, the Journal of Purchasing, specifically oriented towards
PSM was founded.
>1960: Several books were published.
>1970: Advancements in PSM and the introduction of Marketing discipline.
>1980: Increasingly more studies on PSM were conducted from an Operations Management
and Industrial Engineering background.
Reference disciplines = providing the theoretical frameworks that PSM researchers use.
Operations Management (OM)
Marketing (MA)
Strategy and Organization (SO)
,Operations management = study of the transformation processes that create products or
services in all organizations, for profit and non-profit.
- Production and logistics
- Just-in-time (JIT)
- Bullwhip effect
Marketing = study of the organizational function and the processes for creating,
communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships
in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.
Strategy and Organization = building and testing theory about organizations, their members
and their management, organization-environment relations, and organizing processes.
- Porter’s (1985) Five Forces Model can be applied to understand how
companies can effectively interact with their suppliers.
- Transaction Cost Economics can be used to understand which transactions
are governed most effectively through hierarchy and which are better
organized by market or bilateral governance, i.e. make-or-buy issues.
Figure 2 shows that strategic processes (71%) in general and Supplier Relationship
Management (28.7%) in particular are the most prevalent area of PSM research.
There are also some notable differences between the disciplines in terms of the topics they
study. This would obviously limit the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration. For
example, studies addressing enablers tend to employ more SO-based studies than OM-based
studies.
,In terms of specific
theories employed,
Transaction Cost
Economics (TCE) was by
far the most frequently
used theory over the
entire 20-year period. It
was used by 13.6% of
the total articles and by
35.5% of all articles that
use any theory at all.
, Not considering the entire, multidisciplinary body of research in PSM – or not making any
differentiation – hinders a good understanding of the current situation in our research field
and of the potential for further development.
Price and cost have been the most popular topic in terms of competitive priorities, but the
focus on sustainability has been growing. PSM studies in the specialized journals have been
somewhat more ‘theory-oriented’ than OM-based studies, but less so than those in MA and
SO.
SRM has been a popular topic throughout, and the five most popular topics for each of the
journal groups, in any given period, overlap to a high degree. With one exception, TCE is the
most popular for all journal groups in all periods.
There has been diversity, with distinct features of each journal group in terms of the one or
two most popular topics or theories but considering the broader base of PSM publications in
each journal group, there is considerable overlap: ‘E pluribus unum’.
Reading 1.2 – How the transaction cost and resource-based theories of the firm inform
outsourcing evaluation? McIvor (2008)
Outsourcing evaluation should be linked with corporate strategy.
The drive for greater efficiencies and cost reductions has forced many organizations to
specialize in a limited number of key areas. This has led organizations to outsource activities
and services traditionally carried out in-house.
Outsourcing is regarded as a powerful vehicle to reduce costs and improve performance. For
example, specialists in supply markets can develop greater knowledge depth, invest more in
software and training systems, be more efficient, and therefore offer higher salaries and
attract more highly trained people than many integrated companies. Outsourcing can also
be employed to cope with demand uncertainty and to obtain the benefits of supplier scale
economies in a range of business areas.
Transaction cost economics (TCE) = specifies the conditions under which an organization
should manage an economic exchange internally within its boundaries, and the conditions
suitable for managing an economic exchange externally, i.e. outsourcing.
Resource-based view (RBV) = views the firm as a bundle of assets and resources that, if
employed in distinctive ways, can create competitive advantage.
Traditionally, operations management has focused on the make-or-buy decision in a
manufacturing context. However, in an era of large-scale manufacturing and services
outsourcing, both locally and offshore, there is an increasing recognition that operations
management scholars should employ multiple theories from disciplines such as strategy,
economics and organizational behavior to study outsourcing.
The research presented in this paper further enhances the understanding of outsourcing in
the context of operations management research using TCE and the RBV.
Reading 1.1 – Purchasing and supply management as a multidisciplinary research field: Unity
in diversity? Wynstra et al. (2019)
The number of publications tripled in the most recent years, particularly driven by the OM
journals. “… a strong indicator of the high and growing scientific relevance of our field.”
Considering PSM as a multidisciplinary application field holds an intrinsic appreciation of
diversity and opens one’s eyes to how different disciplines may interact within the field and
influence one another.
Purchasing and supply management is typically defined as the design, initiation, control and
evaluation of strategic, tactical and operational processes within and between organizations,
aimed at acquiring products and services at the most favourable conditions.
PSM research Discipline Application field
Discipline = a common focus of a set of research who might perform research in varied
paradigms and/or theoretical perspectives.
In this study, we propose and validate this view of PSM as multidisciplinary application field.
This article is a phenomenon-centred body of knowledge in which various disciplinary
perspectives are employed to define and explain phenomena related to PSM.
1) The first, more quantitative research question is how PSM research has developed
over time in terms of the absolute number of publications and its prevalence (market
share) in the respective journals. The common understanding is that PSM research
has grown substantially over time but to date little evidence has been presented that
spans several decades and a broad range of journals.
2) The second, more content-related question is which topics have been addressed and
which theories have been used in PSM research over time, and how these trends
compare for the core contributing disciplines to PSM research.
In other words, the review seeks to establish whether, beyond having a common study
object the field is characterized by unity in diversity. Is there such a thing as ‘e pluribus
unum’ – do the different constituting disciplines have a common focus?
2522 PSM publications in a multidisciplinary set of 18 high-impact management journals,
over period 1995-2014.
1965: The first academic journal, the Journal of Purchasing, specifically oriented towards
PSM was founded.
>1960: Several books were published.
>1970: Advancements in PSM and the introduction of Marketing discipline.
>1980: Increasingly more studies on PSM were conducted from an Operations Management
and Industrial Engineering background.
Reference disciplines = providing the theoretical frameworks that PSM researchers use.
Operations Management (OM)
Marketing (MA)
Strategy and Organization (SO)
,Operations management = study of the transformation processes that create products or
services in all organizations, for profit and non-profit.
- Production and logistics
- Just-in-time (JIT)
- Bullwhip effect
Marketing = study of the organizational function and the processes for creating,
communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships
in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.
Strategy and Organization = building and testing theory about organizations, their members
and their management, organization-environment relations, and organizing processes.
- Porter’s (1985) Five Forces Model can be applied to understand how
companies can effectively interact with their suppliers.
- Transaction Cost Economics can be used to understand which transactions
are governed most effectively through hierarchy and which are better
organized by market or bilateral governance, i.e. make-or-buy issues.
Figure 2 shows that strategic processes (71%) in general and Supplier Relationship
Management (28.7%) in particular are the most prevalent area of PSM research.
There are also some notable differences between the disciplines in terms of the topics they
study. This would obviously limit the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration. For
example, studies addressing enablers tend to employ more SO-based studies than OM-based
studies.
,In terms of specific
theories employed,
Transaction Cost
Economics (TCE) was by
far the most frequently
used theory over the
entire 20-year period. It
was used by 13.6% of
the total articles and by
35.5% of all articles that
use any theory at all.
, Not considering the entire, multidisciplinary body of research in PSM – or not making any
differentiation – hinders a good understanding of the current situation in our research field
and of the potential for further development.
Price and cost have been the most popular topic in terms of competitive priorities, but the
focus on sustainability has been growing. PSM studies in the specialized journals have been
somewhat more ‘theory-oriented’ than OM-based studies, but less so than those in MA and
SO.
SRM has been a popular topic throughout, and the five most popular topics for each of the
journal groups, in any given period, overlap to a high degree. With one exception, TCE is the
most popular for all journal groups in all periods.
There has been diversity, with distinct features of each journal group in terms of the one or
two most popular topics or theories but considering the broader base of PSM publications in
each journal group, there is considerable overlap: ‘E pluribus unum’.
Reading 1.2 – How the transaction cost and resource-based theories of the firm inform
outsourcing evaluation? McIvor (2008)
Outsourcing evaluation should be linked with corporate strategy.
The drive for greater efficiencies and cost reductions has forced many organizations to
specialize in a limited number of key areas. This has led organizations to outsource activities
and services traditionally carried out in-house.
Outsourcing is regarded as a powerful vehicle to reduce costs and improve performance. For
example, specialists in supply markets can develop greater knowledge depth, invest more in
software and training systems, be more efficient, and therefore offer higher salaries and
attract more highly trained people than many integrated companies. Outsourcing can also
be employed to cope with demand uncertainty and to obtain the benefits of supplier scale
economies in a range of business areas.
Transaction cost economics (TCE) = specifies the conditions under which an organization
should manage an economic exchange internally within its boundaries, and the conditions
suitable for managing an economic exchange externally, i.e. outsourcing.
Resource-based view (RBV) = views the firm as a bundle of assets and resources that, if
employed in distinctive ways, can create competitive advantage.
Traditionally, operations management has focused on the make-or-buy decision in a
manufacturing context. However, in an era of large-scale manufacturing and services
outsourcing, both locally and offshore, there is an increasing recognition that operations
management scholars should employ multiple theories from disciplines such as strategy,
economics and organizational behavior to study outsourcing.
The research presented in this paper further enhances the understanding of outsourcing in
the context of operations management research using TCE and the RBV.
