A future research agenda
First, SCM researchers should be careful not to commit errors of exclusion and inclusion which was done by researchers in IS. In other words, because SCM is an interdisciplinary field, researchers must be careful to address only topics that are central to SCM and not to stray into topics better suited to SCM’s reference disciplines like sociology or psychology. Second, as disciplines grow and researchers become excited about exploring new topics, the topics that are “central” properties of the discipline often receive less theoretical development. Central topics in SCM like inventory, logistics and transportation have recently been the subjects of less research, a fact that should raise the attentiveness of the academy, if not some warning flags. As the marketing discipline grew, central topics of that discipline, like physical distribution and pricing, received less focus and were addressed by other disciplines, namely logistics and finance, respectively. Third, this SLR has examined named theories, however there are other sources of theory-based research in SCM which need to be examined in more detail. This includes qualitative theories, such as grounded theory, which seek to develop new theory. Future research could undergo a wider examination of established, prominent or dominant theories in SCM by including research based on grounded theory and other qualitative methods. Also, dissertation research from recent scholars from several disciplines that study SCM (e.g. Logistics, Operations Management and Industrial Engineering) should undergo a similar SLR and be examined for trends, gaps and a general, collective understanding. Fourth, because of the many new and expanding topics of SCM there are ample opportunities for seminal contributions on each of these topics. Examples of these expanding topics include sustainability, agility, reverse logistics and metrics.
