基于中国情境的供应链管理理论发展研究

Theory Development in China-based Supply Chain Management Research:A literature Review

[研究目的]对供应链管理展开研究在北美和欧洲由来已久,但在中国却处于起步阶段。随着供应链管理在中国经济改革和发展中作用的凸显,供应链管理已成为商务研究中一个非常有前景的领域。在西方,供应链管理研究正在走向成熟并依托于坚实的理论基础。文章旨在探究在中国这样一个特殊情境下,供应链管理研究的理论基础。[设计/方法论/方法]文章对发表在18个期刊上的150篇文章进行了系统检验。这18个期刊涉及供应链管理、物流、运营管理和市场营销等领域,时间跨度为2004—2014年。基于所选期刊,文章对与研究主题相关的文章进行了确认并根据理论内容进行了分类。[研究发现]研究结果表明:由于特殊的经济、政治和文化背景,研究中国情境的供应链管理面临着新的挑战。许多研究者检验了现有理论在中国供应链管理实践中的应用性,但也有一些学者努力开发新理论以寻求与中国经济和管理实践相一致。总体来说,研究者过分依赖现有理论,少有按中国需要情境化理论或者说重新构建新理论。[研究局限性/启示意义]由于供应链管理覆盖面甚广,在期刊和文章的挑选过程中有可能遗漏了个别相关文章。但对于一个探索性研究来说,文章的样本量较为充分,能够对中国供应链管理研究中的理论发展水平提供一个总体概观。[实践意义]这项研究提供了一个用于评估中国情境下供应链管理理论应用和发展的总体架构。这一架构主要包括三个要素:所研究的供应链管理现象,中国的商务环境和研究的理论贡献。虽然文章主要针对学术界而非实践者,但对供应链管理在中国的研究提供总体概观应引起更广泛的兴趣。[独创性/价值]文章是第一篇从理论发展的视角系统考察基于中国情境供应链管理的研究。这项研究不但有助于供应链管理理论在中国的发展,同时还具有更为广泛的意义。

Purpose-Although well-established in North America and Europe,the study of supply chain management(SCM)is still at a relatively early stage in its development in China.The transformation and rapid growth of the Chinese economy has,nevertheless,created major supply chain challenges for the country,making SCM a very fertile area of business research.In Western countries,research on SCM is now mature and underpinned by a solid body of theory.The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which research on SCM in China has also developed a theoretical basis.Design/methodology/approach-The research involved a systematic review of 150 papers published in 18 journals in the fields of SCM,logistics,operations management and marketing during 2004-2014.A three-step process was adopted to select appropriate journals,identify relevant articles and classify them in terms of their theoretical content.Findings-The study has confirmed that,because of its unique economic,political and cultural setting,supply chain development in China has presented new research challenges.Many examples were found of researchers conducting quasi-experiments to test the applicability of established theories to Chinese supply chains while others have tried to develop new ones that are more closely aligned with the Chinese economy and management practices.Researchers have exhibited a heavy reliance on existing theories,with relatively few attempting to customize them to the Chinese context or to construct new ones.Research limitations/implications-Given the broad scope of SCM,it is possible that the journal and paper selection processes have accidentally screened out relevant papers.The total sample of papers is,nevertheless,large for an explorative study of this type and should,therefore,give an overall impression of the level of theory development in Chinese SCM research.Practical implications-This study provides a general framework within which to assess the application and development of theories in the Chinese SCM context.It is principally concerned with three components:the SCM phenomena studied,the Chinese business environment and the theoretical contribution of the research.The paper is targeted more at an academic audience than practitioners,though it provides an overview of the research so far undertaken on SCM in China that should be of wider interest.Originality/value-This study is the first of its kind to review China-based SCM research systematically from the perspective of theory development.It should support the evolution of SCM theory not only in China but also more generally.