Theories
Currently there is a gap in the literature available on supply chain management studies: there is no theoretical support for explaining the existence and the boundaries of supply chain management. A few authors such as Halldorsson, et al. (2003), Ketchen and Hult (2006) and Lavassani, et al. (2009) have tried to provide theoretical foundations for different areas related to supply chain by employing organizational theories. These theories include:
- Resource-based view (RBV)
- Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA)
- Knowledge-Based View (KBV)
- Strategic Choice Theory (SCT)
- Agency Theory (AT)
- Institutional theory (InT)
- Systems Theory (ST)
- Network Perspective (NP)
- Materials Logistics Management (MLM)
- Just-in-Time (JIT)
- Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
- Theory of Constraints (TOC)
- Performance Information Procurement Systems (PIPS)
- Performance Information Risk Management System (PIRMS)
- Total Quality Management (TQM)
- Agile Manufacturing
- Time Based Competition (TBC)
- Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Requirements Chain Management (RCM)
- Available-to-promise (ATP)
- and many more
However, the unit of analysis of most of these theories is not the system “supply chain”, but another system such as the “firm” or the “supplier/buyer relationship”. Among the few exceptions is the relational view, which outlines a theory for considering dyads and networks of firms as a key unit of analysis for explaining superior individual firm performance (Dyer and Singh, 1998).
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