An Evolutionary Concept Analysis of the Supply Chain Response

Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Advanced Research in Supply Chain Management

Year: 2022

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/2nd.supplychainconf.2022.08.010

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An Evolutionary Concept Analysis of the Supply Chain Response

Raúl Antonio Díaz Pacheco, Ernest Benedito

ABSTRACT: 

Supply chain managers are challenged to respond quickly and efficiently to external and internal changes. A review conducted with regard to how the concept of supply chain response (SCR) is applied in suppliers’ and manufacturing processes, as well as in flexibility, agility, and resilience strategies, confirms that the concept is ambiguous and lacks pillars that guide complete application in any process of the supply chain. The purpose of this research is twofold. The first goal is to identify the attributes, antecedents, and consequences of an SCR. The second is to establish the pillars of a general definition of an SCR that is applicable to all situations in which a supply chain must respond. This study applied Rodgers’ evolutionary approach to analyze the concept of SCR. Literature published in English between 1996 – 2020 dealing with SCR was used to apply the phases of Rodgers’ evolutionary method. We identified the following four pillars: (1) the stimulus to which the supply chain responds, (2) the adaptation of supply chain activities, (3) the objectives that the supply chain intends to achieve with its response to the stimulus, and (4) the evaluation of the response to the stimulus. Based on these four pillars, we propose a general definition of SCR. This definition contributes to the groundwork for reaching a consensus on the concept of SCR.

keywords: supply chain response, pillars of supply chain response, response definition, evolutionary concept analysis