A conceptual framework for the analysis of vulnerability in supply chains is developed. The conceptual framework is limited to the inbound logistic flow of manufacturers. The study has been performed as a two-step process. Step one explores the concept of vulnerability from the point of view of an inductive approach. The conceptual framework is generated and based on the empirical findings from a case study of a Swedish car manufacturer in the automotive industry. Step two is deductive in terms of testing in other industries the generated conceptual framework that originates from step one. The conceptual framework consists of two dimensions, namely categories of disturbance and sources of disturbance. Principally, categories of disturbance are divided into quantitative and qualitative disturbances. Sources of disturbance are divided into atomistic (direct) and holistic (indirect) disturbances. In addition, the specific criteria of an inbound logistic flow indicate how vulnerability in supply chains is proposed to be analysed according to the developed conceptual framework of vulnerability. © MCB University Press.

The reason for this research originates from the time- and functional dependencies between firms' activities and resources in supply chains. These dependencies cause vulnerability. The principal objective of this research is to conceptualize the construct of vulnerability in firms' inbound and outbound logistics flows. The vulnerability construct of this research consists of two components: disturbance and the negative consequence of disturbance. This research is based upon a two-phase process utilizing sequential triangulation. It is proposed that the vulnerability in the inbound logistics flows from sub-contractors, and the vulnerability in the outbound logistics flows to customers, may be measured and evaluated by four principal dimensions, namely: service level, deviation, consequence and trend. In addition, a model of inbound and outbound vulnerability scenarios in supply chains is introduced for teaching and training purposes, as well as to position and compare the outcome of replication studies of vulnerability in firms' inbound and outbound logistics flows. © MCB UP Limited.

The topic of this research focuses on companies' perceived time and relationship dependencies in supply chains. The empirical findings are based upon a mail survey in the Swedish automotive industry. The principal contribution is a typology of vulnerability scenarios in supply chains based upon perceived time and relationship dependencies towards both suppliers and customers. A methodological contribution of this study is its simultaneous consideration of companies' inbound and outbound supply chains. © MCB UP Limited.

The topic is the construct of interactive vulnerability in buyer-seller relationships based upon mutual time- and relationship-dependencies. The research is based upon a selection of focal dyads between a vehicle manufacturer and its most important suppliers. The principal contribution is a framework of operationalization and analysis of the construct of interactive vulnerability and an empirical illustration of interactive vulnerability in the automotive industry. A methodological contribution of the study is its dyadic approach of vulnerability in buyer-seller relationships. Theoretical and managerial implications, as well as suggestions for further research, are provided. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The article examines companies' perception of corporate vulnerability in supply chains. The areas, the causes and the contingency planning of corporate vulnerability in upstream and downstream supply chains are examined. The study is based on qualitative data, and it differs from other studies on the vulnerability construct in supply chains in that most have been quantitative. An insight of the research is that sub-contractors in the automotive industry tend to be limited to myopic and vertical views of the key areas, and to the causes and contingency planning of corporate vulnerability in the upstream and downstream supply chains. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The topic of this research focuses simultaneously on the perceived trust of companies towards suppliers and customers in supply chains. Initially, it is assumed that lean, responsive, and agile supply chains require satisfactory or high levels of perceived trust of companies towards suppliers and customers. Otherwise, it is assumed that less leanness, less responsiveness, and less agility may dominate the activities in supply chains. Trust often appears to be a requisite or a phenomenon that smoothes the well-functioning of all activities in supply chains. The outcome of this study is generated and based on the empirical findings from a survey in the Swedish automotive industry. The automotive industry is characterised by its lean, responsive, and agile supply chains due to a keen competitive marketplace. Finds that there are high levels of companies' perceived trust towards suppliers and customers in the Swedish automotive industry. Concludes in part that the perceived trust towards the suppliers and the perceived trust towards the customers differ from each other. There is also in part an association between the companies' perceived trust towards both suppliers and customers in the industry. © MCB University Press.

The competitive business environment in the automotive industry has forced vehicle manufacturers (VMs) to improve their relationship strategies towards their suppliers. VMs have implemented supplier segmentation in order to optimise current business activities and existing resource allocations. Supplier selection criteria have also become crucial in order to achieve an appropriate evaluation of suppliers. Models of supplier segmentation and supplier selection criteria underpin theoretically this research. Empirical illustrations of supplier segmentation based on the perspectives of a VM and its suppliers are presented. The principal contributions of this study are the various models therein. One of the models consists of two dimensions: the supplier's commitment to a VM; and the commodity's importance to a VM. In extension, another model of dynamic relationship strategies is introduced. It consists of four relationship strategies towards suppliers in the automotive industry, such as family, business partner, friendly, and transactional. Furthermore, a four-phase process for the analysis, selection, and managerial decision of a dynamic relationship strategy towards suppliers in the automotive industry is outlined. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This research applies the construct of bullwhip effect in a non-traditional context. It is explored in intra-organisational echelons. It is argued that the bullwhip effect in a company's inventory management of inbound and outbound logistics flows depends in part upon the gap between the degree of speculation and postponement of business activities. It is also argued that the bullwhip effect is caused by the value adding of business activities in supply chains. The study shows that there is a potential bullwhip effect between companies' inbound and outbound logistics flows, i.e. two internal stocking levels. A see-saw model of the bullwhip effect, and a typology of the bullwhip effect in intra-organisational echelons, are introduced. The term "reversed bullwhip effect" is also introduced. Finally, a model of the bullwhip effect-scenarios in a dynamic business environment positions these contributions in a wider theoretical and managerial context. © MCB UP Limited.

This paper seeks to describe a conceptualisation of the multiple facets of the bullwhip effect between stocking levels within and between value chains and value systems. The paper provides a conceptual discussion of the bullwhip effect. It is refined and re-defined. The bullwhip effect has usually been explored between inter-organisational stocking levels. Recently, it has also been explored within intra-organisational stocking levels. A broader descriptive framework is introduced, one that positions the bullwhip effect construct in intra- and inter-organisational, as well as intra- and inter-channel, stocking levels in and between value chains and value systems. A research agenda is provided that goes beyond current definitional boundaries and state-of-the-art research of the bullwhip effect. The refined and re-defined bullwhip effect is of interest to practitioners. It considers inter-organisational and intra-organisational stocking levels. In addition, it considers intra-and inter-channel stocking levels. It is of great concern to achieve best practices in business. The principal contributions are - a dynamics model of the bullwhip effect construct; a principle of stocking level variability; a typology of stocking level variability; a framework that describes different levels of analysis of the bullwhip effect; and a re-definition of the bullwhip effect construct - within or between value chains and value systems.

This paper stresses the crucial importance of the balance between companies' policies of inventory management and the occurrence of disturbances in logistics flows. The study is based upon a mail survey in the automotive industry. It is concluded that there is in part a significant association between companies' inventories and disturbances in inbound and outbound logistics flows. The financial benefits that might be achieved through leanness in inventory management might also negatively influence the financial costs due to increased disturbances. Therefore, it is a crucial managerial task in the automotive industry to achieve a suitable balance between the inventory and the occurrence of disturbance within inbound and outbound logistics flows. It is this balance that generates the best managerial outcome in a competitive business setting. A principle of balance, a process of balance, and a typology of companies' inventories and disturbances in inbound or outbound logistics flows are introduced.

Supply chain management (SCM) emerged in the early 1980s as a result of the rapidly changing and challenging business environments in many industries. SCM is a consequence of the increased necessity for holistic considerations in, between and across companies' business activities and resources in and between marketing channels, in order to improve the overall performance towards the ultimate consumer in the marketplace. SCM's generic theoretical foundations are derived from time-, functional-, and relationship-dependencies in, between and across companies' business activities in marketing channels. There are major similarities and minor differences in the theoretical boundaries between SCM and Alderson's interpretation of a functionalist theory of marketing. The author argues that the theoretical origin of SCM is derived from, and underpinned by, a part of this functionalist theory of marketing. Furthermore, there is a need for a generic re-definition and expansion of the theoretical boundaries of SCM towards the incorporation of horizontal dependencies between marketing channels in the marketplace. © MCB UP Limited.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the “scientific identity” and “ethnocentricity” in the “top” journals of logistics management by studying the categories of papers published and the geographical affiliations of authors, editorial review boards, and editors in selected journals.

Design/methodology/approach – A sample of “top” scholarly journals in logistics management is selected on the basis of previous research, expert opinion, and journal ranking lists. The selection includes the International Journal of Logistics Management (IJLM), the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management (IJPDLM), and the Journal of Business Logistics (JBL). The study considers all available papers (a total of 657) published in these journals over an eight-year period from 2000 to 2007. The compiled results are analyzed for patterns that reveal the “scientific identity” and “ethnocentricity” of each of the selected journals.

Findings – There is a range of different categories of papers in the selected journals and there a fairly broad range of geographical affiliations of authors, editorial review boards, and editors. The overall variety of “scientific identities” and “ethnocentricity” among the journals studied here support in part the ongoing scientific exploration of logistics management, though it may be improved in the future.

Research limitations/implications – Further research of the “scientific identity” and “ethnocentricity” of individual research journals is required in other sub-disciplines of logistics.

Practical implications – Scholars will benefit from insights into the “scientific identities” and “ethnocentricity” of the “top” journals in logistics management. In particular, scholars can note the particular features of individual journals while acknowledging the paradigmatic flexibility and richness of research designs that are present in most of these journals.

Originality/value – This paper updates and extends previous research on methodological approaches in logistics management journals, but it appears to be the first study of the “scientific identity” of “top” logistics management journals in terms of categories of papers published and geographical affiliation of authors, editorial review boards, and editors. This paper provides valuable insights into the nature of academic publishing in the flourishing research field of logistics management.