No Business Without Politics: Investigating the Political Nature of Supply Chain Management

Amanda Bille

doi:10.22439/phd.12.2023

No Business Without Politics: Investigating the Political Nature of Supply Chain Management

Amanda Bille

Copenhagen Business School

Publikation: Afhandling › Ph.d.-afhandling

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) er under rivende udvikling. Både i den akademiske verden, for virksomheder og i manges hverdag. Samtidig ses der et øget pres på forsyningskæder, der afslører en række indbyggede fejl i de globale handelssystemer: bæredygtighedsudfordringerne er stadigt voksende. Det virker mere relevant end nogensinde før at forske i SCM. En gentænkning af SCM er nødvendig for at forstå og navigere kompleksiteten af forsyningskæder. Denne artikelbaserede afhandling bidrager til dette ved at kombinere politisk tænkning med SCM. Dermed besvares spørgsmålet: Hvordan ændrer en politisk forståelse af SCM måden, hvorpå forskere undersøger det, og erhvervsfolk arbejder med det?

Over fem forskningskapitler og en kappe bliver forskellige temaer undersøgt gennem metoder fra politisk forskning for på den måde at undersøge mulighederne for en gentænkning af SCM. Først introduceres panarchy-teori, hvilket belyser kompleksiteten i forsyningskæder. Herefter undersøges de politiske elementer af panarchy-teori i et studie af social bæredygtighed. Dette fører til det tredje forskningskapitel, hvor kritisk realisme udforskes som perspektiv på en række udfordringer. Det fjerde forskningskapitel omhandler herefter de politiske mekanismer, der understøtter kaffeforsyningskæden. Endelig undersøger det sidste forskningskapitel politisk filosofi i SCM gennem et unikt tankeeksperiment.

Afslutningsvist diskuteres implikationerne for forskning og praksis. For forskning diskuteres fem forudsætninger for politisk SCM. Disse er relateret til kerneaspekterne af forskning: epistemologi, ontologi, aksiologi, teori og metode. For praksis diskuteres de sociale, miljømæssige og handelsmæssige konsekvenser. Konklusionen er klar: SCM kan forstås som en politisk aktivitet, der kræver en ny måde at tænke på fra både forskere og erhvervsfolk.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Bevilgende institution	Copenhagen Business School
Vejledere/rådgivere	Wieland, Andreas, Vejleder, Ekstern person Beske-Janssen, Philip, Vejleder, Ekstern person
Udgiver	Copenhagen Business School
ISBN'er, trykt	978-87-7568-167-9
ISBN'er, elektronisk	978-87-7568-168-6
DOI	https://doi.org/10.22439/phd.12.2023
Status	Udgivet - 2023
Udgivet eksternt	Ja

Dokumenter og links

10.22439/phd.12.2023Licens: Ikke-specificeret

Citationsformater

@misc{5bcf8a277b9540cca3c37b58ecb50d87,

title = "No Business Without Politics: Investigating the Political Nature of Supply Chain Management",

abstract = "Supply chain management (SCM) is undergoing significant development in aca-demia and business, but also in the daily lives of many. At the same time, the in-creased pressure on the supply chains is revealing inherent flaws in the global sys-tems of trade, as sustainability issues are arising. Thus, it seems more relevant now than ever to research SCM. A rethinking of SCM is necessary to understand and navigate the complexity of global supply chains. This paper-based dissertation pro-vides such a rethinking by combining political thinking with SCM, ultimately an-swering the question: How does understanding the political nature of SCM alter the way in which researchers investigate it and practitioners approach it?The five research chapters and the cape contribute to this rethinking in that various themes are explored using methods that are often used in political research. First, panarchy theory is explored, shedding light on supply chain complexity. Second, the political aspects of panarchy theory are investigated to provide reflections on social sustainability in SCM. Moving towards philosophy of science, the third re-search chapter deals with critical realism as a philosophy that can help us understand contemporary issues. Fourth, political mechanisms underlying the coffee supply chain are investigated. And finally, political philosophy is introduced to SCM in a novel thought experiment.To conclude, the implications for research and practice are discussed. For research, five prerequisites for political SCM are explored. These prerequisites are related to the key aspects of research: epistemology, ontology, axiology, theory, and methods. For practice, the social, environmental, and managerial implications are discussed. Ultimately, the conclusion is clear: SCM can be understood as a political activity, which calls for changes among researchers and practitioners.",

author = "Amanda Bille",

year = "2023",

doi = "10.22439/phd.12.2023",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-87-7568-167-9",

series = "PhD series",

publisher = "Copenhagen Business School",

number = "12.2023",

address = "Denmark",

school = "Copenhagen Business School",

}

TY - GEN

T1 - No Business Without Politics

T2 - Investigating the Political Nature of Supply Chain Management

AU - Bille, Amanda

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Supply chain management (SCM) is undergoing significant development in aca-demia and business, but also in the daily lives of many. At the same time, the in-creased pressure on the supply chains is revealing inherent flaws in the global sys-tems of trade, as sustainability issues are arising. Thus, it seems more relevant now than ever to research SCM. A rethinking of SCM is necessary to understand and navigate the complexity of global supply chains. This paper-based dissertation pro-vides such a rethinking by combining political thinking with SCM, ultimately an-swering the question: How does understanding the political nature of SCM alter the way in which researchers investigate it and practitioners approach it?The five research chapters and the cape contribute to this rethinking in that various themes are explored using methods that are often used in political research. First, panarchy theory is explored, shedding light on supply chain complexity. Second, the political aspects of panarchy theory are investigated to provide reflections on social sustainability in SCM. Moving towards philosophy of science, the third re-search chapter deals with critical realism as a philosophy that can help us understand contemporary issues. Fourth, political mechanisms underlying the coffee supply chain are investigated. And finally, political philosophy is introduced to SCM in a novel thought experiment.To conclude, the implications for research and practice are discussed. For research, five prerequisites for political SCM are explored. These prerequisites are related to the key aspects of research: epistemology, ontology, axiology, theory, and methods. For practice, the social, environmental, and managerial implications are discussed. Ultimately, the conclusion is clear: SCM can be understood as a political activity, which calls for changes among researchers and practitioners.

AB - Supply chain management (SCM) is undergoing significant development in aca-demia and business, but also in the daily lives of many. At the same time, the in-creased pressure on the supply chains is revealing inherent flaws in the global sys-tems of trade, as sustainability issues are arising. Thus, it seems more relevant now than ever to research SCM. A rethinking of SCM is necessary to understand and navigate the complexity of global supply chains. This paper-based dissertation pro-vides such a rethinking by combining political thinking with SCM, ultimately an-swering the question: How does understanding the political nature of SCM alter the way in which researchers investigate it and practitioners approach it?The five research chapters and the cape contribute to this rethinking in that various themes are explored using methods that are often used in political research. First, panarchy theory is explored, shedding light on supply chain complexity. Second, the political aspects of panarchy theory are investigated to provide reflections on social sustainability in SCM. Moving towards philosophy of science, the third re-search chapter deals with critical realism as a philosophy that can help us understand contemporary issues. Fourth, political mechanisms underlying the coffee supply chain are investigated. And finally, political philosophy is introduced to SCM in a novel thought experiment.To conclude, the implications for research and practice are discussed. For research, five prerequisites for political SCM are explored. These prerequisites are related to the key aspects of research: epistemology, ontology, axiology, theory, and methods. For practice, the social, environmental, and managerial implications are discussed. Ultimately, the conclusion is clear: SCM can be understood as a political activity, which calls for changes among researchers and practitioners.

U2 - 10.22439/phd.12.2023

DO - 10.22439/phd.12.2023

M3 - Ph.D. thesis

SN - 978-87-7568-167-9

T3 - PhD series

PB - Copenhagen Business School

ER -

No Business Without Politics: Investigating the Political Nature of Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Dokumenter og links

Fingeraftryk

Citationsformater