۱- Introduction and background

۲- History and literature reviews

۳- Method

۴- Results

۵- Conclusions- Where do we go from here?

References

Abstract

The focal research topics in industrial marketing management have evolved significantly since IMM was first published in 1971. Part of this evolution has been the inclusion of research in supply chain management, which is the focus of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to assess themes across the classic articles in supply chain management (SCM) published in IMM, and explore how the field of SCM has evolved since their publication. A systematic literature review was used to assess SCM research in IMM, identify themes and publication patterns, and use these themes to assess gaps in extant research and opportunities for future research. Results of the literature review show that over 58% of the SCM research published in IMM has focused on buyer-supplier relationships and other purchasing and supply management topics. These will continue to be key topics in IMM. In addition, our literature review suggests opportunities for more SCM research in IMM around sustainability, logistics, and manufacturing innovation. These areas within the SCM umbrella are under-researched, yet yield significant opportunities for future research in a time of constant change within companies’ distribution models.

Introduction and background

Industrial marketing management (IMM) was first published in 1971. It has evolved significantly since that time. As an assessment of this evolution, authors from highly cited papers in IMM were recently asked to reflect on papers within their area of expertise; this paper was invited as a reflection on the papers that focus on supply chain management, including the following six articles among the most highly cited “classic” papers (Table 1): This represents quite a range of issues. Supply chain management is an umbrella topic for the above articles, which cover areas such as buyer-supplier relationships, supply chain conceptualization and supply chain modeling. The definition we used in identifying the areas of supply chain literature to include in our review was based on the Council for Supply Chain Management Professional’s definition of supply chain management (SCM): Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies (CSCMP, 2018).