Herbert Kotzab & Stefan Seuring 
Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management 

For reseach in all subjects and among different philisopical paradigms, research methodologies form one of the key issues to rely on. This volume brings a series of papers together, which present different research methodologies as applied in supply chain management. This comprises review oriented papers that look at what kind of methodologies have been applied, as well as methodological papers discussing new developments needed to successfully conduct research in supply chain management. The third group is made up of applications of the respective methodologies, which serve as examples on how the different methodological approaches can be applied. All papers have undergone a review process to ensure their quality. Therefore, we hope that this book will serve as a valid source for current and future researchers in the field. While the workshop on “Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management” took place at the Supply Chain Management Center, Carl von Ossietzky Univ- sity in Oldenburg, Germany, it is based on a collaboration with the Supply Chain Management Group of the Department of Operations Management at the Cop- hagen Business School and the Department of Production Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. We would like to thank all those who contributed to the workshop and this book.

Table of Content

Is There a Right Research Design for Your Supply Chain Study?.- Substantive Justification for Theory Building.- A Balanced Approach to Research in Supply Chain Management.- A Critical Discussion on the Theoretical and Methodological Advancements in Supply Chain Integration Research.- Measuring Supply Chain Integration — Using the Q-Sort Technique.- Supply Chain Management and the Challenge of Organizational Complexity — Methodological Considerations.- The Configurational Approach in Supply Chain Management.- Conducting a Literature Review — The Example of Sustainability in Supply Chains.- Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management — What Do We Know?.- Surveys in Supply Chain Management.- The Role and Importance of Survey Research in the Field of Supply Chain Management.- Web-based Surveys in Logistics Research: An Empirical Application.- SCM Research Methodologies: Employing Structural Equation Modeling.- Structural Equation Modeling as a Basis for Theory Development within Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research.- Customers’ Perceptions of Service Quality by TPL Service Providers in the United Kingdom — A Confirmatory Factor Analysis.- Third Party Logistics in Thailand — From the Users’ Perspective.- A Market-Oriented View of SCM — Researching Criteria and Instruments in the Public Procurement Process.- Case Study Research in Supply Chains.- Case Study Research in Supply Chains — An Outline and Three Examples.- A Proposal for Case Study Methodology in Supply Chain Integration Research.- Using Case Study Methods in Researching Supply Chains.- Multilevel Issues in Supply Chain Management.- Cost Management along the Supply Chain — Methodological Implications.- Case Studies and Surveys in Supply Chain Management Research — Two Complementary Methodologies.- Towards Triangulation — Blending Techniques in Supply Chain Management Context.- Action Research in Supply Chains.- Action Research in Supply Chain Management — An Introduction.- The Application of Action Learning and Action Research in Collaborative Improvement within the Extended Manufacturing Enterprise.- Integrating Environmental and Social Standards into Supply Management — An Action Research Project.- Supply Chain Diagnostics to Confront Theory and Practice — Re-Questioning the Core of Supply Chain Management.- A Logistics and Supply Chain Approach to Seaport Efficiency — An Inquiry Based on Action Research Methodology.- Modelling Supply Chains.- Supply Chain Management Research Methodology Using Quantitative Models Based on Empirical Data.- Of Stocks, Flows, Agents and Rules — “Strategic” Simulations in Supply Chain Research.- Analysis of Supply Chain Dynamics through Object Oriented Simulation.- The Potential of Cooperative Game Theory for Supply Chain Management.- Modeling the Effect of Product Architecture Modularity in Supply Chains.- Heuristics in the Multi-Location Inventory System with Transshipments.- Contract Typology as a Research Method in Supply Chain Management.- Load Dependent Lead Times — From Empirical Evidence to Mathematical Modeling.- Recovery Network Design for End-of-Life Vehicles.- Modeling and Integrated Assessment of Mass and Energy Flows within Supply Chains.- Socrates Thematic Network to Enhance European Teaching and Research of Operations as Well as Supply Chain Management.