Deductive, Inductive and Abductive Research in SCM
Like it or not: Our discipline is very much dominated by positivism and the application of the scientific method, which assumes that new knowledge can be created by developing and testing theory or, in other words, by induction or deduction. Another type of inference is abduction. Spens & Kovács (2006) present an overview of the deductive, inductive and abductive research processes.
Spens, K., & Kovács, G. (2006). A Content Analysis of Research Approaches in Logistics Research. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 36 (5), 374-390 https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030610676259
Can Supply Chains Become Truly Sustainable?
Our world is in crisis! Ten years ago, Time Magazine featured the headline: “Be Worried. Be Very Worried.” (about global warming). But things only got worse since. Leaked TTIP documents point to a race to the bottom in ecological standards between the EU and the U.S. New NASA figures show that April 2016 was the seventh month in a row that broke global temperature records and NOAA data show that “[t]he globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for 2015 was the highest among all years since record keeping began in 1880”. A second aspect of the sustainability debate relates to resource scarcity: Some metals might soon be in short supply. However, many companies have unsustainable business models in place. For example, Apple expects an iPhone to be replaced after just three years. Is there any hope? In their new JSCM article, Montabon et al. (2016) describe an ecologically-dominant logic which could help companies to develop sustainable business models. A must-read!
Montabon, F., Pagell, M., & Wu, Z. (2016). Making Sustainability Sustainable. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 52 (2), 11-27 https://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12103
