key: cord-0908973-lmjfbpt9
authors: Carnovale, Steven; DuHadway, Scott
title: Continuity in the face of disruptions: Purchasing and supply management Research's persistence amidst COVID-19
date: 2021-09-03
journal: Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.pursup.2021.100720
sha: 142723f08e4d47684091f347f065c86c134b1d62
doc_id: 908973
cord_uid: lmjfbpt9

nan

Undoubtedly, the history books and future research will engage in serious retrospection of the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptions that came in its wake. What were the key drivers and antecedents of the disruptions, and how were they managed? What effective tools for managing during a global disruption were developed, tested, and proven? While the true root cases will come out eventually, one thing is for certain: purchasing and supply management was the glue that held the global economy together during what was an otherwise chaotic time. Indeed, fields such as purchasing, supply chain management, and operations management have risen to public prominence and notoriety. As a result, rigorous scientific research that continues to ground our field is more important than ever.

This special issue of JPSM commemorates the conference that never was: IPSERA 2020. Interestingly, (and perhaps ironically), the theme of IPSERA 2020 was "Procurement Innovation", to coincide during a global pandemic where innovation has become more critical than ever. In retrospect, IPSERA 2020's conference schedule nearly mirrored the rapid global development and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference papers, both working and competitive, were due late January, and the conference itself was set to occur in early April. When the spread of the virus was entering its crescendo, so too was the work of the conference: reviewing papers, abstracts, organizing sessions, and so on. Then, when the global shutdowns became more and more frequent, the decision to postpone the conference was made, and a cache of papers were in our possession. Being shrewd procurement scholars wanting to minimize waste, this issue of JPSM was born.

Shifting working patterns brought the home office out of obscurity into the mainstream, dramatically altered consumer consumption patterns which then impacted procurement professionals' day to day lives. Purchasing managers were forced to quickly adapt to changing global situations, with regional impacts that occurred at different times and sectors internationally. While the pandemic put a halt to travel, inperson social interaction, and other routinely taken for granted mores of the 21st century, research did not stop. In this special issue, that has been made clear. We were fortunate to receive several submissions from the conference papers: both those that were submitted as competitive papers, as well as those that, at the time, were submitted as work-inprocess and given more time to develop. Ultimately, of the 25+ submissions received, we accepted and published nine articles. These nine articles are categorized into critical areas for future research in purchasing & supply chain managementnotably (1) Strategic considerations (2) Behavioral considerations (3) Relational considerations, and (4) supply chain finance.

In a time where terms like 'sourcing' and 'supply chain' are becoming more ubiquitous, it is more important now than ever that purchasing and supply management rests on a solid foundation. Ueltschy Murfield et al. (2021) present a future for purchasing and supply management. They argue that, historically, purchasing was tactically focused and geared towards a cost focused identity. Yet, as the events of the present indicate, managing a firm's external resources is anything but tactical. Through a series of interviews, the authors leverage social identity theory to advocate a path forward for transforming the traditional view of purchasing, as explicitly cost focused, into one that is appropriately framed as strategic.

If purchasing and supply management is to (rightly) transition away from being viewed as a tactical function and into a strategic one, more important than ever is to ensure those employed on the front lines are trained correctly. This is what Stek and Schiele (2021) advance in their work. They identify that if purchasing professionals are to conduct their jobs successfully, the training that they receive is paramount. Through the use of a sizable survey of purchasing professionals' views on various core objectives of purchasing (i.e., cost reduction, on time delivery improvement, supplier satisfaction, etc.), the authors empirically distinguish between the 'necessary' and 'sufficient' skills for a successful purchasing professional. The results of this work provide important guidance for educators and managers for developing talent in this field.

At its core, purchasing and supply management is a relational endeavor as evidenced by behavioral operations becoming increasingly important as a field of study. Research that continues to expand and develop our knowledge in this space is critical. As editors of this issue, we were fortunate to have several exciting papers published in this space. The first of which addresses a critical issue: understanding the micro processes that underpin the development of supplier satisfaction within a buyer supplier relationship. In Weller et al. (2021) , the team identifies several key insights. In this work the team leverages multiple case studies over time to show that alignment between expectations of behavior and actualized behavior in the buyer supplier relationship do not have a demonstrable effect on supplier satisfaction. Specifically, intra-organizational dynamics at the supplier can have a significant effect on the inter-organizational relationship between the buyer and the The next paper within this theme addressed the question: how can purchasing impact the transition towards more sustainable sourcing practices? In Neessen et al. (2021) , the team focuses on the increasing pressure that organizations are under to move toward a circular economy, where waste is minimized or eliminated. Clearly, purchasing can (and should) play a large role in this transition, and in this work the team identified a roadmap for the details of that role. In addition, they also tease out the impediments to a successful transition and implementation.

The third paper within this theme follows a similar path to Neesen et al. (2021), but examines a specific instance of relational quality: the case of client-contractor relationships. Specifically, in van der Krift et al. (2021) , the research examines how perceptual distance (i.e., the gap between the respective expectations of a client and their contractor) grows over time. This perceptual distance can negatively impact relational quality, and project success. The work identifies key criteria and recommendations for managing this perceptual distance. This is particularly important in an era of frequent outsourcing where project relationships, and their relational quality is critical.

In the third theme, we were fortunate to be able to publish two papers representing an increasingly popular approach in purchasing and supply management: behavioral perspectives on purchasing and supply management. This branch of work leverages psychological theories as mechanisms to understand how purchasing professionals make decisions. The first article within this theme Foerstl et al. (2021) , examines an highly relevant topic: the drivers of management insourcing production. COVID-19 pulled back the curtain on the potential risks of globally dispersed production. In this work, the behavioral underpinnings that precede the decision to insource production are explored. Specifically, the team explores these decisions by grounding their experiments in the theory of planned behavior, and advances significant boundary conditions that help guide managerial decision making.

The next paper under this theme explores the unique (to purchasing and supply management) topics of corporate psychopathy and personality differences in buyer supplier relationships. In Croom, Fritzon and Brooks (2021), a new research agenda is advanced that explores the role of personality toxicity in buyer supplier relationships. Issues such as non-conformity, gender differences, and other contextual factors are explored, and a call for future research is advanced.

In the final topic, we were fortunate to publish two papers on the emergent topic of supply chain finance. Purchasing and supply management has long been integral to the financial success of the firm, and this emergent body of work seeks to codify the theoretical underpinnings leading to its success. As such, in the first article Ronchini, Moretto, and Caniato (2021) provides a decision making framework for choosing a supply chain finance solution leveraging a case study methodology. The article identifies three so called 'typologies' for supply chain finance solutions, and identifies their contingent factors for success. These results provide a guiding framework for managerial decision making in this space. Complementing this work is Guida et al. (2021) where a model for best practices for adoption of a supply chain finance solution is advanced. This work is particularly important in this space given nascent theoretical development in this field.

Though it was met with its share of challenges, we believe that this special issue will ultimately show the resilience and importance of purchasing and supply management in times of disruptions. Thematically, the articles in this issue focus on a broad spectrum of topics from strategic issues, to financial, to behavioral and to relational ones. In addition, the methodologies employed in the research show the breadth and depth of our field's capabilities and talent. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic certainly has raised the profile of our field to a prominence never seen before, and now is the time to advance a bold new vision of just how important purchasing and supply management is to achieve a firm's objectives, and maintain its competitiveness. We hope you enjoy this special issue, as it was our pleasure to curate its content.

What drives managers to insource production? Evidence from a behavioural experiment

How to select a supply chain finance solution?

How and when do purchasers successfully contribute to the implementation of circular purchasing: A comparative case-study

A decision framework for inventory-and equipment-based supply chain finance solutions

How to train supply managers -Necessary and sufficient purchasing skills leading to success

Interorganisational project dynamics: A longitudinal study of perceptual distance and client-contractor collaborative relationships

The micro-processes of supplier satisfaction: A longitudinal multiple case study