Complementary Theories to Supply Chain Management

Borrowing from complementary theories has become an important part of theorizing SCM. We build upon principal-agent theory (PAT), transaction cost analysis (TCA), network theory (NT), and resource-based view (RBV) to provide insights on how to structure a supply chain and manage it. Through extensive literature review, we identified 76 articles of which a content analysis was performed on their appropriateness for PAT, TCA, NT and RBV. Our findings suggest that the integrative and multi-layered nature of SCM sets the conditions for “theorizing SCM” that can take place through various forms: theory application, new theoretical combinations and sensitivity to managerial practice.