Researching the future of purchasing and supply management:  The purpose and potential of scenarios

Louise Knight; Joanne Meehan; Efstathios Tapinos; Laura Menzies; Alexandra Pfeiffer

doi:10.1016/j.pursup.2020.100624

Researching the future of purchasing and supply management: The purpose and potential of scenarios

Louise Knight^*
, Joanne Meehan
, Efstathios Tapinos
, Laura Menzies
, Alexandra Pfeiffer

^*Corresponding author for this work

Engineering Systems & Supply Chain Management

University of Liverpool Management School

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

12 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Drawing on prior research, the value of scenario planning as a methodology for researching the future of purchasing and supply management (PSM) is explored. Using three criteria of research quality – rigour, originality and significance – it is shown how developing scenarios and analysing their implications present new, important research opportunities for PSM academics, practitioners, and leaders of the profession. Researching the future of PSM supports the identification of uncertainties and anticipates change across many units and levels of analysis of interest to PSM scholars and practitioners, such as the profession/discipline, markets/sectors, or organisations. Scenarios are particularly effective for: considering how the complex interaction of macro-environmental factors affects the PSM context; avoiding incremental thinking; surfacing assumptions and revealing significant blind spots. PSM research using scenarios aligns with Corley and Gioia's (2011) call for prescience-oriented research in which academics aim for more impactful research, enhancing sense-giving potential and theoretical relevance to practice, to better perform their adaptive role in society.

Original language	English
Article number	100624
Journal	Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management
Volume	26
Issue number	3
Early online date	28 Apr 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2020.100624
Publication status	Published - Jun 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding

This study which motivated this article was funded by, and conducted in partnership with, the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) (UK) . We are very grateful to interviewees, workshop participants and the knowledge team at CIPS (Sheena Donaldson, Nicola Robinson, Helen Alder).

Keywords

Covid-19 coronavirus
Critical management
Future studies
Prescience
Procurement
Scenario planning

Access to Document

10.1016/j.pursup.2020.100624Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Researching the future of purchasing and supply management
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Proof, 688 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Cite this

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abstract = "Drawing on prior research, the value of scenario planning as a methodology for researching the future of purchasing and supply management (PSM) is explored. Using three criteria of research quality – rigour, originality and significance – it is shown how developing scenarios and analysing their implications present new, important research opportunities for PSM academics, practitioners, and leaders of the profession. Researching the future of PSM supports the identification of uncertainties and anticipates change across many units and levels of analysis of interest to PSM scholars and practitioners, such as the profession/discipline, markets/sectors, or organisations. Scenarios are particularly effective for: considering how the complex interaction of macro-environmental factors affects the PSM context; avoiding incremental thinking; surfacing assumptions and revealing significant blind spots. PSM research using scenarios aligns with Corley and Gioia's (2011) call for prescience-oriented research in which academics aim for more impactful research, enhancing sense-giving potential and theoretical relevance to practice, to better perform their adaptive role in society.",

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