Methodological Review of Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research in China

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) research in China from the standpoint of methodologies applied. The empirical evidence used is based on a sample of logistics and SCM research papers published in 20 Chinese representative journals from the years 2000 to 2009. The state of research is assessed by examining research methods, research areas, level of research issues, research design, contribution, and main theories and tools. The findings show that dominant logistics and SCM research in China is alienated from business practices, as desk work represents the main research design applied with mathematical modelling the major study and analysis tool, and the contribution is mostly theoretical. Compared with international state of logistics and SCM research, there should be more empirical research based on practical data in China.