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Keywords Logistics, Supply-chain management, Cross-functional integration
Abstract Logistics and supply chain management (SCM) are broad disciplines in which many different, cross-functional tasks are investigated. In Scandinavia, research in logistics and SCM experienced a significant boom during the 1990s; the steadily increasing interest in participation in the annual NOFOMA Nordic Logistics Conference and the steadily growing number of PhD students enrolled in the Scandinavian research environments emphasizing the study of logistics and SCM bear witness to this intensification. In addition, a great number of doctoral dissertations in this field are completed in Scandinavia, adding greatly to the existent store of knowledge concerning a wide range of logistics and SCM phenomena. However, to date, precious little effort has been devoted to providing an overview of these dissertations. This paper is designed to fill that void To that end, 75 doctoral dissertations published from 1990 to 2001 are identified The framework classifies the dissertations into a series of main themes indicative of the state of Nordic research in logistics and SCM. Suggestions for future research based on this survey are likewise provided.
1. Introduction
Recent decades have seen a pronounced upsurge in research in logistics and supply chain management (SC" across the globe. Both areas are by nature broad in spectrum. They span a range of different functional areas within any given company and a series of companies along any given vertical supply chain. The approaches applied in studies of logistics and SCM may differ in several ways. For instance, research-oriented approaches may differ with respect to theoretical concerns such as the entity of analysis, the type of company or companies investigated, the determination of problem relevance, the reliability and validity of the research results, the use and interpretation of the generated theory and the choices related to methodology (e.g. qualitative versus quantitative research). All are examples of topics that PhD students may be required to address in the process of earning their doctorates.
At present, there is no comprehensive digest of the doctoral dissertations completed in the Nordic countries under the auspices of the NOFOMA research community. NOFOMA is a Scandinavian research forum which organizes an annual Nordic Logistics Conference, hosted by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. A common Nordic curriculum is missing, with...