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Abstract
Purpose - To construct a framework for exploring and discussing the use of different research approaches - deductive, inductive and abductive - in logistics.
Design/methodology/approach - A review of research articles in three major logistics journals (International Journal of Logistics Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management and Journal of Business Logistics) from 1998 to 2002.
Findings - Recognizes the dominance of deductive research in logistics, and the need for more inductive and, in particular, abductive research for theory development. Discusses the use of the abductive research approach in logistics.
Research limitations/implications - Keywords searches led to a small sample size; more thorough content analysis is needed to apply the findings from the constructed framework.
Practical implications - Useful source of information on the three different research approaches, their possibilities and implications for research.
Originality/value - The abductive research approach has not yet been discussed in logistics.
Keywords Distribution management, Literature, Research
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
Business logistics became a scientific discipline in the 1960s, and since then researchers in the discipline have been calling for a "rigorous orientation toward theory development, testing and application", and also criticizing logistics literature for the lack of it (Mentzer and Kahn, 1995, p. 231). Logistics research is interdisciplinary by definition: it stems from many different scientific traditions (Arlbjørn and Halldórsson, 2002) and has been influenced by economic and behavioral approaches (Mentzer and Kahn, 1995), mainly through the business disciplines of marketing and management, but also borrowing from engineering (Stock, 1997). Therefore, various methods have been used for logistics research, ranging from mathematical modeling and simulation to survey research, from case studies to interview methods (Mentzer and Kahn, 1995). Interestingly, logistics research has, however, so far favored positivist approaches, while qualitative and interpretative research is rather scarce (Arlbjorn and Halldórsson, 2002; Mentzer and Kahn, 1995; Näslund, 2002).
In line with this positivist stream, there is also a paucity of discussing different research approaches in logistics journals. The central approaches in Western research traditions have been those of deduction and induction (Kirkeby, 1990). Deductive research follows a conscious direction from a general law to a specific case (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 1994; Andreewsky and Bourcier, 2000; Danemark, 2001; Kirkeby, 1990; Taylor et al., 2002). Contrary to...