As supply chain activities become more dispersed among customers, suppliers and service providers, there is an increased need for customers and suppliers to work together more closely. Supply chain integration (SCI) has been a highly researched topic during the last 20 years. A metaanalytic approach is used to provide a quantitative review of the empirical literature in SCI, and examines relevant design and contextual factors. Eighty independent samples across 86 peer-reviewed journal articles, yielding a total of 17,467 observations, were obtained and analyzed. While general support exists in favor of the positive impact of SCI on firm performance in the literature, this research helps clarify mixed findings that presently exist. Our results indicate that there is a positive and significant correlation between SCI and firm performance. Additional subgroups and moderators are tested and provide nuanced views of the scope and specific dimensions of SCI, firm performance and their relationships.

By studying the intellectual structure of the supply chain management (SCM) literature, insights should be available concerning the status of supply chain theory, the cross-disciplinary nature of the area of study, and identification of emerging trends. One approach to assessing the state of development of supply chain management theory is to examine a large body of academic literature quantitatively. The bibliometric approach to intellectual structure is possible now that the concept has passed the 20 th anniversary of its original appearance in the literature (Houlihan 1985). SCM touches many traditional disciplines and functional areas. This research does not use a specific definition of supply chain management as the focal point for this article. Instead, the focus is on the term "supply chain management" and its use in the academic literature. While definitions of SCM vary significantly, understanding the range of its use and the structure of related concepts is worthwhile.By identifying the intellectual structure of SCM literature at a single point in time, a baseline is established for tracking the evolution of supply chain thought. As bibliometric snapshots are replicated in the future, a view of changes within the intellectual structure will be recognized early.Additionally, by examining SCM publication trends across journals and across time the growing diversity of interest in supply chain concepts and theory becomes more obvious. Recently a banker appeared at a Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) presentation on supply chain research. He wanted to learn about supply chain developments so he could more readily assess opportunities in international trade related to supply chains. This broadening interest calls for a better understanding of how the various streams of research are developing.The specific research questions to be addressed in this research include:1. Which journals are publishing SCM related academic papers? This is a fairly simple question to answer, but the results should clarify the breadth of interest and the potential for emerging, alternative perspectives on SCM. 48ChARVET, COOPER, ANd GARdNER 2. What are the broad trends in growth of SCM interest? Across disciplines and journals, where is the interest growing fastest? If there are shifts in the disciplines that are focusing on SCM, researchers need to take notice.3. Is there a quantitatively identifiable intellectual structure within the supply chain literature? At some point in the evolution of supply chain management as a field of study, sub-specialties may emerge, competing schools of thought could emerge, or the intellectual structure could evolve. Can the revealed structure be characterized usefully? If there are clear groupings of core articles, can the groupings be analyzed in a way that helps future research efforts?4. Is there quantitative evidence of convergence in supply chain thought? If the revealed structures have a clear set of common elements, then there would be evidence of convergence in academi...

Logistics customer service has received considerable attention over the past several decades. Evidence exists that superior logistics customer service leads to better overall firm performance. Yet mixed findings were observed, and this relationship has been tested across multiple operationalizations and diverse industry settings, which may contribute to these mixed findings. There is thus a need for a systematic analysis that examines all of the prior evidence in an aggregate inquiry of logistics customer service. Meta-analysis, which is a relatively under-utilized methodology in supply chain management research, is applied to provide a quantitative examination of 37 sample studies and an assessment of overall population effects. The main contribution of this research is that we statistically aggregate and summarize existing research on logistics customer service. In addition, moderators that affect the relationship between logistics customer service and firm performance are examined. The results provide evidence that logistics customer service has a significant positive relationship with firm performance; however, significant heterogeneity was detected. This points to areas in need of additional research in order to obtain generalizable evidence.

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