a b s t r a c tManaging the return flow of product is increasingly recognized as a strategically important activity that involves decisions and actions within and across firms. We focus specifically on returns management at the marketing-operations interface, by utilizing the conceptualization of customer value and its related drivers. In order to explore the phenomenon of returns management across a multi-disciplinary, managerial spectrum, a qualitative research methodology relying on individual managers' perceptions was chosen to generate depth of understanding given the limited current understanding of the research topic under consideration. Our results suggest that functional integration at the marketing-operations interface can lead to better alignment of corporate resources and thus create higher levels of customer value. We also found the external business environment to impact how and why a firm creates customer value through the returns management process. Overall, our results suggest that when returns management is recognized as a matter of a firm's competitiveness, the joint role of operations and marketing is imperative to success.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider theory development related to returns management within supply chain strategy. The marketing/logistics relationship relative to the returns management process is investigated.Design/methodology/approachGrounded theory qualitative methodology. Managers in five Italian firms, across marketing and logistics roles, at strategic and operational levels were interviewed.FindingsFour key findings emerged: strong evidence exists that strategic goals and policies are being implemented; cross‐functional integration within the firms is broader than was expected; the more integrated firms deal better with external factors influencing the returns management process; and supply chain orientation – including forward and reverse supply chain flows – is linked to effective returns management.Research limitations/implicationsFirms were pre‐selected for participation, due to researcher's time constraints. Additionally, given the pan‐European approach to many supply chains, this Italian research needs to be replicated in other (western and eastern) European settings to determine the robustness of the factors posited to be important to the returns management process. Finally, other functional areas beyond marketing and logistics are involved in returns management, and will be more formally incorporated into future research.Practical implicationsReturns management – increasingly being recognized as affecting competitive positioning – provides an important link between marketing and logistics. The broad nature of its cross‐functional impact suggests that firms would benefit by improving internal integration efforts. In particular, a firm's ability to react to and plan for the influence of external factors on the returns management process is improved by such internal integration.Originality/valueReturns management has been under‐represented in much of the logistics and supply chain literature. This paper represents the first stage of an on‐going research project aimed at providing a theoretical framework for understanding the returns management process within a firm's supply chain strategy.

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PurposeCircular economy (CE) initiatives are taking hold across both developed and developing nations. Central to these initiatives is the reconfiguration of core supply chain management (SCM) processes that underlie current production and consumption patterns. This conceptual article provides a detailed discussion of how supply chain processes can support the successful implementation of CE. The article highlights areas of convergence in hopes of sparking collaboration among scholars and practitioners in SCM, CE, and related fields.Design/methodology/approachThis article adopts a theory extension approach to conceptual development that uses CE as a “method” for exploring core processes within the domain of SCM. The article offers a discussion of the ways in which the five principles of CE (closing, slowing, intensifying, narrowing, dematerialising loops) intersect with eight core SCM processes (customer relationship management, supplier relationship management, customer service management, demand management, order fulfilment, manufacturing flow management, product development and commercialization, returns management).FindingsThis article identifies specific ways in which core SCM processes can support the transition from traditional linear approaches to production and consumption to a more circular approach. This paper results in a conceptual framework and research agenda for researchers and practitioners working to adapt current supply chain processes to support the implementation of CE.Originality/valueThis article highlights key areas of convergence among scholars and practitioners through a systematic extension of CE principles into the domain of SCM. In so doing, the paper lays out a potential agenda for collaboration among these groups.

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PurposeScholars have recently begun to empirically evaluate the triple-A supply chain, which emphasizes concurrent capabilities in agility, adaptability and alignment across the supply chain to develop sustainable competitive advantage. Complexity theory suggests however that other combinations of triple-A capabilities may be equally effective, especially given a firm's strategic orientation relative to its market and its supply chain. Our research objective was to examine what combinations of these capabilities lead to the same outcome (i.e. high firm performance).Design/methodology/approachWe collected 182 survey responses from a global sample of supply chain managers. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was employed to assess effective recipes of agility, adaptability, alignment, supply chain orientation, and market orientation.FindingsOur results revealed four distinct “recipes” (i.e. combinations of agility, adaptability, alignment, supply chain orientation and market orientation) that lead to high levels of firm performance.Originality/valueOur results indicate that firms currently do not necessarily have to concomitantly develop capabilities across all triple-A components. Considering the costs associated with developing each of these capabilities, the findings allow us to derive several theoretical and managerial insights.

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