A Demand-side Perspective on Supply Chain Management

When and how can supply chain management (SCM) be a source of long-term competitive advantage for the firm? We revisit and update arguments recently advanced by Hunt and Davis (2008) in this journal concerning which theoretical perspectives the resource-based view of strategy or resource-advantage theory may provide the most useful lenses for SCM scholars interested in addressing these critical questions. In this brief article we suggest that SCM research addressing questions of competitive advantage can be enhanced by a more rigorous definition of resources and by a more system-wide view of competition. We also recommend that the nascent demand-side perspective on strategic management can serve to provide new insights and a more complete understanding of SCM's role in competition. While the existing SCM literature offers a few examples of this perspective, in our opinion this remains an unfulfilled opportunity for SCM scholars.