Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to employ an emerging phenomenon in China concerning collaborative carbon emission reduction (CCER) to investigate: first, the coordination of suppliers and manufacturers within supply chains to reduce carbon emissions, and second, the role of governmental policy in facilitating this process. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws upon evolutionary game theory to develop an evolutionary game model for CCER for suppliers and manufacturers within supply chains. This includes a detailed analysis of the evolutionary direction and process in different areas, both with, and in the absence of, governmental subsidies. Findings: The results demonstrate that CCER is path dependent and that its evolutionary process is influenced by the following four factors: the initial status within supply chains; the cost; the additional benefit; and the investment risk related to CCER. The research also reveals that the reward provided by manufacturers is rational over the long term, due to the excessive cost of incentives potentially preventing the implementation of CCER. Originality/value: This study represents the first attempt to investigate CCER within supply chains through the application of an evolutionary game-theoretic model. The investigation of multiple factors in the model will deepen understanding of the collaborative role required for the carbon emission reduction.

Supply chain finance (SCF) is concerned with the capital flows within a supply chain, an area often neglected in past decades, while SCF does have an impact on a firm’s capability to adopt sustainable supply chain management (SCM) practices. The aim of this study is to explore new insight from a growing body of research which is investigating SCF issues in China, an evolving transition economy. A content analysis on a review of 151 Chinese-written SCF papers from 2004–2014, based on a sample of 45 leading Chinese journals (Chinese Social Science Citation Index, CSSCI) was conducted from three perspectives: topical coverage, theoretical application and methodological inquiry. The study reveals that the research stream of SCF in China has emerged and evolved to a considerable extent. However, the SCF phenomenon in China is not exactly the same as “SCF” as it is perceived in the mature economy, which is articulated in mainstream SCM English literature. The Chinese business context in which SCF has been implemented has played a dominant role in initiating, affecting and even shaping SCF. This study represents the first endeavor in the field of SCM. It diffuses the Chinese-written SCF research in mainstream SCM English literature.

Purpose: Organisational learning plays a critical role for firms to keep abreast of a supply chain environment filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). This study investigates the extent to which supply chain learning (SCL) affects operational resilience under such circumstances.Design/methodology/approach: This study developed a research framework and underlying hypotheses based on SCL and information processing theory (IPT). An empirical test was carried out using secondary data derived from the “Supply Chain Policy” launched by the Chinese government and two large related conferences.Findings: SCL positively relates to operational resilience, and several moderators influence the relationship between them. The authors argue that digital-technological diversity could weaken the role of SCL in operational resilience, whereas customer concentration, and participating in a pilot programme could enhance the effect of SCL.Practical implications: Firms should embrace the power of SCL in building resilience in the VUCA era. Meanwhile, they should be cautious of a digital-technological diversification strategy, appraise the customer base profile and proactively engage in pilot programmes.Originality/value: This research develops the SCL construct further in the context of China and empirically measures its power on operational resilience using a unique dataset. This contributes to the theorisation of SCL.

Logistics service providers (LSPs) are under tremendous pressure in the fight against global climate change. While existing research has examined the operational importance of LSPs in decarbonizing supply chains, the strategic perspective of LSPs on low carbon supply chains has not received enough attention. Motivated by the evolving role of LSPs from a service provider to a resource integrator in the supply chain, drawing on the relational view of inter-organizational competitive advantage, this paper focuses on LSPs’ low-carbon supply chain integration (SCI) and empirically investigates its drivers and outcomes. Data from 124 Chinese LSPs shows that LSPs’ corporate environmental responsibility and customer environmental requirement have positive relationships with LSPs’ low-carbon SCI, and that LSPs’ low-carbon SCI is positively related to LSPs’ environmental and financial performance. In addition, LSPs’ environmental performance is found to have a positive relationship with LSPs’ financial performance. These findings not only provide new insights for LSPs’ low-carbon supply chain initiatives, but also highlight the importance of SCI as a strategic approach in low-carbon supply chain management.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which theory-driven supply chain management (SCM) research is of practical relevance. It does this on the basis of empirical research in China.Design/methodology/approach: A two-pronged approach was adopted. First, 57 theory-driven SCM studies based in China published in ten leading journals between 2006 and 2015 were surveyed. Second, a questionnaire survey of Chinese managers identified their practical concerns and assessed their alignment with the content of the academic papers.Findings: Some academic research on SCM does probe industry-relevant problems. From an academic perspective, this confirms that theory-driven SCM research can be of practical value. Overall, however, the survey found that much of the SCM research works do not translate into actionable knowledge for practitioners. Academic research in this field could pursue a more pragmatic path and enhance its practical utility. Two critical components of this path, “practical observation” and “practical verification,” are highlighted.Research limitations/implications: As the literature review was confined to ten leading journals, relevant papers in other journals were possibly excluded. The research was confined to China and so the results are not necessarily generalizable to other countries.Practical implications: Chinese academics and practitioners could collaborate in defining research agendas and directions. This would help researchers direct their theory building to issues of relevance to business.Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relevance of theory-driven SCM research from academic and practitioner perspectives in China. It shows how this research might have greater impact on business practice.

Product recall crises can damage reputation, result in financial losses, and generate negative word-of-mouth from customers. Appropriate response strategies on social media platforms can help companies minimise losses and save electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). This study analysed 32,697 customer comments from Facebook to explore customer perceptions and examine the performance of different response strategies. Findings showed that the accommodative response strategy improves overall eWOM compared to the indifferent response strategy. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the impact of social media crisis response strategies on eWOM and offers evidential managerial insights for better customer perceptions.