A unified model of supply chain agility: the work‐design perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical model of supply chain agility and, based on that, develop a research framework for investigating linkages between supply chain agility and firm competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual model of supply chain agility introduced here is based on an inter‐disciplinary literature review, which concentrates on peer‐reviewed journal papers on agility published within the period 1990‐2007. Among a total of 583 papers, representative studies are chosen and analyzed to identify key elements of supply chain agility, and to point out issues that have yet to be addressed. Findings – He was found that even though there has been considerable research on the topic of agility, in general, there is relatively little examination of agility in the supply chain context. These few studies are not unified in their conceptualizations of agility and tend to adopt fairly limited views of supply chain dimensionality. This situation suggests that there is a need for a theory‐driven, unified model of agility in supply chains. Originality/value – This paper fulfills an identified need for a comprehensive conceptual model of supply chain agility. Built from a work‐design perspective, this new conceptualization of supply chain agility offers a theoretical platform for guiding future research and practice concerned with achieving supply chain agility.