Social network analysis : applications and new metrics for supply chain management : a literature review

Background: Supply chains, characterized by complexity and sensitivity, require continuous mapping to address challenges, particularly disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, Social Network Analysis (SNA) has proven valuable in analyzing how actors in a network connect and create interdependencies. However, some studies suggest that the SNA literature needs to embrace new fields of application and develop innovative metrics. Methods: The aim of this study is to clarify the role and contribution of SNA when characterizing and understanding the challenges of contemporary supply chains. A literature review was conducted to achieve this. Results: The results reveal that SNA has been applied in a wide variety of areas (e.g., manufacturing and construction sectors), with an emerging application in the tertiary sector. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that metrics related to the network and to nodes have been used repeatedly, highlighting the need for new supply-chain-related metrics, such as the novel concept of semi-directedness. Conclusions: Despite the versatility of SNA, some aspects may limit its application to supply chain management, including shortcomings in data acquisition and the fact that SNA only allows for the visualization of network configurations, thus preventing the capture of nuances that characterize the relationships between the actors involved.