Moving to the Next Level: Why Our Discipline Needs More Multilevel Theorization

• Published date: 01 October 2015
• Author: Gavin Meschnig,Lutz Kaufmann,Craig R. Carter
• Date: 01 October 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12083

MOVING TO THE NEXT LEVEL: WHY OUR DISCIPLINE

NEEDS MORE MULTILEVEL THEORIZATION

CRAIG R. CARTER

Arizona State University

GAVIN MESCHNIG AND LUTZ KAUFMANN

WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

Numerous phenomena in supply chain management (SCM) involve more

than one level of theory and analysis, such as individuals within groups,

groups within organizations, and organizations in the supply chain. Fur-

thermore, multilevel analysis has made the simultaneous testing of hypothe-

ses at multiple levels a reality. However, while other disciplines have made

steps toward adopting a multilevel perspective, the majority of SCM research

still conceptualizes research questions at a single level. We provide theoreti-

cal reasoning for incorporating multilevel research into our discipline and a

framework that outlines future research opportunities that would benefit

from the incorporation of a multilevel approach. We also provide examples

from the SCM literature to demonstrate how multilevel research can be used

to enrich understanding of real-world SCM phenomena.

Keywords: multilevel phenomena; theory building

INTRODUCTION

Supply chain management (SCM) encompasses phe-

nomena that exist both within and across organiza-

tions. As such, these phenomena often involve two or

more hierarchically ordered levels. Consider, for

example, a buyer–supplier relationship. This phe-

nomenon has been largely examined from a macro

perspective, in which the unit of analysis has been the

organization or the relationship between organiza-

tions (e.g., interorganizational communication; Paul-

raj, Lado & Chen, 2008). More recently, research has

examined buyer–supplier relationships from a micro-

perspective, with individual relationships as the unit

of analysis (e.g., interpersonal relationships and com-

munication; Gligor & Autry, 2012). However, more

than just these two levels exist (e.g., teams within

organizations), even in this straightforward conceptu-

alization of a buyer–supplier relationship.

New product development (NPD), which has been

investigated extensively in the SCM literature, is

another example of a multilevel phenomenon. Here,

the levels and constructs could be an individual (e.g.,

characteristics of an individual supply manager

charged with liaising across organizations; Wagner &

Hoegl, 2006), a development team (e.g., a stable team

environment; Slotegraaf & Atuahene-Gima, 2011), a

function (e.g., marketing–manufacturing integration;

Swink & Song, 2007), the organization (e.g., organiza-

tional culture and NPD innovativeness; B€

uschgens,

Bausch & Balkin, 2013), the buyer–supplier relation-

ship (e.g., supplier integration; Wagner, 2012), or the

supply network (e.g., delegation of tasks across tiers;

Johnsen, 2011).

In both buyer–supplier relationships and NPD, the

theorization and analyses of these phenomena have

mostly been confined to a single level. This is also

true for most of the phenomena encompassed within

our discipline. (Our review of the SCM literature,

which we describe in a later section, suggests that

although the discipline’s use of multilevel research

has increased in recent years, multilevel research is

nonetheless still highly underrepresented, particularly

considering the nature of SCM phenomena.)

Yet investigations that employ single-level theoriza-

tions potentially restrict our understanding of complex

SCM phenomena and systems. For example, in the

case of buyer–supplier relationships, the context of

organizations (e.g., organizational culture) affects the

Acknowledgment: We thank Johnny Rungtusanatham for his

constructive comments on earlier versions of our manuscript.

Volume 51, Number 494