Mythbusting in the logistics domain: a second look at systems theory usage
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Mythbusting in the logistics domain: a second look at systems theory usage Magnus Lindskog
Received: 15 December 2011 / Accepted: 7 April 2012 / Published online: 21 April 2012 Springer-Verlag 2012
Abstract Logistics has been said to rest on a foundation of systems theory. Recent research has however indicated that such claims merely are myths that have been passed on. These myths are in this paper put to the test. An international survey of logistics/SCM academics rendered 178 usable responses. Two main research questions are examined. One concerns the views on and valuation of the terms systems approach, systems thinking, and systems theory, in relation both to each other and to the logistics discipline. The other concerns the extent to which logistics researchers are familiar with and have explicitly cited scholars that are central to a number of different schools of systems theory. Results point clearly in one direction: myth busted. That is, there is little support for claiming that logistics is rooted in systems theory. Also, more evidence is found that the scope of systems theory that actually has influenced the discipline is rather narrow. There are hints of myopic tendencies. The paper is wrapped up with a glimpse of one possible remedy for this, a rather recent strand of systems theory labelled critical systems thinking. Keywords Systems theory Logistics discipline Survey Myopia Critical systems thinking
1 Introduction From time to time, different authors within the logistics field make statements pertaining to the role that various aspects of systems theoretical reasoning play for logistics. M. Lindskog (&) Department of Science and Technology, Linko¨ping University, 601 74 Norrko¨ping, Sweden e-mail: [email protected]
To generalise, claims range from ‘logistics entails a systems approach’ to ‘logistics springs from systems theory’ [see e.g. 1–8]. Such claims are the starting point for the present research, which is concerned with the role of systems theory within the logistics discipline. Offering a precise definition of what constitutes the logistics discipline is of course a very difficult task, if at all possible. The viewpoint is that published research concerned with the closely related logistics and/or supply chain management (SCM) domains are part of what here is labelled the logistics discipline. As has been pointed out, there is no clear consensus on the relation between logistics and SCM [9–11]. The ‘and/or’ relationship between SCM and logistics applied here does not necessarily imply that the two are regarded as the same or the one as part of the other. This indistinct stance is entirely deliberate; it is a means of not ‘missing out’ on important parts due to choosing a viewpoint that might be incompatible with that of research that might actually be relevant for the topic discussed here. In a first article reporting on this research effort, an extensive literature review was presented, the purpose of which was to explore to which extent systems theory has be
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