Building Theory About Supply Chain Management: Some Tools from the Organizational Sciences (Report‪)‬

Legendary social psychologist Kurt Lewin is famous in part due to his proclamation that "there's nothing so practical as a good theory" (Lewin 1943, p. 113). This statement has puzzled many academics and executives because both groups tend to view theories as abstract statements about relationships. These statements often seem far removed from reality and likely to break down when applied to actual problems. This is particularly true for a field like supply chain management, whose primary concern traditionally has been figuring out how to move goods in an effective and efficient manner rather than develop esoteric conceptual models of various supply chain processes (Giunipero, Hooker, Joseph-Matthews, Yoon and Brudvig 2008). Our position, however, is that Lewin was right. Two examples--one ancient and one contemporary--illustrate why. First, consider the ancient Mayans' theory about the sun's movement. The Mayans' theory about a sun god named "Kinich Ahau" provided them a basis to accurately predict that the sun would appear each morning, cross the sky and disappear each evening. However, the theory's assumptions about causality were faulty. There are many different definitions of a theory, but one that we find useful is that a theory is a set of assumptions and tenets that collectively specify the linkages and mechanisms through which an outcome, such as the sun's movement, is expected to arise (cf. Bromiley and Johnson 2005). The Mayans' theory included the belief that Kinich Ahau required sustenance in order to make the sun appear each morning and that the Mayans needed to provide this sustenance through human sacrifices. Because the Mayans' prediction about the sun's movement was supported day after day, they had no reason to question whether their theory offered the right cause for the movement. An incorrect theory about a very unique type of supply chain extracted a tremendous human toll.