‘Efficiency and Performance of Global Supply Chain: Theory and Evidence’
| Published date | 01 November 2020 |
| Author | Deepankar Sinha |
| DOI | 10.1177/0015732520947675 |
| Date | 01 November 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
‘Efficiency and Performance
of Global Supply Chain:
Theory and Evidence’
There is a growing body of evidence that the global supply chain’s efficiency and
performance crucially influences the results of organisations (Brandenburg, 2016;
Closs & Mollenkopf, 2004). Baldwin (2012) extensively discussed the signifi-
cance, evolving transition and continuing importance of global supply chains. The
drivers behind the growing interests of global supply chains have emerged as
major literature (Gereffi & Lee, 2012). With the growing focus on externally inte-
grated logistics, the importance of maintaining efficient supply chains for interna-
tional business has increased manifold (Sinha, 2019). It can be noted that while
demand for goods across borders forms the foundation, the global supply chains
are the lifeline of international trade. Global supply chains, however, possess dif-
ferent facets, and analysis involving them will not be comprehensive unless
researchers take an integrated approach. In a bid to take this idea of a holistic
approach to supply chain and foreign trade, the Foreign Trade Review (FTR) aims
to put forward the contemporary and emerging research questions in this front
through the publication of special issues. This special issue entitled, ‘Efficiency
and Performance of Global Supply Chain: Theory and Evidence,’ is a step toward
this broader objective. I am grateful to the Editor, FTR, and his team for assigning
me the role of Guest Editor for this issue.
There are five contemporary papers and one book review in this issue.
The article by Alassane D. Yeo, Aimin Deng and Todine Y. Nadiedjoa entitled ‘The
Effect of Infrastructure and Logistics Performance on Economic Performance: The
Mediation Role of International Trade’ attempts to establish the relationship between
logistics infrastructure and logistics performance and the way it improves economic
performance through international trade. The authors use Generalized Structured
Component Analysis (GSCA) and mediation analysis using regression to show the
mediating effect of international trade between infrastructure and economic per-
formance, and between logistics and economic performance. The paper takes the
Logistics Performance Index (LPI) by the World Bank to measure the country’s
logistics performance. LPI is a significant index covering around 160 nations.
However, another branch of literature exists, which cautions against some
drawbacks in the World Bank’s LPI computation and its interpretation (Rezaei
et al., 2018; Martí et al., 2017). The paper by Satyendra Nath Chakrabartty,
entitled ‘Logistics Performance Index: Methodological Issues,’ discusses the
Foreign Trade Review
55(4) 447–449, 2020
© 2020 Indian Institute of
Foreign Trade
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DOI: 10.1177/0015732520947675
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