TY - JOUR

T1 - Sustainable humanitarian supply chains

T2 - a systematic literature review and research propositions

AU - Anjomshoae, Ali

AU - Banomyong, Ruth

AU - Hossein Azadnia, Amir

AU - Kunz, Nathan

AU - Blome, Constantin

PY - 2025/2/1

Y1 - 2025/2/1

N2 - The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesise the body of knowledge related to sustainable humanitarian supply chains across disaster relief as well as those of logistics of development aid. The output of this paper is a set of research propositions that will help advance theory building and validation for the management of sustainable humanitarian supply chains. This systematic review identifies and categorises sustainable humanitarian supply chain management (SHSCM) themes, with a particular emphasis on theoretical development based on a categorical analysis of research articles. The thematic analysis reveals that sustainability in humanitarian supply chains encompasses a wide range of aspects, such as supply network configuration, coordination, and partnership, as well as performance measurement. However, theoretical studies typically do not integrate all sustainability dimensions. In particular, social sustainability factors are largely absent from current models of SHSCM, despite their inherent significance in humanitarian contexts. The categorical analysis explains how aspects related to the identified themes impact and pose opportunities for SHSCM. Insights from this systematic review can support humanitarian supply chain sustainability knowledge with policy-driven research directions. These policies can help achieve a greater level of sustainability in humanitarian supply chain management. The originality of this study lies in the development of detailed categories of sustainability studies, in its analytical focus on SHSCM theories, and in the development of research propositions to provide insights to researchers on how to advance theory and conduct impactful research on the topic of SHSCM.

AB - The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesise the body of knowledge related to sustainable humanitarian supply chains across disaster relief as well as those of logistics of development aid. The output of this paper is a set of research propositions that will help advance theory building and validation for the management of sustainable humanitarian supply chains. This systematic review identifies and categorises sustainable humanitarian supply chain management (SHSCM) themes, with a particular emphasis on theoretical development based on a categorical analysis of research articles. The thematic analysis reveals that sustainability in humanitarian supply chains encompasses a wide range of aspects, such as supply network configuration, coordination, and partnership, as well as performance measurement. However, theoretical studies typically do not integrate all sustainability dimensions. In particular, social sustainability factors are largely absent from current models of SHSCM, despite their inherent significance in humanitarian contexts. The categorical analysis explains how aspects related to the identified themes impact and pose opportunities for SHSCM. Insights from this systematic review can support humanitarian supply chain sustainability knowledge with policy-driven research directions. These policies can help achieve a greater level of sustainability in humanitarian supply chain management. The originality of this study lies in the development of detailed categories of sustainability studies, in its analytical focus on SHSCM theories, and in the development of research propositions to provide insights to researchers on how to advance theory and conduct impactful research on the topic of SHSCM.

KW - Sustainability

KW - humanitarian logistics

KW - humanitarian supply chain

KW - systematic literature review

U2 - 10.1080/09537287.2023.2273451

DO - 10.1080/09537287.2023.2273451

M3 - Journal article

VL - 36

SP - 357

EP - 377

JO - Production Planning and Control

JF - Production Planning and Control

SN - 0953-7287

IS - 3

ER -