Building and testing necessity theories in supply chain management

Abstract

This article contributes to the Emerging Discourse Incubator initiative by presenting how supply chain management scholars can contribute to theory development by means of necessity theories. These are unique theories that inform what level of a concept must be present to achieve a desired level of the outcome. Necessity theories consist of concepts that are necessary but not sufficient conditions for an outcome, where the absence of a single causal concept ensures the absence of the outcome. The theoretical features of necessary conditions have important implications for understanding supply chain management phenomena and providing practical applications. In 2016, Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) became available for building and testing necessity theories with empirical data. However, NCA has not yet been used for the development of supply chain management theories. Therefore, we explain how necessity theories can be built and tested in a supply chain management context using necessity logic and the empirical methodology of NCA. We intend to inspire scholars to develop novel necessity theories that deepen or renew our understanding of supply chain management phenomena.