Integrated chain management in Germany – identifying schools of thought based on a literature review

The concept of integrated chain management has received much attention in German management literature. This can be seen in the increasing output of both papers and books on the topic as well as in the number of Ph.D. and habilitation (post-Ph.D.) theses that have contributed to the concept. Integrated chain management can be comprehended as supply chain management that takes environmental and social issues into account. This paper is designed to provide an overview of the concept of integrated chain management. This is done by means of a literature review, where related book publications with a focus on similar Ph.D. and habilitation theses have systematically been collected and analyzed. On the basis of this content analysis, major historical lines of development can be observed. Three schools are identified: the material and information flow school, the strategy and cooperation school and the regional industrial network school. The major research captured in these schools is described.