Mapping the intellectual foundation of low-carbon supply chains: A theory-based literature review on buyer-supplier relationships

Over the past two decades, researchers have investigated buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs) to foster supply chain decarbonization as a countermeasure to the effects of climate change. However, the academic intellectual foundation is still far from maturing, not only because of its novelty but also because scholars have focused on narrow topics and theoretical lenses. Thus, this paper aims to understand the present intellectual structure of BSRs in low-carbon supply chains (LCSCs) while showing the lack of knowledge and the need to investigate research topics through multiple theoretical lenses. In this study, a literature review was conducted by collecting data without date restriction in July 2023 and analyzing 804 peer-reviewed articles from top-ranked academic journals. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied for the paper's content analysis, including a multiple correspondence analysis and a homogeneity analysis of variance by means of alternating least squares (HOMALS) to map the data. The results show a high degree of fragmentation within the present theoretical foundation of BSRs in LCSCs, including a limited application of theoretical lenses and the need for a balanced research agenda. Based on the assessment of the existent literature, 29 research propositions are presented and they are categorized under eight theoretical lenses that constitute the interpretive framework. This study contributes to building theoretical knowledge of supply chain management 1) by analyzing the present intellectual foundation while mapping investigated research topics and theories in a two-dimensional graph and 2) by proposing a balanced research agenda with 29 research propositions to develop the field of BSRs in LCSCs. In addition to the method's originality in the mentioned field, this review highlights emerging research topics.