PurposeThis paper aims to analyse past and current sustainability considerations and developments in scientific research and practice with a focus on the role of retailers in supply chains.Design/methodology/approachA summative content analysis is used to identify major research areas and industrial branches in the sustainability literature relevant to retail supply chains, and sustainability considerations in retail practice.FindingsSustainability‐related issues have been discussed for many years and the term sustainability has received increased attention in research since the mid‐1990s. In retail research, there seems to be a time lag of more than ten years in using the term sustainability compared to other fields in research and industry. However, some of these other research fields and industries have an impact on retail supply chains. At the same time, it seems that sustainability has received more attention in retail management practice compared to research applications.Research limitations/implicationsFuture retail research should try to integrate the findings from related research areas and industry sectors, and emerging issues in practice magazines.Originality/valueThis paper provides a comprehensive overview of past and current sustainability research in retailing and sustainability relevance in retail practice. The paper considers the specific role of retailers in supply chains through a broad analysis of sustainability considerations in different research areas and industries relevant to retail supply chains.

It is argued that firm cooperation in supply chain management can be classified as a hybrid governance structure in a new institutional sense. Using a key informant survey, exploratory data on transaction dimensions and supply chain management was gathered and analyzed. Findings suggest that the implementation of such cooperation is not a binary choice but rather a matter of varying degrees. All factors commonly associated with influencing transaction costs (asset specificity, uncertainty and frequency) are significantly higher for firms with more fully implemented supply chain management, making a more integrated solution advantageous. Additionally, the data suggests a strong influence of transaction frequency on the degree of asset specificity and uncertainty.

It is argued that firm cooperation in supply chain management can be classified as a hybrid governance structure in a new institutional sense. Using a key informant survey, exploratory data on transaction dimensions and supply chain management was gathered and analyzed. Findings suggest that the implementation of such cooperation is not a binary choice but rather a matter of varying degrees. All factors commonly associated with influencing transaction costs (asset specificity, uncertainty and frequency) are significantly higher for firms with more fully implemented supply chain management, making a more integrated solution advantageous. Additionally, the data suggests a strong influence of transaction frequency on the degree of asset specificity and uncertainty.

Ubiquitous computing environments grant organizations a multitude of dynamic context data emanating from embedded and mobile components. Such data may enhance organizations’ understanding of the different contexts in which they act. However, extant IS literature indicates that the utility of context data is frequently hampered by a priori interpretations of context embodied within the acquiring technologies themselves. Building on a 5-year canonical action research study within the Swedish transport industry, this paper reports an attempt to shift the locus of interpretation of context data by rearranging an assemblage of embedded, mobile, and stationary technologies. This was done by developing a vertical standard as a means to inscribe interpretive flexibility of context data. With the objective to extend the current understanding of how to enable crossorganizational access to reinterpretable context data, the paper contributes with an analysis of existing design requirements for context-aware ecosystems. This analysis reveals the complexity of accomplishing collaborative linkages between socio-technical elements in ubiquitous computing environments, and highlights important implications for research and practice.

This study reports on the results of an exploratory study surveying how German companies have implemented supply chain management. The data is used to test hypotheses developed from supply chain management theory in order to determine whether the phenomena detailed in the theory can be observed in practice. Few significant influences between a strategic orientation and actual supply chain implementation were found. Most notably, a company's commitment to supply chain management impacts its strategic orientation, which in turn significantly influences the supply chain's stability and the firm's independence from partners. However, at least for the sample observed, companies appear to be far removed from the strategic and systemic perspective of supply chain management proposed by researchers when evaluating current supply chain management implementation.