Dude, Where's Our Stuff? A Systematic Literature Review of Shortages in Supply Chain Management

Supply chain shortages (SCSs) arise when firms cannot access enough inputs to meet demand, and the resulting gap cannot be closed through routine operational responses or price adjustments. SCSs are practically important because they occur frequently and are disruptive, motivating this systematic literature review of supply chain management studies examining the causes and consequences of SCSs. Based on the systematic literature review, this research develops a holistic model that categorizes the sources of SCSs; recognizes the reciprocal relationship between realized and anticipated SCSs; proposes a 2 × 2 framework grouping firms' actions in response to SCSs along dimensions concerning internal versus external orientation and whether actions improve resource access versus reduce resource importance; and postulates that firm traits and product/service attributes moderate the impact that SCSs have on firms' actions. We suggest several directions for future research to extend understanding of SCSs.