Literature Review

In Chap. 1 the significance of SCA, the research rationale and the research objectives have been introduced. This chapter briefly addresses the context within which this study is based. In particular, this chapter highlights the importance of the service sector to both the global and the Australian economy. Next, it addresses the similarities and differences between service-based supply chain and manufacturing-based supply chain to better understand how they might differ. The chapter then examines related SCM studies conducted within the service context. From another area, a cross-disciplinary literature search on the three main streams; supply chain agility, firm innovativeness and firm performance is conducted to identify the research gaps and integrate existing knowledge.