Supply chain management scholar’s research impact: moderated mediation analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw on social capital theory to develop a model to explain the determinants of a supply chain management scholar’s academic research impact. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from a database of 450 supply chain management scholars in different countries collected from ResearchGate and the World Bank, the bootstrapping method was applied on the moderated mediation analysis. Findings: Analysis of the mediating role of a scholar’s social capital suggests that social capital theory has a strong explanatory power on the relationship between a scholar’s research skill and academic impact. To account for the boundary effect at the country-level, the authors further examine if this mechanism differs by country in the supply chain management research context. Research limitations/implications: The findings from this study are from a single research area, which limits the generalizability of the study. Although the data are collected from different sources, including ResearchGate and the World Bank, it is cross-sectional in nature. The variables in this model do not have strong causal relationships. Practical implications: The results suggest that supply chain management scholars can reap the benefits of their social capital. Specifically, scholars can enhance their academic impact by increasing their social capital. Originality/value: The results provide a reference for supply chain management scholars keen on enhancing their academic research impact. It also provides a reference to explain why country-level differences can influence these scholars.