Supply chain management based on uncertainty theory: a bibliometric analysis and future prospects

Uncertainty in the environment poses a significant challenge for supply chain management, and uncertainty theory is a branch of mathematics that focuses on analyzing uncertain phenomena. In this context, an increasing number of scholars have begun to use the uncertainty theory to study uncertain phenomena in the supply chain management, but there is still a lack of systematic literature reviews and research outlooks in this research field. To fill this gap, this paper provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the relevant literature in the Web of Science database from 2015 to May 2024 using bibliometric analysis and content analysis. First, bibliometric analysis is conducted to visualize the current state of research, including publication trends, keywords, authors, and geographical distribution. Then, through content analysis, the selected literature is categorized into seven subfields according to the research questions, including supply chain pricing decision, supply chain network disruption, supply chain network design, supply chain management considering sales efforts, sustainable supply chain management, supply chain contract design, and general supply chain management. The results indicate that the literature on the supply chain management based on the uncertainty theory is not yet mature. The research has begun to shift from single uncertainty to multidimensional uncertainty and from single-objective decision-making to multi-objective decision-making. The research direction has also shifted towards sustainability and resilience design in supply chain networks, gradually incorporating environmental and social benefits into supply chain decision-making. Based on the results of the bibliometric analysis and content analysis, future research directions are identified and potential related research opportunities are proposed, including the impact of consumer behavior, channel interaction, corporate social responsibility, and logistics service strategies on the supply chain management based on the uncertainty theory.