442 Int. J. Services and Operations Management, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2015
Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Reverse supply chain flexibility: a theoretical
framework of research dimensions
Rohit Kumar Singh* and Padmanav Acharya
EI Lab, D-114,
ABV-IIITM Gwalior (MP),
PIN-474010, India
Email: rohit@iiitm.ac.in
Email: rohit_singhiit@yahoo.co.in
Email: pach78in@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author
Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive
review of flexibility literature and present integrated framework of reverse
supply chain flexibility. This paper also identifies the forces and dimensions of
flexibility for achieving reverse supply chain flexibility in the organisation.
Dimensions of flexibility are extracted from literature and made fit into broad
framework of reverse supply chain flexibility. This study also identifies how
flexibility dimensions are catering to the inbound, in-house and outbound stage
of supply chain. The originality of this paper lies in theoretical construct of
reverse supply chain flexibility. This framework will help present a
comprehensive scenario of research in the area.
Keywords: reverse supply chain; flexibility; theoretical framework; forces;
dimensions; uncertainty.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Singh, R.K. and
Acharya, P. (2015) ‘Reverse supply chain flexibility: a theoretical framework
of research dimensions’, Int. J. Services and Operations Management, Vol. 22,
No. 4, pp.442–454.
Biographical notes: Rohit Kumar Singh obtained his Bachelor in Mechanical
Engineering followed by his Master’s in Business Administration from IIIT
Gwalior. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in area of Supply Chain
Management from ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and
Management Gwalior. His area of interest lies in operations and supply chain
management and had published papers in national and international journals.
Padmanav Acharya is an Associate Professor in the Institute. He has received
his MTech and PhD from IIT Kharagpur after his BTech in Mechanical
Engineering from Utkal University. He has 18 years of teaching experience.
Prior to joining ABV-IIITM, he was working as an Assistant Professor at IGIT,
Sarang, Orissa. He had published several papers in journals of international and
national repute and also presented papers and chaired sessions at international
and national conferences. He had been a reviewer of prestigious international
journals. His areas of interest include software engineering and management,
busyness system simulation, and operations management.