In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in research papers on humanitarian supply chain performance (HSCP), necessitating an updated integrated review. Existing reviews in the area have offered fragmented insights. However, there remains a lack of a comprehensive, data-driven synthesis that captures the breadth of themes and evaluates the consistency of key relationships, particularly between agility and performance in humanitarian contexts.
The study provides a novel approach to combine structural topic modeling (STM) and meta-analysis to study the rapidly growing HSCP field. The present study utilizes a text mining approach, specifically STM, to identify the key research themes in the domain. Moreover, a meta-analysis is performed on the most prominent theme that emerged (catering to agility practices), as determining the strength and consistency in the agility–performance relationship across studies is much needed in VUCA environments. We also mapped the identified themes with relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to indicate the importance of the domain with the global strategic priorities concerning sustainability.
Nine key research topics are identified: Agility and co-ordination in HSCP, Public health in humanitarian supply chains (HSCs), Sustainability in HSCs, Policies and governance in HSCs, Optimization-based disaster relief logistics and routing models, Autonomous system-enabled disaster response, Digital technologies in HSCs, Food security, climate and socioeconomic vulnerability and Pre-positioning and inventory management decisions. The results reveal that the nature of performance outcomes influences the strength of the relationship between HSCs agility and performance. The study not only contributes to the literature on HSCs but also offers actionable insights to practitioners and lists several avenues of future research in the domain of HSCP.
The study provides a consolidated view of the HSCP literature, enabling decision-makers to align their strategies with the most impactful practices. The findings support the development of responsive and resilient humanitarian operations by highlighting the positive link between agility and performance. Mapping themes with SDGs further helps policymakers and NGOs to align their operational focus with global sustainability agendas.
The study offers a novel approach to combine STM and meta-analysis to explore the literature on HSCP. The mapping of themes with SDGs enhances the relevance of HSCP research in shaping future humanitarian agendas.
