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Research

Selected research projects

The Purchasing Education and Research for European Competence Transfer (PERFECT) project developed a European university curriculum on the topic of Purchasing/Procurement. It was funded by the European Commission as part of the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships program; running from 2015-2018, total funding volume 430,000 Euro. Prof. Dr. Lydia Bals (Head of Work Package 2) and Heike Schulze worked on the project on behalf of the department in Mainz. You can find more information about the project here.

 

Selected publications

Sciport-Profil

  • Kelly, S., Bals, L., Stek, K., Schulze, H., & Israilidis, J. (2025). Knowledge Transformation in Purchasing and Supply Management: A Process Perspective. Knowledge and Process Management, 32(3), 133–145. doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1803
  • McIvor, R., Bals, L., Dereymaeker, T., & Foerstl, K. (2025). Integrating sustainability and economic perspectives in reshoring: insights from the German automotive industry. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 30(2), 213–232. doi.org/10.1108/SCM-12-2023-0640
  • Moradlou, H., Skipworth, H., Bals, L., Aktas, E., & Roscoe, S. (2025). Geopolitical disruptions and supply chain structural ambidexterity. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 45(4), 836–862. doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-11-2023-0915
  • Bals, L., Taylor, K., Rosca, E. and Ciulli, F. (2024), “Toward a circular supply chain: The enabling role of information and financial flows in open and closed loop designs”, Resources, Conversation and Recycling, 209, 107781. doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107781
  • Taylor, K. M., Ciulli, F., & Bals, L. (2024). Pathways to Scaling International Impact: Exploring Capabilities in B Corps. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1–36. doi.org/10.1080/19420676.2024.2413074
  • Zomorrodi, M., Fayezi, S., & Bals, L. (2024). Base of the chain (BoC) sourcing challenges: The role of institutional voids and social agency problems. Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 30(5), 100953. doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2024.100953
  • Bals, L., Huang, F., Tate, W. L. & Rosca, E. (2023). Creating social value at the bottom of the pyramid: Elaborating resource orchestration via social intermediaries. Journal of Business Research, 168, 114209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114209
  • Knight, L., Tate, W., Carnovale, S., Di Mauro, C., Bals, L., Caniato, F., Gualandris, J., Johnsen, T., Matopoulos, A., Meehan, J., Miemczyk, J., Patrucco, A. S., Schoenherr, T., Selviaridis, K., Touboulic, A. & Wagner, S. M. (2022). Future business and the role of purchasing and supply management: Opportunities for ‘business-not-as-usual’ PSM research. Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 28(1), 100753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2022.100753
  • Lashitew, A. A., Narayan, S., Rosca, E. & Bals, L. (2022). Creating Social Value for the ‘Base of the Pyramid’: An Integrative Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(2), 445–466. doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04710-2
  • Rosca, E., Tate, W. L., Bals, L., Huang, F. & Ciulli, F. (2022). Coordinating multi-level collective action: How intermediaries and digital governance can help supply chains tackle grand challenges. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 42(12), 1937–1968. doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-07-2022-0432
  • Schulze, H., Bals, L. & Warwick, J. (2022). A sustainable sourcing competence model for purchasing and supply management professionals. Operations Management Research, 15(3-4), 1418–1444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12063-022-00256-w
  • Bals, L. & Turkulainen, V. (2021). Integration of the buyer–supplier interface for Global sourcing. Operations Management Research, 14(3-4), 293–317. doi.org/10.1007/s12063-021-00205-z
  • McIvor, R. & Bals, L. (2021). A multi-theory framework for understanding the reshoring decision. International Business Review, 30(6), 101827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101827
  • Schulze, H., Bals, L. & Warwick, J. (2021). Applying Critical Incidents in Sustainable Purchasing and Supply Management Competence Development. Operations Management Education Review, 15, 223–246.
  • Schulze, H., Bals, L. & Warwick, J. (2021). Teaching Sustainable Purchasing and Supply Management Competences Using Critical Incidents. Operations Management Education Review, 15, 201–222.
  • Lashitew, A. A., Bals, L. & van Tulder, R. (2020). Inclusive Business at the Base of the Pyramid: The Role of Embeddedness for Enabling Social Innovations. Journal of Business Ethics, 162(2), 421–448. doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3995-y
  • Schulze, H. & Bals, L. (2020). Implementing sustainable purchasing and supply management (SPSM): A Delphi study on competences needed by purchasing and supply management (PSM) professionals. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 26(4), 100625. doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2020.100625
  • Wieland, A., Bals, L., Mol, M. J. & Handfield, R. B. (2020). Overcoming blind spots in global sourcing research: Exploiting the cross-sections between supply chain management and international business. Journal of International Management, 26(1), 100709. doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2019.100709
  • Bals, L., Schulze, H., Kelly, S. & Stek, K. (2019). Purchasing and supply management (PSM) competencies: Current and future requirements. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 25(5), 100572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2019.100572
  • Schulze, H., Bals, L. & Johnsen, T. E. (2019). Individual competences for sustainable purchasing and supply management (SPSM). International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 49(3), 287–304. doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2018-0036
  • Tate, W. L., Bals, L., Bals, C. & Foerstl, K. (2019). Seeing the forest and not the trees: Learning from nature’s circular economy. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 149, 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.05.023
  • Tate, W. L., Bals, L. & Marshall, D. (2019). Supply chain management at the base of the pyramid. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 49(5), 438–450. doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-06-2019-390
  • Bals, L., Laine, J. & Mugurusi, G. (2018). Evolving Purchasing and Supply Organizations: A contingency model for structural alternatives. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 24(1), 41–58. doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2017.10.001
  • Bals, L. & Tate, W. L. (2018). Sustainable Supply Chain Design in Social Businesses: Advancing the Theory of Supply Chain. Journal of Business Logistics, 39(1), 57–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbl.12172
  • Fayezi, S., Zomorrodi, M. & Bals, L. (2018). Procurement sustainability tensions: an integrative perspective. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(6), 586–609. doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2017-0013
  • Goebel, P., Reuter, C., Pibernik, R., Sichtmann, C. & Bals, L. (2018). Purchasing Managers’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Attributes that Constitute Sustainability. Journal of Operations Management, 62(1), 44–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2018.08.002
  • Tate, W. L. & Bals, L. (2018). Achieving Shared Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Value Creation: Toward a Social Resource-Based View (SRBV) of the Firm. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(3), 803–826. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3344-y
  • Bals, L. & Turkulainen, V. (2017). Achieving efficiency and effectiveness in Purchasing and Supply Management: Organization design and outsourcing. Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 23(4), 256–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2017.06.003
  • Mugurusi, G. & Bals, L. (2017). A processual analysis of the purchasing and supply organization in transition: the impact of offshoring. Operations Management Research, 10(1-2), 64–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12063-016-0119-7
  • Tate, W. L. & Bals, L. (2017). Outsourcing/offshoring insights: going beyond reshoring to rightshoring. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 47(2/3), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-11-2016-0314
  • Bals, L., Kirchoff, J. F. & Foerstl, K. (2016). Exploring the reshoring and insourcing decision making process: toward an agenda for future research. Operations Management Research, 9(3-4), 102–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12063-016-0113-0
  • Foerstl, K., Kirchoff, J. F. & Bals, L. (2016). Reshoring and insourcing: drivers and future research directions. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(5), 492–515. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-02-2015-0045
  • Bals, L. & Daum, A. (2015). Backshoring and Insourcing: Moving back in. Outsourcing Journal, (Q3/15), 31–36.
  • Bals, L., Daum, A. & Tate, W. (2015). From Offshoring to Rightshoring: Focus on the Backshoring Phenomenon. AIB Insights, 15(4), 3–8.
 
  • Huber, J., Müller, S., Fleischmann, M., & Stuckenschmidt, H. (2019). A data-driven newsvendor problem: From data to decision. European Journal of Operational Research, 278(3), 904–915. doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2019.04.043

  • Grosse, E. H., Glock, C. H., & Müller, S. (2015). Production economics and the learning curve: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Production Economics, 170, 401–412. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.06.021