A Research Agenda for Humanitarian Logistics by Altay, Nezih; Kovács, Gyöngyi;

Short description:

This timely Research Agenda explores humanitarian logistics as an academic discipline in the wake of major disasters and conflicts worldwide. It establishes new methods of approach and extends the discussion to include recent developments since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long description:

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.

This timely Research Agenda explores humanitarian logistics as an academic discipline in the wake of major disasters and conflicts worldwide. It establishes new methods of approach and extends the discussion to include recent developments since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Focusing on previously underexplored areas, this Research Agenda presents a provocative exploration of supply chains for humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and complex emergencies, as well as necessary structural changes. Expert academics and practitioners in the field provide an overview of trends and developments and grant a comprehensive coverage of humanitarian operations. They evaluate the importance of NGOs and nonprofit international actors, while assessing the connection to commercial logistics in practical management. Chapters look ahead to important avenues of study, particularly the need for robustness of humanitarian aid infrastructures in the face of increased impacts from conflict and unpredictable weather events.

Academics and students in humanitarian operations, logistics, supply chain management as well as political science, international relations, and business studies will greatly benefit from this Research Agenda’s invaluable insights. It is also a crucial resource for humanitarian professionals and policymakers.

Table of Contents:

Contents
1 Introduction, trends and developments 1
Nezih Altay and Gyöngyi Kovács
2 The paradoxes of delivering aid in complex emergencies 11
Russell Harpring and Amin Maghsoudi
3 Civil-military coordination 37
Per Skoglund and Graham Heaslip
4 Beneficiary-centric approaches in humanitarian operations 51
Telesilla Kotsi and John Lowrey
5 Refugee logistics: Camps and beyond 69
Feyza Sahinyazan
6 The climate crisis and humanitarian logistics 89
Minchul Sohn and Saeyeon Roh
7 Cash interventions 109
Wojciech D. Piotrowicz and Sarah Schiffling
8 Digitalisation of the humanitarian sector 129
Rameshwar Dubey
9 Corporate social responsibility and the role of the
commercial sector in humanitarian logistics 147
Ruth Banomyong
10 Coordination among humanitarian actors 169
Iman Parsa, Bublu Thakur-Weigold and Luk Van Wassenhove
11 Localization of aid 185
Lina Frennesson and Eric James
12 The interface of sustainability and humanitarian operations 205
Matthias Klumpp
13 Exploring procurement from a humanitarian perspective 217
Jihee Kim
14 medical aid logistics 239
Gyöngyi Kovács and Abdelsalam Adam Hamid
15 Setting a research agenda for humanitarian logistics 251
Gyöngyi Kovács, Nezih Altay and Luk Van Wassenhove