Kunz, Nathan

2011, Kunz, Nathan, Reiner, Gerald, Sucky, E., Asdecker, B., Dobhan, A., Haas, S., Wiese, J.

Humanitarian logistics is a critical element of a successful relief operation, as it focuses on effective management of flows of persons, goods and information during and after a disaster. This field has been extensively studied so far, especially during the last three years. Although four literature reviews have been published on this topic up to now, they all focused on papers written between 1980 and 2008. Over 20 papers on this topic have been published since then; therefore our literature review gives an up-to-date insight on most recent publications. By using qualitative content analysis, we try to determine the main managerial problems studied until now, the major findings as well as proposed further research. We categorize the existing literature according to several attributes, such as topic, type and stage of disaster, methodology of the research, etc. We present the major findings from the existing literature, as well as the recommended steps for further research. Finally, we identify gaps between further research mentioned in the literature and the results of our content analysis. We find, for example that more attention should be given to slow onset, man-made disasters, as well as to the reconstruction phase following disasters. We also find that case studies and surveys should be used more in order to increase the empirical knowledge in the field.

2013-7-9, Gold, Stefan, Kunz, Nathan

2014-5-11, Kunz, Nathan

Through a multiple case study with four relief organizations, we analyze the impact of import barriers on humanitarian logistics. We find that these barriers negatively impact relief operations during the response phase, but may turn positive in the rehabilitation phase. This knowledge may help relief organizations improving their preparedness efforts.

2012-6-8, Gold, Stefan, Kunz, Nathan, Akwen, Patience, Reiner, Gerald

Drawing on academic literature concerning supply chain management and, more specifically, (global) agrifood chains, the extant paper proposes a conceptualization of factors of supply chain design and operations as well as effective governance mechanisms that facilitate holistic performance of agrifood supply chains. Furthermore, tradeoffs that probably emerge when aiming at comprehensive multi-dimensional performance are attributed to different supply chain strategy types. Asking why businesses and supply chains still postpone integration of sustainability and other non-financial performance measures into global agrifood supply chains, we point out that these measures represent in fact credence attributes not to be verified by the (final) consumer. This implies the propensity of businesses to engage both in hidden action concerning actual supply chain/operations management and conspicuous public relations. From these considerations we derive some research propositions to be tested in follow-up empirical and modeling/simulation research on global food supply chains.

2014, Kunz, Nathan, Reiner, Gerald

2014-6-23, Schwab, Leila, Gold, Stefan, Kunz, Nathan, Reiner, Gerald

The research aims at (1) exploring new theory at the interface of business growth and sustainable development while (2) providing managerial implications for growing firms. For this end, we propose typologies of decisions to be considered by growing firms; by means of a longitudinal case study of a Swiss family-owned SME wood construction company (that is in a process of intense growth), we identify, visually represent and analyze the sequences of selected managerial decisions. The empirical analysis and theory development pave novel ways for research and companies towards sustainable business growth.

2013-9-11, Kunz, Nathan, Kunz, Christian

2003-12-1, Kunz, Nathan

2012-2-24, Kunz, Nathan, Reiner, Gerald, Grubbström, Robert, Hinterhuber, Hans

Humanitarian supply chains aim to deliver food and medicines to victims of natural or man-made disasters. Through a multiple case study research among four Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), we analyze the impact of import barriers imposed by governments on humanitarian supply chains. We find that, in the short term, import barriers have negative impacts on the performance of humanitarian logistics operations, and in the end, on beneficiaries, because they can create important delays and additional costs. However, we also find that in the long term, these barriers can have positive effects on the sustainability of humanitarian aid and the country’s economy, as they encourage NGOs to increase their local sourcing.

2013-6-11, Kunz, Nathan, Reiner, Gerald

Response to catastrophic disasters often requires external assistance from international relief organizations. Literature and empirical evidence show that governments do not always welcome this assistance. Based on a multiple case study conducted among four relief organizations, we identify governmental restrictions imposed on humanitarian relief supply chains in different countries. We analyze the dependency between government characteristic and the level of restrictions. We find that the more fragile a government is, the more restrictions it imposes on relief organizations. This knowledge helps relief organizations to prepare adequately before entering a new country, by anticipating concerns and establishing trust with the government.