Labor Flows in Supply Chains: A Review of the Literature and Future Research Opportunities

ABSTRACT Like the flows of materials, information, and finance, labor is a critical resource that flows into and out of organizations in supply chains. However, labor is a unique supply chain flow, and this research distinguishes it from other supply chain flows by identifying and describing its distinct attributes: agency, individuality, and a decentralized managerial process. Following recent calls to foreground the study of people in the supply chain management (SCM) discipline, this literature review synthesizes the current body of knowledge through an in‐depth analysis of 80 relevant articles published in top SCM journals. A conceptual framework is proposed that leverages supply chain strategic, operational, and value‐enabling perspectives to manage labor flows. An actionable future research agenda is then unveiled that investigates labor flows from an SCM perspective and highlights labor's unique attributes, moving this important flow to the forefront of the SCM domain.