What did we do, who did it and did it matter? A review of fifteen volumes of the (European) Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management

This paper analyses the origins, contents and impact of the 351 articles published in the (European) Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, from the start in 1994 until the end of 2009. The analysis finds that authorship of (E)JPSM articles is spread over a relatively large group of authors who increasingly co-author manuscripts, and who predominantly come from university institutions in Great Britain, the United States and the Netherlands. The analysis of the content and impact of the journal results in three important findings. First of all, the journal has been consistently following a stable strategy of focusing on the strategic aspects of Purchasing and Supply Management. Second, the journal is clearly positioned as a multi-disciplinary journal with ties not only to Operations Management but also to the Marketing discipline. Thirdly, the journal has been publishing a stable and balanced mix of (empirical) studies using predominantly small-scale and large-scale data collection methods. Arguably, this combination continues to provide a unique profile compared to other journals in the field of Purchasing and Supply Management and the article closes with some specific recommendation how to further leverage this potential.