This funding model includes a 36 month fully funded PhD Studentship, in-line with the Research Council values, which comprises a tax-free stipend paid monthly (2024/5 - £19,237) per year and a Full Time Fee Scholarship for up to 3 years, subject to you making satisfactory progression within your PhD.
All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status.
Application Closing Date:
23:59 on Tuesday 30th April 2024 for a start date of the 2nd September 2024.
How to Apply
To apply, please complete the project proposal form, ensuring that you quote the project reference, and then complete the online application where you will be required to upload your proposal in place of a personal statement as a pdf document.
You will also be required to upload two references, at least one being an academic reference, and your qualification/s of entry (Bachelor/Masters certificate/s and transcript/s).
Project Title: Design and Development of a Tool for the Assessment of Sustainable Performance for the Logistics Services in FMCG Ecommerce Supply Chains in Developing Nations
Project Lead: Dr Narain Gupta narain.gupta@bcu.ac.uk
Reference: PAFMCG
Project Description
This research proposal is about sustainable development and performance investigation in FMCG, and eCommerce supply chains in developing nations is a subject which demands immediate attention. The topic is relevant and will remain relevant for about next 10 years because there is heavy investments in infrastructure development by the local governments in developing nations with foresighted growth in FMCG and services sectors.
The industry 5.0 is the key vehicle to drive the triple bottom line performance and align with the UN sustainable goals (Varriale et al., 2023). There is a pressure on supply chain firms to comply to social and environmental norms beyond their economic interests. Scholars are researching to find and document the success evidence of sustainable development and economic performance where the industry 4.0 and industry 5.0 can co-exist (Atif, 2023).
In developed national in comparison to the developing nations multi-stakeholder supply chains, where the customers are sensitive to the social and environmental implications, it becomes easy to adopt and drive the industry 5.0 for the other stakeholders such as suppliers, manufacturers, logistics service providers, investors, and the top management of the firms (Choi et al., 2022; Freeman et al., 2020).
It is important to go to the ground zero, and meet the users, experts, and experience the real situation before documenting the research and knowledge, and this effort required engagement, and funding for a focused effort.
The study aims to uncover critical factors driving the growth of the logistics sector, with a particular focus on unorganized suppliers operating within FMCG/eCommerce supply chains in developing nations. By identifying these antecedents, the research intends to provide valuable insights for stakeholders and policymakers seeking to support and optimize the growth trajectory of this sector in such regions.
Anticipated Findings and Contribution to Knowledge
The scholar is expected to document the successful evidence of sustainable development and economic performance where Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 can co-exist (Atif, 2023). This PhD by research will bring significant value to BCU through branding in developing nations such as Asian, publications, future funding, and more scholarly research.
The research will develop a systematic review of the literature on the logistics sector in the Asian subcontinent to document the knowledge generated by the scholar in the last decade and find the key research questions that this research and future scholars may delve into.
The thesis will develop a rigorous conceptual model backed by a review of the literature and subject experts' views, which will unfold the structural relations among the key constructs of the FMCG/eCommerce suppliers.
The research will unfold the key antecedents to the growth of the logistics sector and its unorganized suppliers operating in the FMCG/eCommerce supply chains in developing nations.
The research will extend the extant literature on the allied theories of the field, namely dynamic capability view, signalling theory, and stakeholder theory in the context of logistics and supply chain in emerging economies.
The research will trigger the scholarly and practitioners' debate for due attention to the field and help improve upon the inherent inefficiencies that exist in the operations and supply chains of the field among unorganized suppliers in the Asian subcontinent.