About

Dr. Terry L. Esper is a Professor of Logistics at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. His research focuses on strategic supply chain management, relationship management, customer service, online retail, leadership, and corporate culture, combining Logistics and Marketing concepts to explore how firms can leverage supply chain and logistics operations for competitive differentiation. Esper’s work has been published in top-tier academic journals and industry outlets, and he regularly shares his insights through academic conferences, symposiums, and media outlets such as Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, BBC World News, CNBC, and others. He has also delivered a TEDx Talk. Prior to his current position, Esper served as the Oren Harris Endowed Chair of Logistics and Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business, where he was also the Executive Director of the Walton College SCM Research Center. He has held faculty positions at the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business and has been actively engaged in global academic initiatives, including faculty roles at the University of Verona in Italy, and collaborations with Universidad Santa Maria de Antigua in Panama and ESSEC Business School in France. Esper is a Senior Editor for the Journal of Business Logistics and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Supply Chain Management. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and serves as Chair of the CSCMP Academic Strategies Committee. His industry engagement includes serving as an Educational Advisor for major pharmaceutical and personal care companies, and participating in executive education and corporate training for organizations such as Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Apple, and the US Department of Defense.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Business
• Marketing
• Sociology
• Process management
• Psychology
• Medicine
• Knowledge management
• Virology
• Industrial organization

Selected publications

• The Path Forward for the <i>Journal of Business Logistics</i>

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2025-08-16

  articleOpen access1st author

  As we begin a new chapter in the leadership of the Journal of Business Logistics (JBL), we have taken the time to listen and reflect. Thankfully, the previous editor teams, most recently Beth Davis-Sramek and Glenn Richey, are handing over the Journal in excellent shape. Submissions, acceptance rates, turnaround times, and impact factors all firmly place JBL among the small set of leading journals in the broader supply chain management space. We do not take this success for granted. In a world of AI, rising expectations for academic promotion and tenure, and dynamic global business challenges, emerging as a journal of choice is not an easy feat. To best serve our readers, authors, and engaged community members, JBL needs to continuously improve. To this end, we have spent considerable time reflecting on JBL's legacy and its role within the discipline. In addition, we sought the perspectives of a broad array of JBL stakeholders. This process has revealed both clarity and questions about who we are, what we value, and how to best lead JBL forward. In this editorial, we outline the principles, priorities, and expectations that will guide our editorship over the next 4 years. We particularly focus on three pillars: the Journal's identity, theoretical and methodological expectations, and guidelines to consider when authoring and reviewing research for JBL. While an exhaustive treatment of each issue is beyond the scope here, we think of this first editorial as a roadmap and conversation starter that will evolve as we continue to listen and engage with our community. JBL, as a premier supply chain journal, publishes high-quality empirical and conceptual research that shapes scholarly discourse, informs managerial practice, and in so doing engages a global audience. While some journals intentionally narrow their scope or privilege certain paradigms, JBL remains committed to a broad and inclusive view of global supply chain scholarship. We believe that strong research can come from any thought tradition, theoretical foundation, level of analysis, or method, as long as it advances the scholarly and practical understanding of how supply chains function and provide utility. We broadly view supply chain management as the intentional coordination of the tangible and intangible resources required to provide time, place, form, and possession utility to customers in efficient, effective, resilient, and sustainable ways. Accordingly, we publish work that advances our understanding of how organizations can source inputs, perform value-adding operational processes, and fulfill demand in a manner that enhances their performance, be it in operational, financial, environmental, or societal terms. The Journal's scope includes the full portfolio of supply chain activities that enable the provision of time, place, form, and possession utility to customers. Any submissions to the Journal should address specific activities, practices, or processes that facilitate the provision of one or more of these utilities in the context of physical goods or services. Regardless of discipline, a common goal of business research generally is to inform and understand performance improvements at the functional and organizational levels. In most cases, this involves investigating how changes in activities impact outcomes in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, resilience, and sustainability. What differentiates business scholarship across disciplines is what is being improved. In the case of supply chain management, the object of improvement is the provision of time, place, form, and possession utility. This is what anchors us and gives supply chain management a unique identity. Thus, we seek research that makes supply chains better by identifying ways and means to provide utility rather than research that focuses on performance improvement in any domain. To clarify, consider the following examples of performance-related research that are within scope and out of scope: These in-scope examples all share two key desirable features. First, their supply chain content is substantive, not incidental, and supports a ‘supply chain-forward’ positioning of the research. Second, their central constructs are clearly supply chain-related and linked to time, place, form, or possession utility. Most manuscripts that are suitable for JBL will make such contributions. Supply chain phenomena may be studied across multiple levels of analysis, from individuals and teams to organizations, networks, and ecosystems. JBL is open to all. We welcome research that explores decision-making by supply chain managers, coordination across functional units, relationships between firms, or performance across complex global systems. We also value the critical role consumers often play in shaping supply chain designs and operations. What matters is not the level of analysis; rather, it is the insight into providing utility. A study focused on individuals may be in scope if the focal constructs relate to topics like logistics decisions or sourcing practices. Similarly, network-level analyses are appropriate when they provide insight into coordination mechanisms, flow management, or structural trade-offs in supply chains. We recognize that some supply chain topics often intersect with potentially polarizing policy or societal debates. We welcome all supply chain research that is framed impartially, conducted transparently, and presented with scholarly integrity in an unbiased manner. Our goal is to foster respectful dialogue and evidence-based insights that can inform supply chain-related decisions. This is how JBL will continue to earn readers' and authors' trust across sectors, regions, and viewpoints. We believe that the most impactful research is that which both advances theory and informs management practice. JBL aims to be the preferred home for such high-quality work. In fact, JBL's differentiator and strength have been its dual mission of serving both scholarly inquiry and managerial decision making. The affiliation with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) underlines and reinforces this ambidextrous purpose. It provides us with a clear identity and a robust network of academic and practitioner contributors who are committed to research that informs theory and improves practice. We will work toward further strengthening JBL's reputation by continually developing the Journal into a platform for amplifying the impact of keen supply chain management insights. As business school stakeholders demand clearer returns on research investment, JBL will lean even further into our goal of publishing work grounded in real problems, with real data, offering real implications. We encourage authors to engage with industry partners and to communicate findings that supply chain professionals can use. We want relevant ideas that resonate with managers and impact their decision-making. To facilitate this goal and to help authors extend the reach of their work, we will disseminate research insights through CSCMP's channels, practitioner-facing outlets, social media, and podcast infrastructure in collaboration with CSCMP and Agile Media. As part of our efforts to ensure that JBL research resonates with industry, we will require authors of accepted manuscripts to submit a short executive summary for practitioners. This summary will highlight the core issue, the context, and the actionable insight. It will not explain methods or theory. It will be used to promote accepted research and bring JBL's findings to a wider audience in ways that more readily address industry problems and can more quickly affect change in practice. Just as supply chains are global, connecting economies, bridging cultures, and enabling commerce, JBL is a global journal. We invite high-quality submissions from around the world. We respect and appreciate different research traditions and strive to recruit and deploy review team members whose expertise and skill sets reflect such diversity. We welcome work that makes substantive contributions to theory and practice by examining particular geographic, institutional, and cultural differences that shape causal relationships of interest. In so doing, JBL will continue to engage and cater to the needs of a global audience. As an editorial team, we are committed to further expanding the Journal's global reach and community. Besides interesting and impactful research questions that are firmly positioned within the broader supply chain management space, all research published in JBL must be executed and presented in ways that maintain the reputation and integrity of the Journal. This requires that published research make compelling use of extant theory to frame and develop its contributions. Moreover, the research must uphold and, in some cases, advance methodological standards. Considering our desire to shape and lead academic discourse in the discipline as well as the practical visibility and impact of the work published in JBL, rigorous execution is paramount. While we strive for brevity in this editorial, we do find it necessary to state a few important perspectives regarding theory and methods. JBL is welcoming to all approaches of contributing to supply chain knowledge and theory. Thus, be it research that builds new frameworks inductively, uses empirical data to test or extend existing models, or applies theory to new contexts to identify boundary conditions, JBL is accepting provided that the theoretical grounding is clearly articulated and appropriately developed. Ultimately, the objective must be to contribute to a better understanding of supply chain phenomena. We ask that authors articulate their contributions clearly and explain how their findings add to extant SCM knowledge. As a primarily empirical journal, JBL welcomes quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and conceptual theory-building manuscripts. Likewise, we encourage methodological pluralism as a means of producing a richer and more nuanced understanding of supply chain phenomena. In all cases, key considerations are the alignment of the chosen method(s) with the research question, the theoretical framing, and the adherence to methodological standards and best practices. Such choices should be transparently explained and substantively justified. The primary question is whether the method—in conjunction with the theoretically grounded causal logic—serves to answer the research question in a meaningful and compelling manner. While methodological rigor and depth are important, methods are best thought of as the technical means that serve a conceptual end. Too often, we see manuscripts that use methodological complexity to mask a weak research question or insufficient insight. To put it lightly, this is akin to using “a methodological bazooka to kill a conceptual fly.” Rigor is essential, and we would never argue otherwise, but at JBL strong methods must serve to help answer strong, relevant questions and ensure that a study's findings are valid and believable. Unless the methods are the key contribution, we prefer research where methodological tactics are viewed and presented as one component of a multi-faceted research effort to inform theory and management practice. The integrity, efficiency, and quality of the research and review processes are paramount to the Journal's continued success. To this end, we articulate our thoughts on selected issues and key priorities below. As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in the research process, JBL will permit its responsible and transparent use. We view AI as a productivity tool, not a creative engine. It can help researchers improve the clarity, structure, formatting, or summation of their work, but it should not be used to generate core ideas, fabricate findings, or substitute for scholarly reasoning. We expect authors and reviewers to use AI judiciously, more like a spell-checker or outline assistant than a co-author or co-reviewer. Research should be driven by human curiosity, contextual understanding, and methodological rigor. While AI tools can enhance communication, they should never replace the foundational work of idea generation, data interpretation, or contribution framing. In this spirit, we encourage authors and reviewers to disclose how they have used AI in the research, writing, or evaluation process, particularly if its use could affect the interpretation or originality of the submission. As editors, we will continue to monitor evolving norms and adapt policies accordingly. Our aim is not to restrict tools, but to preserve the integrity of the scholarly process. We aim to strengthen the efficiency, effectiveness, and reliability of the review process. Our goal is to ensure an author experience that is timely and meaningful. To this end, we will streamline the workflows of the editorial desk, including a regularly cadenced review and reconciliation of manuscript assignments, multiple weekly status meetings, and proactive communication with review team members to facilitate the timely completion of their reports. Together we can create a culture of review that supports both rigor and relevance and helps grow ideas rather than simply guard the gate. To ensure this, we will systematically evaluate the performance of our editorial review team. We will provide timely developmental feedback as needed, recognize the efforts of outstanding reviewer contributions, and remove inactive or underperforming review board members when necessary. These steps will be supported by an ongoing reviewer recruitment and development effort, with a focus on expanding the geographic, topical, and methodological diversity of our reviewer pool. We hope the thoughts outlined above prompt additional discussion and meaningful dialogue with our stakeholders. Let us build the future of supply chain management together. To our authors, we invite your best work. To our reviewers, we thank you for upholding high standards with humility. To our readers and industry partners, we remain committed to publishing research that is relevant, rigorous, and resonates. To Beth, Glenn, and the many thought leaders and scholars who, in different ways and at different points in time, have contributed to the Journal's growth and success, we thank you for all your work and for passing the baton on to us. The road ahead will evolve, but we are committed to walking it with purpose, with partners, and with the passion this field deserves. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Where Does Insensitivity Lie? How IT Investment Decision Practices Shape Supply Chain Efficiency

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2025-01-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Hospitals are searching for ways to improve supply chain efficiency. Drawing on the success of supply chain digitization in other industries, hospitals have increased their efforts to digitize supply chain operations via investments in IT to address pain points associated with supply disruptions and rising costs, including supply costs that account for more than 40% of operating expenses. Prior research fails to consider how IT investment decisions are justified concerning their impact on supply chain performance when the decision‐maker sits outside the supply chain function. We draw on the Practice‐Based Theory to explain how IT investment decision practices affect hospital supply chain efficiency (SCE). We use matched survey responses from hospital CIOs and IT managers and secondary data to examine the direct and indirect effects of various IT investment justification practices on SCE. We also investigate the role of moderated mediation effects. Leveraging PBT, we establish a different type of organizational practice in the supply chain management and logistics literature: IT investment justification practices. We extend the PBT and empirically challenge the implicit assumption that supply chain performance is not sensitive to IT investment decisions. Further, we demonstrate which IT investment justification practice is more beneficial to supply chain efficiency.

  PublisherDOI

• “Theory will take you only so far” (Nolan, 2023): In search of greater insight through quantitative, observation‐based research

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2024-05-15 · 13 citations

  articleSenior author

  Abstract Theories developed for understanding the general management or economic phenomena are increasingly ineffective for explaining logistics/SCM‐specific phenomena, despite the best efforts of LSCM researchers to utilize them for those purposes. Unfortunately, the hierarchies and infrastructure in place to ensure LSCM research is theoretically grounded and conducted with scholarly rigor have not advanced to a point where the use of alternative methods to explore such questions is common. The key objective of this paper is to guide where empirical LSCM research could evolve if it took its relationship with theory a step further. Our thesis is that inductive research using empirical data can yield additional insightful answers to relevant questions. We hope that discussion of these topics from a 2024 perspective can spur more research that uses empirical analysis as a starting point to create new theory in LSCM and, importantly, to persuade members working in our field to respect and accept rigorous empirical research conducted outside the traditional deductive, logical positivist paradigm.

  PublisherDOI

• Reconceptualizing E‐Logistics Service Quality (E‐LSQ) in Emerging Contexts: The Case of Crowdsourced Delivery

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2024-11-25 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT E‐logistics service quality (e‐LSQ) has been one of the primary constructs used in the logistics literature to capture customers' appraisals of delivery service performance in the business‐to‐consumer (B2C) context. While e‐LSQ comprises key operational aspects of delivery performance, we posit that it overlooks other elements that are now present in emerging delivery models, such as crowdsourced delivery (CD). In this study, we follow a middle‐range theory approach to capture the facets of delivery performance that are considered by customers in their assessments of e‐LSQ during CD encounters. Using a large dataset consisting of customers' reviews of their delivery service experiences with Amazon Prime Now prior to and post‐CD incorporation, we find that customers value a more nuanced operational dimension as well as relational and societal dimensions in their assessments of the delivery service. The findings of our qualitative analyses enrich the current understanding of customers' appraisals of delivery service encounters and lay the groundwork for reassessing e‐LSQ, particularly in light of emerging delivery models like CD in online retailing.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Transformative supply chain research: A new frontier for <scp>SCM</scp> scholars

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2024-06-26 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract This special topic forum (STF) on Transformative Supply Chain Research introduces a new direction in logistics and supply chain research to guide scholars in addressing the wicked problems facing 21st century society. Supply chain professionals are increasingly addressing corporate social responsibility, changing expectations from customers, resource scarcity, a changing climate, civic and political unrest, to name but a few issues of our times. But scholars have only begun to address these issues from a transformative lens, in which we consider the role of logistics and supply chain management in creating well‐being outcomes for the benefit of society. This editorial presents a 5‐pronged research agenda to guide researchers, while highlighting the three articles in this STF that serve as exemplars of transformative supply chain research.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Crowdsourced delivery and customer assessments of<scp>e‐Logistics</scp>Service Quality: An appraisal theory perspective

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2023 · 40 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Business
  • Marketing

  Abstract Thanks to increased technological advancements, retailers have progressively incorporated crowdsourcing into their delivery service portfolios to offer customers an enhanced last‐mile delivery experience. Yet, while studies have explored the unique operational attributes of the crowdsourced delivery (CD) model in online retailing, the literature remains scant on how customers respond to the usage of this emerging delivery service. Building on the cognitive appraisal theory and e‐Logistics Service Quality (e‐LSQ) literatures, this study applies middle‐range theorizing to examine differences between customers' appraisals of e‐LSQ dimensions of CD and traditional delivery methods, and what types of products being delivered make such differences more pronounced. Our analysis of a large sample of customers' reviews across multiple retailers reveals that customers exhibit higher appraisal levels of timeliness, price, and reliability of delivery services when CD is used. Results also indicate that appraisals are more pronounced for timeliness and price of deliveries of high‐turnover products that require minimal time and effort to purchase. Our findings, as such, underscore the power of CD as a tool to enhance customer experience and unveil potential opportunities for effective CD use in customer segmentation strategies.

  PublisherDOI

• In artificial intelligence (AI) we trust: A qualitative investigation of AI technology acceptance

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2022 · 141 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Knowledge management
  • Sociology

  Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) applications are increasingly used to support supply chain management (SCM) activities. However, industry reports and recent research indicate difficulty in implementing AI solutions. This study explores the role of organizational factors in reconciling the differences between the potential SCM benefits of AI and its actual acceptance and use. We apply thematic analysis techniques to explore the marketing materials used by vendors of AI‐enabled software and interviews with organization leaders that have experience with the deployment of AI‐based technologies. The emergent model from our data analysis highlights organizational tactics often used to emphasize AI trustworthiness. Our findings suggest several tactics that could be used to convey that AI is a trustworthy technology. We build on the thematic model to situate the findings as offering theoretical extensions to the “social influence” aspect of UTAUT; and develop a robust call for research related to the effects of AI trustworthiness on internal, upstream, and downstream activities in the supply chain. The results contribute to academic conversations related to the acceptance and use of technology and the growing digitalization of supply chains. We outline managerial implications regarding the role of AI trustworthiness in AI use for managing SCM.

  PublisherDOI

• Designing technology for on‐demand delivery: The effect of customer tipping on crowdsourced driver behavior and last mile performance

  Journal of Operations Management · 2022 · 48 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Business
  • Marketing

  Abstract Crowdsourcing technology platforms specializing in on‐demand last mile delivery face a novel problem—heightened agent independence increases uncertainty in last mile delivery and has the potential to undermine operational performance. Uncertainty emanates from drivers' competing interests, or opportunity costs. Rather than increase remuneration, some platforms have designed the technology to allow customers to tip, but the subsequent effects on driver behavior and last mile performance have not yet been studied. We explore this feature of on‐demand delivery technology design—customer tipping—and its implications for crowdsourced delivery performance. Using netnography and secondary data sources, we empirically ground an adaptive, multi‐agent hybrid simulation to propose how customer tipping impacts service performance through context‐contingent driver behavior. Our results generally indicate that tipping as a technology design feature mitigates uncertainty in the crowdsourced delivery fleet and reduces fulfillment times and unit delivery costs. We also find evidence suggesting that the impact of tipping on driver behavior is geography‐contingent, with tipping having unexpectedly detrimental effects in high population density areas relative to low‐density areas. We conclude by making a series of theoretical propositions and managerial implications about designing technology to facilitate crowdsourced delivery.

  PublisherDOI

• Appealing to the Crowd: Motivation Message Framing and Crowdsourcing Performance in Retail Operations

  Production and Operations Management · 2021-03-29 · 26 citations

  article

  For the execution of many supply chain operations tasks, firms are increasingly engaging in crowdsourcing—the act of dynamically delegating work via digital channels to for‐hire individuals intermittently available in the marketplace (also called “the crowd”). The success of this practice hinges on the ability to efficiently attract workers who produce quality work from among the crowd. We draw on the foundations of Self‐Determination Theory and the heuristic‐systematic model to examine the ways that variations in messages presented to crowdsourced agents can serve as a mechanism to enhance participation and associated performance outcomes. Data from a field experiment involving a retail inventory audit task reveal that messages appealing to the crowd's consumer identity, as opposed to crowdsourcing platform identification or firm identification, generally lead to superior performance outcomes, particularly shorter reservation time, higher task quality approval, and post‐task satisfaction. However, these effects are contingent on the valence of the message frame and the nature of the task. These findings shed light on elements critical to the successful utilization of this new type of crowdsourced “employment” in supply chain and operations tasks and suggest the careful crafting of crowdsourced task messages as a low‐cost way for managers to improve task performance outcomes.

  PublisherDOI

• Retail "Save the Sale" tactics: Consumer perceptions of in‐store logistics service recovery

  Journal of Business Logistics · 2021-10-31 · 41 citations

  article

  Abstract To prevent customers from leaving stores empty‐handed when encountering a stockout, retailers increasingly leverage their inventory visibility and order fulfillment capabilities to implement “save the sale” tactics. Retailers have several logistics service options available in designing “save the sale” stockout recovery initiatives: “buy at store—ship from (different) store” and the “buy at store—ship from DC,” leading to different order fulfillment speeds. In addition, there is the home delivery approach, which is generally more convenient to customers than the option of store delivery for customer pick‐up. In this paper, we explore how customers evaluate and respond to varying elements of these “save the sale” stockout recovery services when experiencing an in‐store stockout. Building on justice theory and literatures on service recovery and impression formation, we develop a series of four experiments. We explain and provide empirical evidence for (1) why and how customers assess specific stockout service recovery dimensions (i.e., order fulfillment speed and delivery location) as more just, (2) how customers appraise the justice of these bundled stockout recovery dimensions, (3) how purchase involvement and monetary offers impact these perceptions, and (4) how justice perceptions and stockout recoveries impact the likelihood of “saving the sale.”

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Theodore P. Stank

  Knoxville College

  21 shared

• Ha Ta

  Florida International University

  10 shared

• Anníbal C. Sodero

  Fisher College

  9 shared

• Simone T. Peinkofer

  Michigan State University

  8 shared

• Beth Davis‐Sramek

  Auburn University

  7 shared

• Rodney W. Thomas

  University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

  7 shared

• Adriana Rossiter Hofer

  7 shared

• C. Clifford Defee

  Texas Christian University

  7 shared

Awards & honors

• Oren Harris Endowed Chair of Logistics
• CSCMP Board of Directors
• Chair of the CSCMP Academic Strategies Committee