Supply chain leadership refers to the ability of a focal firm to influence the behavior and performance of its upstream suppliers and downstream customers and thus achieve mutual supply chain objectives. Supply chain leadership integrates the classic leadership theory and supply chain management and belongs to the new interdisciplinary research direction. In recent years, supply chain leadership plays an increasingly important role in supply chain management and has gradually become one of the hottest research topics. Yet domestic research on this field is still limited and there is little systematic research on supply chain leadership in China. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically review and synthesize the current academic literature in this emerging field, and thus guide related research and policies in the Chinese context.

This study comprehensively reviews and summarizes previous research on supply chain leadership, unveiling research gaps and discussing the future research agenda. First, our study systematically clarifies the concepts of supply chain leadership by summarizing the development of its definition and comparing different definitions both at home and abroad. Second, this study declares the theory lenses of supply chain leadership, including leadership theory, upper echelons theory, institutional theory, social exchange theory, and so on. Third, we tease the dimensions and measurements of supply chain leadership from the perspective of different supply chain leadership styles. The typical supply chain leadership styles include transformational leadership, transactional leadership, participative leadership, directive leadership, and integrative leadership. Fourth, we review extant research and create a research framework including antecedents, outcomes, mediations, and moderations of supply chain leadership. Our study finds that the discussion of supply chain leadership’s outcomes mainly focuses on four aspects: supply chain performance, supply chain activity, supply chain relationship, and sustainability. Last, our study summarizes the strategic significance of supply chain leadership research to the economic development of China.

Based on the above analysis, this study puts forward several future research directions: First, future research needs to deepen theoretical connotations from various theoretical perspectives. Second, future studies should develop reliable and mature scales, and combine the Chinese context to explore scales that represent Chinese cultural characteristics. Third, scholars are suggested to expand both the depth and breadth of mechanism research. For instance, scholars can examine the mechanisms of supply chain leadership from a holistic perspective or compare the different impacts of supply chain leadership styles. Last, future studies are suggested to be combined with industry or other discipline research, and thus guide futuret research on supply chain leadership in China.