Affiliations: College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: David L. Olson, James & H.K. Stuart Professor, College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0491, USA. Tel.: +1 402 472 4521; Fax: +1 402 472 5855; E-mail: dolson3@unl.edu.
Abstract: Supply chains have been proposed as complex adaptive systems. This paper looks at the global aluminum supply chain network in those terms. Developments in this industry have included formation of a cartel by bauxite producing countries, emergence of Australia as a leading producer, the collapse of communism in Europe, and the rise of Chinese production in all phases of primary aluminum production. Complex adaptive systems literature is reviewed, and the world aluminum production system described. This includes identification of system elements, their relationships, interactions, and developments. Analysis in terms of how this production system exhibits complex adaptive systemic behavior across the supply chain is provided. The decentralized behavior of the overall primary aluminum system provides understanding of how individual agents, be they multinational firms, individual governments, or cartels are unable to totally control the system in the long run.
Keywords: Supply chains, complex adaptive systems, primary aluminum, global systems
