An integrated GRA-DEMATEL-ANP framework for evaluation of barriers to implementation of green supply chain management in manufacturing industries

Abstract

Nowadays, green systems and technology have received much attention due to the increased concerns about environmental issues. However, companies have faced various barriers in its implementation. Thus, proper identification and evaluation of these barriers is necessary to achieve effective results. In this paper, an integrated framework based on grey relational analysis (GRA), DEMATEL and analytic network process (ANP) methods is proposed to identify and evaluate the barriers to green supply chain management (GSCM) implementation in manufacturing industries. Drawing upon an extensive literature review, a reference framework of the GSCM barriers is developed consisting of two main groups, namely internal and external barriers. GRA is used to deal with ambiguity in experts' assessments. Also, the interactions and cause-effect relationships among the GSCM barriers are evaluated using DEMATEL. The relative importance of the barriers is then identified by integrating results of DEMATEL and ANP. The proposed framework is implemented in a case study of an auto manufacturing company. The results show that, by taking interrelationships of the barriers into consideration, the factors related to customer and market and business partners as well as social and managerial factors are the most important barriers to effective implementation of GSCM initiatives in the case company.