Linking sustainability-oriented innovation to supply chain relationship integration

Abstract

Sustainable strategies applied in the context of supply chain management are receiving increasing attention from practitioners and researchers. In this regard, innovation in products, organizational structures, and business methods can be the key to achieving economic, social, and environmental outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how sustainable-oriented innovations (SOI) can influence inter-organizational relationships in sustainable supply chain management. The research is based on two case studies of Brazilian focal companies (Braskem and Mercur) and their respective suppliers and customers. We have identified different realities regarding operational aspects, supply chain structure, and the strategic orientation for sustainability. The cases outlined provide in-depth insights into the forms of SOI, i.e. product and organizational innovations. A practical implication includes the illustration of how the sustainability innovations allow the reaping of positive effects to businesses along the supply chain. Collaborative relationships with suppliers and buyers can be seen as a source of learning, development of new technology processes, and information acquisition. We position our research within the realm of sustainable SCM as a contribution to the increasingly discussed relationship dimensions and present links to the sustainable innovation literature, which is rarely amalgamated with the SCM discipline. This establishes a more concrete connection, where further research at this intersection would be required.