Pragmaticality of Hi-Tech Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Organic Agri-Startups: The Role of Sustainable Supply Chains

PurposeThis paper, a pathway, aims to provide research guidance for investigating sustainability in supply chains in a post-COVID-19 environment.Design/methodology/approachPublished literature, personal research experience, insights from virtual open forums and practitioner interviews inform this study.FindingsCOVID-19 pandemic events and responses are unprecedented to modern operations and supply chains. Scholars and practitioners seek to make sense of how this event will make us revisit basic scholarly notions and ontology. Sustainability implications exist. Short-term environmental sustainability gains occur, while long-term effects are still uncertain and require research. Sustainability and resilience are complements and jointly require investigation.Research limitations/implicationsThe COVID-19 crisis is emerging and evolving. It is not clear whether short-term changes and responses will result in a new “normal.” Adjustment to current theories or new theoretical developments may be necessary. This pathway article only starts the conservation – many additional sustainability issues do arise and cannot be covered in one essay.Practical implicationsOrganizations have faced a major shock during this crisis. Environmental sustainability practices can help organizations manage in this and future competitive contexts.Social implicationsBroad economic, operational, social and ecological-environmental sustainability implications are included – although the focus is on environmental sustainability. Emergent organizational, consumer, policy and supply chain behaviors are identified.Originality/valueThe authors take an operations and supply chain environmental sustainability perspective to COVID-19 pandemic implications; with sustainable representing the triple bottom-line dimensions of environmental, social and economic sustainability; with a special focus on environmental sustainability. Substantial open questions for investigation are identified. This paper sets the stage for research requiring rethinking of some previous tenets and ontologies.

Seafood supply chain networks (SSCNs) are complex socio-ecological systems that are essential to global food security, livelihoods, and trade. With these networks being increasingly threatened by climate change, geopolitical tensions, and market disturbances, it becomes imperative to build their resilience and sustainability. The present research was conducted to examine strategic supply chain management practices that would enhance resilience and sustainability simultaneously in SSCNs by balancing economic viability with environmental sustainability. Using a mixed-method design, information was gathered from 250 stakeholders at different stages of the seafood supply chain using interviews, focus groups, and structured questionnaires, with additional secondary data in the form of industry reports and literature. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression modelling were applied to examine the relationship between supply chain strategies and resilience/sustainability outcomes. The research indicated that both economic and environmental sustainability have a positive impact on supply chain resilience, with businesses focusing on contingency planning, coordination, and green sourcing strategies. Regression analysis reaffirmed the statistical significance of the effect of economic and environmental sustainability on resilience (p < 0.05), pointing out the value of combined approaches. The research emphasizes that strengthening SSCNs demands strategies that weigh economic performance against environmental responsibility, promoting collaboration, information exchange, and diversity in operations. The present research adds to the gaps in the literature by providing empirical evidence on how strategic supply chain practices can avoid disruptions and secure equitable, adaptive, and sustainable seafood supply chains despite global challenges.

Improving the environmental sustainability of the food supply chain will help to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This environmental sustainability is related to different SDGs, but mainly to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The strategies and measures used to improve this aspect of the food supply chain must remain in balance with other sustainability aspects (economic and social). In this framework, the interactions and possible conflicts between food supply chain safety and sustainability need to be assessed. Although priority must be given to safety aspects, food safety policies should be calibrated in order to avoid unnecessary deleterious effects on the environment. In the present review, a number of potential tensions and/or disagreements between the microbial safety and environmental sustainability of the fresh produce supply chain are identified and discussed. The addressed issues are spread throughout the food supply chain, from primary production to the end-of-life of the products, and also include the handling and processing industry, retailers, and consumers. Interactions of fresh produce microbial safety with topics such as food waste, supply chain structure, climate change, and use of resources have been covered. Finally, approaches and strategies that will prove useful to solve or mitigate the potential contradictions between fresh produce safety and sustainability are described and discussed. Upon analyzing the interplay between microbial safety and the environmental sustainability of the fresh produce supply chain, it becomes clear that decisions that are taken to ensure fresh produce safety must consider the possible effects on environmental, economic, and social sustainability aspects. To manage these interactions, a global approach considering the interconnections between human activities, animals, and the environment will be required.

Supply chain sustainability has become significantly important in the fashion industry, and more and more fashion brands have invested in developing sustainable supply chains. We note that dual channel system comprising a brand-owned direct channel and retail outsourcing channel is quite common in the fashion industry, and in the latter, buy-back contract is popular between brands and retailers. Therefore, we build a stylized dual channel model with price competition and demand uncertainty to characterize the main properties of a fashion supply chain. Our foci are the sustainability analysis and the channel coordination mechanism. We first design a buy-back contract with return cost to coordinate the channel. We then study supply chain sustainability and examine the effect of two key influencing factors, i.e., price competition and demand uncertainty. Interestingly, we find that a fiercer price competition will lead to a more sustainable supply chain. From the perspective of supply chain managers, we conclude that (1) if managers care about environmental sustainability, fierce price competition is not a suggested strategy; (2) if managers care about economic sustainability, fierce price competition is an advantageous strategy. We also find that high demand uncertainty results in a less sustainable supply chain, in both an environmental and economic sustainability sense.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an up-to-date and structured insight into the literature published during the past decade on sustainable green supply chain management. It also suggests trends for future research based on the research issues identified through systematic and comprehensive analysis of previous studies in the area of green and sustainable supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachA state-of-the-art literature review is carried out by systematically collecting the existing literature over a period of 10 years (2005-2014) and categorizing it on the basis of attributes such as stages in supply chain, methodology and the industries/sectors under consideration. The classification of literature is also done according to the geographic region and year of publication.FindingsThere has been an increased interest among researchers and practitioners in the area of sustainable green supply chain management in the past decade. A need for achieving sustainability through adoption of greener practices has been universally felt, owing to an increasing environmental and ecological complexity. The review reveals that there exists a need to address behavioural issues like human resource management and supply chain partner relationship management. Moreover, reverse logistics, closed-loop supply chain management and waste management are areas that need special focus to achieve environmental sustainability.Research limitations/implicationsThe current review focuses on research trends in the past 10 years only. Moreover, papers from only good quality, peer-reviewed journals are considered in the study.Originality/valueMost of the previous reviews have either focused on specific issues related to sustainable supply chains only or green supply chains. The present study collectively takes into consideration papers both from green supply chain management as well as from sustainable supply chain literature that have a prime focus on environmental sustainability.

Supply chains are interconnected, globally distributed, and complex systems that significantly impact the environment and human civilization. Achieving environmental sustainability in supply chains is a grand challenge that requires collaboration and innovation among multiple stakeholders. In this study, we combine the natural‐resource‐based view and the stakeholder‐resource‐based view (SRBV) to examine how organizational strategic agility can foster collaborative environmental innovation and enhance environmental sustainability in supply chains. We use data from 758 managers from 185 firms in Turkey, an emerging economy context. We find that organizational strategic agility, enabled by organic organizational structures and regional innovation initiatives, leads to more collaborative environmental innovation with supply partners and higher environmental sustainability performance. Our study contributes to the literature on grand challenges, organizational strategic agility, and innovation management by showing how for‐profit firms can leverage their strategic agility to address the grand challenge of environmental sustainability in supply chains. We also find two interventions to promote this form of environmental innovation: developing organizational strategic agility and organic structures within firms and involvement in regional innovation initiatives to stimulate collaborative innovation for environmental sustainability among supply partners.

The North American Third-Party Logistics Industry in 2011: The Provider CEO Perspective

The paper demonstrates the need to consider different sustainability aspects in supply chain redesign and optimization problems. To this end a simulation model of local pharmaceutical business retail is presented as application example. Three different sustainability aspects are considered (technical sustainability, economic sustainability and environmental sustainability) when investigating two different problems: the addition of new pharmacies to the supply chain and optimization of the supply chain routes. The main goals are to understand how new potential customers can be added to the supply chain while reducing the negative impact on the customers’ satisfaction level (technical sustainability), how to optimize the routes followed by each transportation vector (technical, economic and environmental sustainability) and how to compare different solutions in terms of truck fleets in order to reduce CO2 emissions (environmental and economic sustainability).

Big Data Analytics (BDA) is increasingly gaining interest in supply chain management due to the incorporation of digital technology in a range of operations. It facilitates the movement of commodities and data efficiently. However, despite the numerous benefits associated with BDA, there has been limited research on the extent to which BDA can improve environmental sustainability in supply chains. In an attempt to assess the depth of our knowledge, this study undertakes a bibliometric analysis in which 155 relevant articles are retrieved. The assessment discloses the various factors driving, limiting, and stimulating the adoption of BDA in the digital supply chain through analysis and discussion. Additionally, it suggests a framework linking the factors to achieve environmental sustainability. The outcomes of the evaluation indicate that the adoption of BDA could help in realizing an eco-friendly supply chain by reducing the carbon footprint, increasing product life cycles, minimizing the cost of transportation, and reducing transport-related emissions. This research suggests that policymakers should support BDA technology adoption for the reasons identified - it assists in boosting innovation and resilience in the increasingly competitive, ever changing market and the chaotic economic conditions of some industries. Many decisions made regarding environmental sustainability call for policies that will encourage BDA use to address climate, resources, energy management and sustainability factors. • The study examines how Big Data Analytics (BDA) can improve environmental sustainability in supply chains • The review discloses the various factors driving, limiting, and stimulating the adoption of BDA in the digital supply chain • This study suggests a framework to achieve environmental sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint, minimizing the cost of transportation, and emissions • The findings call for policies that will ensure BDA adoption to address climate, resource and energy management, and sustainability

Purpose Drawing on extensive extant literature on supply chain management, this study develops a research model relating digital supply chain, environmental sustainability and supply chain resilience. To date, there has been agreement about the impact of digitalization on supply chain resilience. This paper seeks to test the research model by using the quantitative method. We consider digital supply chains and environmental sustainability as two advantageous resources to develop supply chain resilience capabilities. Design/methodology/approach We followed the survey technique for data collection. For data analysis, we used Smart-PLS. The participants were from diverse Moroccan manufacturers. Findings The findings suggest that digital supply chains have a positive impact on environmental sustainability and supply chain resilience. Environmental sustainability has a positive effect on the three resilience capabilities: absorptive, response and recovery. Environmental sustainability mediates the relationship between digital supply chains and their resilience. Originality/value The originality of this work stems from the ecological sustainability engagement of supply chains with the implementation of digital tools. Drawing on the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory, we found that environmental practices empower digital supply chains in raising resilience capabilities. Environmental sustainability negatively moderates the negative relationship between digital supply chain and supply chain resilience.

Exergy and Sustainability: Insights into the Value of Exergy Analysis in Sustainability Assessment of Technological Systems

Modeling a sustainable vaccine supply chain for a healthcare system

PurposeDrawing on the combined theoretical perspectives offered by the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices view and the resource-based view (RBV), this study aims to examine whether pursuit of environmental, social and economic sustainability measures of SSCM practices drive competitive advantage (CA) among fashion-apparel manufacturing organizations in an emerging economy. Furthermore, the study investigates whether the above relationships are mediated by productivity.Design/methodology/approachBased on a theoretically supported conceptual framework, a set of hypotheses are tested by applying partial least squares structural equation modeling on a sample of 345 export-oriented fashion-apparel manufacturing companies in Bangladesh. SmartPLS (v.3.2) is applied to analyze the path model through bootstrapping procedure.FindingsThe findings suggest that the direct relationship between social sustainability dimension of SSCM practices along and CA is positive and significant. While the direct relationships between environmental sustainability and CA, and economic sustainability and CA, were found to be non-significant. However, when productivity was applied as a mediator, all the paths were significant.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to the strategic management literature by presenting a combined theoretical perspective proposing the idea that sustainable supply chain practices can influence both productivity and CA, where productivity is a pertinent mediator.Practical implicationsThe study presents evidence for ready-made garments manufacturers in emerging economies on how compliance with environmental, social and economic sustainability measures in the supply chain of apparel manufacturers leads to gains in CA for the firms. Additionally, the study shows that such measures must also have a net positive impact on productivity to be able to influence CA significantly.Originality/valueThis paper appears to be among the first study that presents a framework based on a combined view of SSCM practices and RBV to empirically investigate the role of productivity as a mediator in the relationships between the sustainability dimensions of SSCM practices and CA in apparel manufacturing.

Environmental supply chain sustainability has become a critical focus for firms, yet both scholars and practitioners seem to struggle with alignment between logistics service requirements and environmental concerns. This conceptual research examines the problem as an issue in properly leveraging the cultural antecedents of both supply chain and sustainability capabilities. A synthesis of the known literature proposes that a market orientation-driven resource hierarchy view model of relationships between supply chain and environmental orientations may provide a means by which firms can increase both environmental sustainability and performance outcomes.

Sustainable supply chains – digital transformation technologies’ impact on the social and environmental dimension