Abstract
Sustainable operations and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) have become a highly relevant topic for scientific research and management, as well as policy-making practice. Despite surging growth in extant research, the need for theoretical and conceptual substantiation persists, and large opportunities for further research remain unexploited. This paper responds to the need for a conceptual foundation and, therefore, aims at providing a structured agenda for future research areas in SSCM. Based on an abductive reasoning approach, SSCM constructs and concepts are gathered from existing literature and recombined into a comprehensive conceptual SSCM framework. Areas and directions for future SSCM research, as suggested in earlier studies, are summarized, positioned in the framework, and outlined to stimulate further SSCM research activities. To overcome the lack of holistic research in the field, sophisticated techniques and integrated systems to support decision-making are required to tackle related issues’ complexity. Therefore, this paper’s contribution lies in the synthesis of state-of-the-art literature to provide a more comprehensive view of SSCM. Researchers may find promising recommendations and a suitable foundation for future studies, while practitioners may find helpful orientation and guidance for decision- and policy-making.
Highlights
Within the past three decades, business and commerce management had to extend its scope from mere optimization of economic performance to sustainable development that “meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1]
The present study aims at stimulating future research activities by providing a structured agenda as well as promoting more contemporary approaches in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) research
Sustainability has become a key factor in operations and supply chain management, the sustainability TBL must be taken into account when analyzing and improving operations and related managerial decision-making using environmental and social criteria [33]
Summary
Within the past three decades, business and commerce management had to extend its scope from mere optimization of economic performance to sustainable development that “meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1] In this context, the narrow, bottom-line perspective that exclusively focuses on economic objectives has been broadened to a triple-bottom-line (TBL) approach that considers an environmental and social dimension [2]. The economic dimension includes financial and non-financial targets, while socio-environmental objectives aim to amplify positive or mitigating negative ecological impacts and improve social aspects In this line, many firms face problems when striving for a transformation toward sustainability and may need to find trade-offs between certain dimensions of the TBL [3].
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