Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is twofold: (1) to examine the extent of integration and implementation of corporate sustainability (CS) into supply chain management (SCM) practices in corporations; and (2) to provide a basis for improved supplier selection with respect to sustainability criteria. Three interrelated research objectives were developed to achieve the purpose: (1) explore the extent to which CS principles are integrated into SCM in corporations; (2) investigate how sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has evolved in corporations; and (3) develop a model to integrate the environmental and social criteria of CS into supplier assessment and selection. The dissertation is comprised of three main phases corresponding directly to the research objectives stated above. Canada is used as a case study to achieve this goal. Consequently, the first phase explores the extent to which CS principles are integrated into SCM in Canadian corporations. The study includes a primary content analysis of 100 Canadian corporate sustainable development reports (CSDRs) and in-depth interviews with thirty Canadian experts on SSCM. The second phase investigates how SSCM has evolved in Canadian corporations over a five-year period. The study is based on a sequential content analysis of 26 CSDRs to compare the findings with the results from the primary content analysis from Phase 1. The third phase aims to develop supplier assessment and selection models based exclusively on the environmental and social criteria of CS. This phase employs case studies of two major Canadian companies to develop a sustainable supplier selection model. The dissertation makes numerous contributions to the SSCM field. Taken together, Phase 1 and Phase 2 provide a holistic perspective for a range of interrelated criteria on SSCM; provide corporations and other supply chain partners with opportunities to learn from the best practices and shortcomings of the integration of CS practices into SCM; and encourage thinking and discussion into how the key gaps in the theory and practice of SSCM might be addressed. Phase 3 provides SCM professionals with a contingency-based, effective, and practical bespoke modeling approach to supplier assessment and selection within the context of SSCM.

Highlights

  • 4.2 Literature Review4.2.1 Supplier Assessment and Selection4.2.2 Supplier Selection for Sustainable Supply Chain Management

  • The details regarding the research methods employed are discussed in the following subsections 1.3.1 through 1.3.3

  • As can be seen from this definition, content analysis is a flexible method for analyzing text data which may apply a number of analytic approaches such as deductive, inductive, and strict textual analyses (Rosengren, 1981)

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Summary

Overview

The concept of managing supply chains has been discussed in the management and engineering literature since the early 20th century (Svensson, 2001; Carter and Easton, 2011; Sarkis and Zhu, 2011). The Commission of the European Communities provides a definition of CSR as: “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society” (COM, 2011) This updated definition of CSR lacks the specificity of the former definition of CSR, which is: “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis” (COM, 2001). The indistinct allusion to the “impacts” of an enterprise “on society” might lead firms to divert the understanding and, practice of CSR to an all-embracing and ambitious level in which any negative externality becomes the responsibility of a firm for the benefit of its stakeholders. The recent research on CSR in the supply chain fails to explicitly include an organization’s economic responsibility in current models and definitions of purchasing social responsibility (Carter and Rogers, 2008)

Problem Definition
Research Objectives and Methodological Approach
Objective 2 Objective 3
Conclusions
Content Analysis
Applications of qualitative content analyses
Methodology of content analyses as employed
Summary Description
Reliability and validity issues
Interviews
Methodology of interviews as employed
Design
Case Studies
Case studies as employed
Structure of the Dissertation
Introduction
Literature Review
Literature Review Search Terms
Sustainability and Supply Chain Management
Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Governance
Integration of CSR practices
Performance measurement
Collaboration
Summary Description of Theory
What areas do you see for future work in SSCM in corporation?
Report Demographics
Supply Chain Governance
Performance Indicators
Standards for SSCM
Monitoring Supplier Performance
Collaboration within the Supply Chain
Looking Forward on SSCM
Primary Motivation for Sustainability Initiatives
Measuring Company Success on Sustainability Initiatives in the Supply Chain
Measuring Supplier Performance in Sustainability
Supplier Encouragement
Accountability in the Supply Chain
Barriers to Incorporating Sustainability into Supply Chain Management
Lack of understanding the concept of sustainability
Risk management and monitoring
Areas for Future Work in SSCM in Corporations
Forward-Looking Statement
Objectives
Supplier Selection for Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Conduct needs assessment
Conduct process planning
Develop draft supplier evaluation model
Test and adjust the model
Key Discussion Items
Integrate the model with existing infrastructure
CHAPTER 5 – RESEARCH SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
A Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Management in Canadian Corporations
Integration of Corporate Sustainability into Supplier Selection
Full Text
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