Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the automotive industry

Abstract

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and dynamic capabilities (DCs) are both relatively young research fields that have gained increased attention within the last years. The DC concept, originating within the strategic management field, examines adapting to changing corporate environments and industries, while SSCM extends goals beyond the financial aspect to include the environment and society. The automotive industry is considered a high-velocity environment with frequent fluctuations in regulatory, customer, and societal demands, making it a suitable candidate for observation. The purpose of the study is to further develop the theories and provide practical implications for the industry. Previously identified practices in SSCM are related to DCs by identifying them as basic routines that form specific DCs. We conducted a systematic literature review on sustainable automotive supply chain articles (N=49) published in English, peer-reviewed journals. Our results reveal ways that SC members are adapting to changes in the environment, i.e. exploiting DCs, whether it be due to government regulations, changing trends in customer demands, or competitors’ behavior, and thus portray the potential of applying a former single-firm based concept to a holistic supply chain particularly when pursuing sustainability efforts.