Green Supplier Development Research Articles

Why and how do suppliers develop environmental management capabilities in response to buyer-led development initiatives?

PurposeAlthough buying firms increasingly adopt supplier development to help suppliers enhance their ability to deal with environmental issues, little is known about the mechanisms by which buyer-led environmental supplier development (ESD) affects the environmental management capabilities (EMC) of suppliers. Focusing on the supplier perspective and specifically on the role of psychological mechanisms at the supplier level, the authors adopt the stimulus–organism–response framework from functionalist psychology to investigate the mediating role of environment-related supplier perceived relationship value in the association between ESD, in the form of environmental requirements and audits (indirect development – ID) vs. direct development projects (direct development – DD), and supplier EMC.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used structural equation modeling and regression analysis to test the hypotheses using survey data from 221 supplying organizations in China.FindingsResults reveal that each of the three considered dimensions of the environment-related supplier perceived relationship value (i.e. economic, strategic and co-creation) helps enhance EMC. However, while DD influences positively all three dimensions, ID has a positive effect on only the economic and strategic dimensions. Moreover, the mediation analysis suggests that, while DD affects EMC both directly and via the three dimensions of environment-related supplier perceived relationship value (partial mediation), ID affects EMC only through its impact on environment-related supplier perceived relationship economic and strategic value (full mediation).Originality/valueThe study sheds light on the psychological mechanisms that drive suppliers’ involvement in green supplier development activities. By doing so, it contributes to the understanding of ESD practices and processes and their effectiveness.

Green supplier development and sustainable supply chain management

AbstractThe rapid rise in demand for sustainably produced goods over the last decade has made integrating environmental sustainability practices into the supply chain a strategic capability for many businesses. Despite the rapid growth of green supply chain management research, scholars have not fully examined supplier development in the context of the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between green supplier development strategies and supplier adoption of natural resource‐based view (NRBV) strategies, as well as their impact on green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. We make a significant contribution in this field by integrating a natural‐resource‐based view and a dynamic capabilities perspective to investigate how firms in developing economies overcome the environmental sustainability capability deficiencies of small and medium‐sized enterprises and are able to develop and implement environmentally sustainable practices. Based on a survey of 167 manufacturing companies in Kenya, the findings reveal that focal firms' indirect environmental sustainability supplier development strategies significantly impact environmental sustainability practices among suppliers and that the focal firm‐supplier dyadic relational capabilities significantly affected suppliers' implementation of environmental sustainability practices. Furthermore, focal firms' resource investment (financial and capital) in environmentally sustainable supply chain management programs to develop suppliers has a significant impact on suppliers' implementation of environmental sustainability practices.

Effects of green supplier integration and development in competing supply chains

AbstractThis work develops a Cournot game model to study two competing supply chains, each consisting of one manufacturer and one supplier, producing and selling substitutable green products. The manufacturers decide whether to adopt the green supplier integration (GSI) strategy and the green supplier development (GSD) investment level to improve the product greenness degree. The interaction between the GSD decisions and the GSI strategies are analyzed with different manufacturer GSD capacities and market greenness sensitivity. The results indicate that the manufacturer with a higher GSD capacity will always adopt the GSI strategy to maximize GSD investment level or profit, and the manufacturer with a lower GSD capacity decides whether to adopt the GSI strategy by comparing the GSD capacities of the two manufacturers. The game model is extended from dedicated sourcing to diversified sourcing and hybrid sourcing to obtain optimal sourcing options jointly reached by the two manufacturers. Under these extensions, the GSI strategy always leads to higher GSD investment levels, and adopting the GSI strategies by both manufacturers becomes the only Nash equilibrium strategy combination. Manufacturers choose different sourcing options by judging the difference in their GSD capacities under different criteria, and choose hybrid sourcing when their GSD capacity gap is sufficiently large in a weakly competitive market.

The Effect of Green Purchasing Practices on Financial Performance under the Mediating Role of Environmental Performance: Evidence from Türkiye

This study aims to examine the impact of green purchasing practices (GPP) on the financial performance (FP) of companies and the mediating role of environmental performance (EP) in the context of Türkiye, a developing country. GPP are represented by their all-related activities, such as green supplier selection (GSS), green supplier development (GSD), green supplier collaboration (GSC), and green supplier evaluation (GSE). Although much attention has been paid to GPP and their impact on FP in recent years, empirical evidence is still needed, particularly for companies in developing countries. For this purpose, this study explores the effect of GPP on FP and the mediating role of EP with survey data obtained from 455 companies in Türkiye. The findings reveal that GPP, in general, make a positive contribution to both the EP and FP of companies in Türkiye. However, the two GPP sub activities, GSD and GSE, do not have a significant effect on EP, contrary to our expectation. In addition, it is found that EP causes a significant increase in FP and plays a partial mediating role in the effect of GPP on FP. The insight gained from this study is that the increase in FP brought directly by GPP and indirectly through the increase in EP may offset the additional cost posed by GPP. In fact, this is an important finding in terms of overcoming the obstacles encountered in the transition to GPP in developing countries.

Green supplier development in supply chain – practical application

Green supplier development in supply chain – practical application

Green supplier development: What’s in it for you, the buyer?

Greening suppliers, or cultivating environmental responsibility throughout the supply chain, has become an important strategic issue for firms. While various approaches exist, green supplier development—that is, helping and collaborating with your suppliers to reduce their negative environmental impact—is a key method that can produce significant gains for both parties at multiple levels. Yet the benefits have not been sufficiently discussed and may therefore appear nebulous for managers. Focusing particularly on “What’s in it for you, the buyer?” this article describes benefits at the intrafirm, interfirm, and market levels. Barriers to the realization of the benefits are also discussed, providing managerial guidance on supplier prioritization for green supplier development.

Establishment of Green Supplier Evaluation and Environmental Sustainability

The Environmental criteria should be considered In addition to traditional criteria such as price, quality and delivery time. Evaluating Green Supplier Development Initiatives Recently developed here; we have reviewed some of the import studies to find out how to improve green supplier development. Indexes based on environment, depletion of raw materials, increasing pollution and environmental degradation. Broad relaxation of quantitative and qualitative criteria for measuring supplier product quality is typical of increasing global trends in policies and practices. Improving the management companies Substitution under scarcity is used to create green supplier improvement program rankings to specify quantitative information for evaluations of selected criteria. The integration and management authors develop an expanded perspective on ecosystem dynamics that can serve as a guide is context at the analytical level of dimensional process and progress improvement are found in areas such as environmental management maturity and environmental content, the relationship between production strategy, distribution, supply chain management and technology management, and quality.

The Influence of Romanian Mobile Commerce Companies on Developing Green Innovation

Lately, concern for green innovation has expanded in the business environment and many companies see it as a helpful element to gain competitive advantage. Due to the strains of maintaining sustainable businesses, mobile commerce companies are propelled to build up their own green innovation programs and harmonize them with the firm’s management programs. The central scope of this research is to examine the drivers for green innovation within a range of Romania-based mobile commerce companies that operate in different industries. With the aim of identifying the factors that determine the development of green innovation, a conceptual model has been conceived. The dependent variable within the model is the action of the company’s management to develop green innovation. Four independent types of variable structures that have an impact on the development of green innovation in mobile commerce firms were distinguished. The four categories of constructs are business environmental factors (1), green training (2), green supplier development (3), and technological factors (4). An online survey tested the model based on the responses of senior level management representatives from 182 Romanian mobile commerce companies from Bucharest. The validity of the model was fulfilled though factor analysis and reliability tests for the data; a logistic regression analysis was also used to test the research hypotheses. The research revealed that green training embodies the fundamental element enhancing green innovation among Romanian mobile commerce companies. This article benefits both academia and business. Firms could be inspired by the results of this paper to broaden the level of green innovation throughout the Romanian business environment.

How and when environmental orientation drives corporate sustainable development in a cross‐national buyer–supplier dyad

AbstractThis study aims at relating the role of environmental orientation to corporate sustainable development within a cross‐national buyer–supplier dyad. To this end, it specifically proposes and empirically tests a model delineating how the international buyer's environmental orientation would influence its green supplier development (GSD) activities, then its outsourcing supplier's green product strategies (GPS), and finally total relationship value (TRV) of the entire buyer–supplier dyad. It also examines how supplier overall information technology advancement (SOITA) would further moderate the aforementioned influences. Survey results derived from 202 buyer–supplier dyads have provided empirical support for all the hypothesized relationships of the proposed model. To summarize, the findings show that international buyers' internal and external environmental orientations both serve as a major driver for their GSD, which, in turn, significantly advances outsourcing suppliers' practice of GPS and consequently enhances TRV. Moreover, this study has demonstrated that SOITA exerts a significant and positive moderating effect on the GSD–GPS link. Overall, this study provides important insights into understanding the complex and contingent processes underlying the influence of the international buyer's environmental orientation on the joint performance of the dyad.

Examining green capabilities as drivers of green supply chain management adoption

PurposeWhile there is a growing pool of literature on the drivers of adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, the literature has not properly explored the role of green capabilities as drivers of GSCM adoption. This study aims to examine four green capabilities (green supplier development, green marketing, green manufacturing and packaging and environmental participation) as the drivers of GSCM adoption.Design/methodology/approachThe study develops and empirically tests a research model which explores the effect of green capabilities on GSCM adoption. A survey of 200 manufacturing and extractive firms operating in Ghana was conducted, with 94 usable responses obtained. The research model was analyzed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results revealed that green supplier development capabilities and environmental participation capabilities had positive and significant effects on GSCM adoption. Green marketing capabilities had a positive but weak effect on GSCM adoption. Green manufacturing and packaging capabilities, however, did not significantly impact GSCM adoption.Originality/valueTo the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study that empirically examines green capabilities as drivers of GSCM adoption.

Green supplier development programmes selection: a hybrid fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making approach

ABSTRACT This study aims to evaluate the Green Supplier Development Programs (GSDPs) for greening a supply chain. However, this problem is threatened by restricted quantitative information, the specific context of the organisation, lack of prior experience and varying supplier backgrounds. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy integrated Multi-Criteria Decision-Making approach for investigating and prioritising GSDPs. The approach is developed by integrating fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods. First, fuzzy DEMATEL is applied to determine the main green factors, then the fuzzy AHP method is used to acquire the local weights of criteria, and finally, the GSDPs are prioritised based on the green factors by fuzzy TOPSIS. The proposed approach is employed to estimate GSDPs of the painting companies. The outcomes indicate that ‘requiring ISO 14,000 certification for suppliers? and ‘building top management commitment for suppliers for green supply practices’ have the highest and lowest impact on improving the environmental performance of suppliers, respectively. It is also concluded that ‘green procurement’ measure has the highest effect on prioritising the GSDPs.

Barriers for green supplier development programs in manufacturing industry

Green supplier development (GSD) has emerged as an important green supply chain management activity since the supplier environmental performance is the overall greatest contributor to environmental issues in manufacturing industry. In order to successfully implement GSD, manufacturing firms should seek to identify barriers and remove them in the initial stages of green supplier development programs (GSDPs). These barriers do not only affect the GSDPs but also influence each other. Their relationship and their role in the implementation of GSDPs require additional investigation. In this article, GSD barriers are identified for the manufacturing industry. A hybrid methodology is developed involving Grey-DEMATEL and Grey-ISM to identify their relationships and roles in the implementation of GSDPs under uncertainty. Empirical data from the equipment manufacturing industry in China are utilized to gain insights into the GSD barriers phenomena. Findings using Grey-MICMAC analysis imply that four barriers have been identified as weak linkage variables. The results obtained from Grey-ISM analysis show that manufacturing firms first and foremost need the support of government regulations externally and the top management commitment internally to effectively implement GSDPs in the manufacturing industry in China. Implications and directions for further studies are identified based on the exploratory findings.

A novel fuzzy reference-neighborhood rough set approach for green supplier development practices

Green supplier development (GSD) is an important operational strategy that significantly contributes to environmental performance of the supply chain. However, green supplier evaluation for development, the first step in green supplier development, has not been widely reported in the literature. This article aims to develop a green supplier evaluation methodology for supplier development. Poor suppliers set and weak areas of each supplier are identified so that green supplier development practices can be implemented. This study proposes an environmental evaluation methodology based on environmental performance and environmental practices and use of development priority number to effectively assess suppliers’ green capability. A novel interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy numbers based reference-neighborhood rough set approach is then used to identify the poor supplier set and suppliers’ weak areas. The feasibility of this methodology is illustrated through a case study in a large chemical company. The methodology proposed can guide organizations when developing more specific GSD plans through identifying the poor suppliers and the weak areas.

Low carbon supplier development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical model for low carbon supplier development. This study is focused on the level of investment and collaboration decisions pertaining to emission reduction.Design/methodology/approachThe authors’ model includes a fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm and a fuzzy formal concept analysis. First, a set of suppliers were classified according to their carbon performances through the FCM clustering algorithm. Then, the fuzzy formal concepts were derived from a set of fuzzy formal contexts through an intersection-based method. These fuzzy formal concepts provide the relative level of investments and collaboration decisions for each identified supplier cluster. A case from the Indian renewable energy sector was used for illustration of the proposed analytical model.FindingsThe proposed model and case illustration may help manufacturing firms to collaborate with their suppliers for improving their carbon performances.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to the low carbon supply chain management literature by identifying the decision criteria of investments toward low carbon supplier development. It also provides an analytical model of collaboration for low carbon supplier development. Though the purpose of the study is to illustrate the proposed analytical model, it would have been better if the model was empirically validated.Originality/valueThough the earlier studies on green supplier development program evaluation have considered a set of criteria to decide whether or not to invest on suppliers, these are silent on the relative level of investment required for a given set of suppliers. This study aims to fulfill this gap by providing an analytical model that will help a manufacturing firm to invest and collaborate with its suppliers for improving their carbon performance.

The Mediating Roles of Block Chain Technology Practices on Green Supplier Development Process Towards Sustainability Performance: Indonesia Green Industry Level IV

Implementation of block chain technology has many benefits for some green industries, but there are also cautionary to implementation can be sustained continuously. This paper seeks to advance research development related to green supply chain and block chain technology especially regarding green supplier development process. The purpose of this research is the block chain practices can improve and affect sustainability performance on the green supplier development process. Researchers took 48’s of green industry level IV in Indonesia use their approach and analyzed hypothesis in statistically. The results of this study stated have significant impact of block chain practices can be variable to improve sustainability performance on the green supplier development process. This framework can be the basis for the suggestion Green Industry Level IV in maintaining sustainability performance in Indonesia.

Importance of innovation and flexibility in configuring supply network sustainability

PurposeThe alignment of procurement strategy with overall business strategy is important for superior firm performance. It is also essential for firms’ purchasing structure to fit the purchasing strategy whether it is cost reduction; value analysis and/or improving delivery and increasing flexibility for achieving superior purchasing performance. The purpose of this paper is to scientifically examine the influence of organization culture (OC), green supplier development (GSD), supplier relationship management, flexibility and innovation on sustainability in supply network (SSN) under the moderation effect of institutional pressures and resources availability.Design/methodology/approachThe study is grounded by integrating institutional theory (IT) and resource-based view (RBV) theory. The study empirically tests the conceptual model through survey data gathered from 175 respondents in the KwaZulu-Natal province of Southern Africa using structural equation modeling which is a multivariate data analysis technique that permits to simultaneously examine many relationships among manifest and latent variables.FindingsIt was found that OC plays a crucial role in shaping the workforce behavior and responsible for enhancing GSDs and building good relationship with suppliers which ultimately results into increased flexibility and innovativeness. Coercive pressures (CPs) play a moderating role between the causal relationship of innovation and SSN. Therefore, CPs have got the ability to amplify or reverse the effect between innovation and SSNs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study suffers from few limitations. First, the study is restricted to one particular province in South Africa. Second, cross-sectional data were used for testing of model in the research study.Practical implicationsThe findings are of great importance for both the researchers and supply chain practitioners. Supply chain practitioners may use this knowledge for benchmarking the supply network configuration process and continuously improve the process. The tested model actually shows the mechanism for enhancing SSNs. In today’s dynamic and uncertain business environment, all firms in the supply network aims to minimize risks and maximize profitability. The findings show that CPs play a moderating effect on the relationship between innovation and SSN. Whenever government authorities and institutions pressurize firms for minimizing pollution levels, we see a trend of increased innovations in the form of new product developments, usage of eco-friendly raw material and application of eco-friendly technology which ultimately minimizes the carbon footprint. Through such initiatives steel and engineering firms conform to the government norms and regulations. However, innovations are possible through collaboration with specialist suppliers and sub-suppliers by adopting a common standard across the supply network. Through this overall process of innovation, the focal firm and sub-suppliers linked in the network will benefit and ultimately achieve a competitive edge. Therefore, firms can experience multiple benefits in terms of lower development costs, lower project cycle completion time, improvement in design for re-manufacturability, low downtime, low supply risks, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, sustainable development.Originality/valueThe study is unique from dual perspective – both in terms of scope and contribution to supply chain management literature. First, the study integrates flexibility and innovation to study the impact on SSNs. Second, it integrates both IT and RBV theory of firm to test the moderation effect and the findings further opens up window for future research.

A green supplier evaluation system based on a new multi-criteria sorting method: VIKORSORT

Depleting natural resources and limited amount of landfill areas have forced many governments to impose stricter measures on environmental performance. In order to comply with those measures and to have a better environmental image, companies are investing heavily in environmental, social and economic responsibility issues. Moreover, they continuously track the environmental performance of their suppliers. Many green supplier evaluation and ranking methodologies were proposed in the literature in order to assist companies in the environmental performance evaluation of suppliers. However, the number of studies on the sorting of suppliers based on environmental criteria is very limited. In this study, we fill this research gap by proposing a novel VIKOR-based green supplier sorting methodology called VIKORSORT. This methodology evaluates the environmental performance of suppliers and sorts them into the predefined ordered classes. The proposed methodology can easily be embedded into an expert system which can suggest a suitable green supplier development program for each class.

Implementation of green supplier development process model in Indian automobile industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a green supplier development (GSD) process model and validate the model with a case study in Indian automobile industry.Design/methodology/approachA literature survey of peer-reviewed journal articles, survey reports and paradigmatic books with managerial impact is done for the research. The process of GSD is modeled using stage-gate approach and KPIV and KPOV of the process are determined. The process model is implemented in an Indian automobile components manufacturing industry for validation.FindingsThe industry implemented the model with ten suppliers and was able to successfully convert seven of them into Green suppliers. Remaining three suppliers were asked to repeat the process again or terminate the contracts. Model implementation took around three years starting from planning of resources and finances to actual development of suppliers.Research limitations/implicationsThe model implementation was done with a small automobile industry and hence the validation and implications may be generalized by taking the case study further in different industries. It would be beneficial to test the model with case studies of large-scale industries.Practical implicationsThe process model for implementing GSD activities will help managers in taking complex investment decisions. The stages and process inputs and outputs are clearly defined which helps the managers to successfully develop the suppliers.Originality/valueThis paper puts forward the process model that should be implemented for the successful development of green suppliers. It might represent new opportunities for rigorous and relevant research in the area of green supply chain.

An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Green Supplier Development and Firm Performance

Suppliers have important influence to the enterprise in terms of product and service cost, quality and delivery. Enterprises need to implement supplier development to improve suppliers’ supply capabilities, and promote partnership with suppliers, so as to achieve the improvement of business efficiency. This paper defines green supplier development, divides them into direct green supplier development and indirect green supplier development, and puts forward the research hypothesis of the relationship between green supplier development and supplier relationship and firm performance. Then, using the method of questionnaire survey to collect data, according to the statistical analysis of the 259 questionnaires, the results show that the first, direct green supplier development has positive influence on the economic performance and environmental performance, but the influence of indirect green supplier development on the economic performance of enterprises is not significant. Second, supplier partnership plays a role in the influence of green supplier development on the economic performance and environmental performance.

Green supplier development program selection using NGT and VIKOR under fuzzy environment

Developing environmental performance of suppliers is critical for green supply chain management. Organizations are nowadays investing in various green supplier development programs to enhance their supplier performances. The decision to select the right program for green supplier development is often a challenging decision due to lack of prior experience, limited quantitative information, specific context of the organization, and varying supplier backgrounds. This paper addresses the problem of evaluating green supplier development programs and proposes a fuzzy NGT (Nominal Group Technique)-VIKOR (VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) based solution approach. NGT is used to identify criteria for evaluating green supplier development programs. Fuzzy theory is used to address qualitative (linguistic) ratings for the alternatives and the selected criteria used under lack of quantitative information. VIKOR is used to generate green supplier development program rankings and recommend the best program(s) for implementation. Sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the influence of modeling parameters on ranking results of alternatives. A numerical application is provided.