Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices Research Articles

Relationship of Innovation and Sustainability in Supply Chain Context

Sustainability as a business phenomenon has occupied the attention of academicians, practitioners, and consumers for more than three decades. While some firms emphasize on their own internal sustainability initiatives, there is a growing trend to implement sustainability across the supply chain. This increasing interest makes implementation of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices very important for focal firm’s sustainability; however, the ability to create innovative products, processes, and ways of operating is crucial if an organization is to be sustainable. Although there have been studies that investigate innovation in the context of sustainability, their scopes are limited to a single perspective which often obscures the big picture of innovation, its creation, and its effects on firm performance. In this study, we will adopt a multi-level innovation perspective to explore the symbiotic relationships between innovation creation and the development of SSCM practices, and resulting sustainability performance. This research will contribute to supply chain management and innovation literature and practice by identifying the different innovation types that emerge when SSCM practices are being implemented and explaining the effects innovation patterns and SSCM practices have on sustainability performance.

Environmental collaboration with suppliers and cost performance: exploring the contingency role of digital orientation from a circular economy perspective

PurposeTo examine the interplay between sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and circular economy, this research conceptualises and empirically tests an integrative framework of environmental information exchange with suppliers (ES), environmental product design (EPD) and cost performance (CP) with the contingency effect of digital orientation (DO). The associations proposed in the integrative framework provide a configuration of SSCM practices that support circular economy's restorative processes in the digital age.Design/methodology/approachThe resource orchestration theory and contingency theory are used to investigate the mediation and moderating effects, which were tested by a moderated mediation analysis of survey data of 100 firms in Australia.FindingsThe results show that EPD fully mediates the relationship between ES and CP. Further, DO was found to moderate the relationship between EPD and CP, but not the relationship between ES and EPD.Practical implicationsThe empirical findings of this study offer an effective SSCM practice configuration for firms seeking to target advanced circular business models and economic benefits. Managers should be aware that ES may not be enough to improve CP; EPD is a required mechanism to translate the ES benefits into cost superiority. Managers should also stimulate a DO culture to develop effective EPD capabilities, which leads to improved CP and a foundation for companies seeking to target circularity.Originality/valueThis study advances prior theoretical and practical knowledge. The authors propose and empirically test an integrated SSCM and circular economy model that incorporates mediation and moderation effects to clarify inconsistent findings in prior work, which provides a more holistic and practical understanding of SSCM practices in the digital context. Furthermore, the SSCM literature recommends the adoption of circular economy principles. The integrated model in this study provides a bridge between SSCM and circular economy.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Food Industry: A Conceptual Model from a Literature Review and a Case Study.

The purpose of this study is twofold: firstly, to provide a literature review of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) critical factors, practices and performance; and secondly, to develop a comprehensive and testable model of SSCM in the food industry. The research conducted comprises a literature review and a case study. The literature review findings propose a theoretical framework linking SSCM critical factors, practices and performance. The case study comprises two sustainability leaders in the Greek food supply chain in order to investigate the three SSCM constructs. A new set of pioneering SSCM practices in the Greek food industry is identified, including daily conversation, local sourcing and HR investments. The end result of this research proposes a testable model that sheds light on SSCM in the food industry and is based on a set of propositions.

Co-constructing Organizational Sustainability Identities and Supply Chain Management Practices

Literature on sustainability governance of supply chains typically maintains that supplying organizations can be treated as a homogenous group, and that sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) entails a unanimous set of practices. In this paper, we expose the diversity of SSCM practices and explore how organizational sustainability identities (OSI) act as their drivers. Through a comparative qualitative inquiry comprising organizations from food and metal products supply chains, we find that OSI of SSCM-practicing organizations affect i) which types of suppliers are perceived as relevant to engage in SSCM, ii) what sustainability criteria are applied to suppliers, and iii) how they are managed in diverse ways to contribute to sustainability transitions. We present a model of OSI co-construction which shows how the diversity of SSCM practices unfolds through three process dimensions, namely OSI balancing, OSI translation, and OSI structuration. This model and the empirical insights obtained document and clarify the previously unexplored link between organizational identity and impacts through SSCM practices.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management in a Circular Economy: A Bibliometric Review

Since the mid-2010s, the circular economy has emerged as a key conceptual lever in corporate efforts to achieve greater environmental sustainability. Corporations have increasingly drawn upon the circular economy perspective in efforts to rethink sustainable supply chain management practices. This new corporate approach to sustainable supply chain management is evident in an emerging literature that has yet to be fully documented. In this systematic review of research, bibliometric methods were applied to a database of 709 Scopus-indexed documents. Author co-citation analysis identified four schools of thought comprising the intellectual structure of this literature: Sustainable Production and Environmental Management, Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Reverse Supply Chain Management, and Circular Economy. Synthesis of these themes suggests that the adoption of a circular economy perspective is transforming sustainable supply chain management in two important ways. First, this perspective reorients supply chain management away from a narrow focus on efficiency and waste reduction and towards a new paradigm of redesign, reuse, and product transformation. Second, adoption of the circular economy highlights and leverages reverse cycles in the supply chain. Thus, circular economy business models enable supply chain management to enhance corporate contributions to sustainable production and consumption. Drawing upon this framing of supply chain management within a circular economy, the review proposes a new framework for accelerating corporate sustainability.

A Novel Quality Function Deployment Based Integrated Framework for Improving Supply Chain Sustainability

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) plays an important role in the success of the company’s sustainability progress. Industrial management faces difficulty designing a resilient, sustainable supply chain (SSC) with emerging new needs. Hence, the industrial management needs to integrate the customers’ requirements (CRs) in designing the SSC as customer satisfaction plays an important role in the success. Knowing the CRs, the industries may figure out the technical requirements (TRs) that may enhance the industries’ technical capability. This study proposes an integrated approach to help design a resilient SSC by considering both CRs and TRs. The integrated approach consists of the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM), fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), fuzzy measuring attractiveness by a categorically based evaluation technique (FMACBETH), and quality function deployment (QFD). The results obtained with FAHP and FMACBETH are incorporated into QFD to identify needed TRs. A case study is conducted to verify the integrated approach. Reduced carbon footprint, affordable cost, and on-time delivery are the three important CRs: financial strategy, green supply chain management, and government assistance are the three critical TRs. Based on the outcomes, the study suggests some implications that assist industrial management in improving sustainable supply chain management practices.

The Effects of Innovation Adoption and Social Factors between Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices and Sustainable Firm Performance: A Moderated Mediation Model

The aim of this study was to develop higher-order scales for assessing sustainable supply chain management practices, innovation adoption, and sustainable firm performance in the restaurant sector. Three different higher-order scales were developed for assessing the SSCM, SFP and innovation adoption. The first scale for SSCM higher-order construct consisted of service–product supply chain management practices (SPSSCM), service–setting supply chain management practices (SSSSCM), and service–delivery supply chain management practices (SDSSCM). The second higher-order scale for sustainable firm performance (SFP) consisted of economic, operational, environmental, and socio-cultural performance. The third higher-order scale for innovation adoption (INNO) consisted of “product- and process-based innovation”, “marketing-based innovation”, “technology-based innovation” and “organizational innovation”. The face, content, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity was tested using pilot study, expert opinion, EFA, and CFA. With 178 responses collected from restaurateurs, managers, and supervisors of casual restaurants in Prachuap Khiri Khan province in Thailand, this study evaluates the direct effects of SSCM on SFP. It further evaluates the mediating role of innovation adoption between sustainable supply chain management practices and firm performance and the moderated mediation effects of socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, education, and experience. The results reveal that sustainable supply chain management practices can positively lead to sustainable firm performance. However, irrespective of the indirect effects of socio-demographic factors, adopting innovation completely mediates the relationship between sustainable supply chain management practices and firm performance.

Supply chain stakeholder pressure for the adoption of sustainable supply chain practices: examining the roles of entrepreneurial and sustainability orientations

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices given the simultaneous conditional effects of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainability orientation (SO).Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey of US firms focused on their relationship with their top supplier or buyer by spend. This study used conditional process analysis to measure the relationship between stakeholder pressure and adoption of SSCM practices as well as the double moderation effects of EO and SO on this relationship.FindingsThe results show that both EO and SO simultaneously function as moderators of the effect of supply chain stakeholder pressure on the adoption of social and environmental SSCM practices. However, EO will only get firms so far in the adoption of SSCM practices. Once a strong SO takes effect, higher practice adoption ensues but the effect of stakeholder pressure weakens.Practical implicationsFor those firms that have lower levels of SO, EO and supply chain stakeholder pressure are still essential drivers for the adoption of SSCM practice. The results of this study suggest that focal firms should work closely with suppliers to increase their levels of SO while also maintaining pressure for the adoption of SSCM practices.Originality/valueThis study shows the concurrent effect of two organizational level drivers on the adoption of SSCM practices, indicating that efforts in developing a strong SO are more likely to prepare firms for the adoption of SSCM practices.

Sustainable supply chain management practices in developing countries: An empirical study of Jordanian manufacturing companies

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is continuously gaining importance. It has been studied widely in developed countries and to some extent also in developing countries. This paper contributes to the latter by studying environmentally related SSCM practices in Jordanian manufacturing firms and provides a base for policy- and decision-makers as it assesses the current situation of the Jordanian manufacturing companies in terms of voluntarily adopting sustainable development practices or doing so under external pressure. This study aims to evaluate how adopting sustainable practices can affect economic performance in developing countries within the context of Jordanian manufacturing companies. Based on existing literature, a questionnaire was developed covering aspects of sustainability in internal and external supply chain practices, SSCM drivers, and company performance. A total of 92 responses were analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses using regression analyses to test the single-variable hypotheses, and structural equation modeling to test the multivariate hypotheses. The results show that the adoption of SSCM practices is still in its initial stages for Jordanian manufacturers. Sustainability awareness is quite low, and Jordanian companies mostly do not seem to consider the environmental impacts of their manufacturing operations. The results also show a difference between manufacturing types: process industries were less likely to adopt SSCM practices voluntarily, while discrete industries were more likely to do so. Finally, for Jordanian manufacturers to compete in international markets, they should take further steps toward adopting sustainability. To enhance the investment potential of multinational companies, Jordan should take the advantages of the industrial parks/estates and adopt regulations that force manufacturers to adopt sustainability practices under external pressure.

Sustainable Supply Chain Strategy and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Mediated and Moderated Model.

In the global business environment, sustainability has become a competitive priority of most enterprises. Sustainability as a differentiation approach enables organizations to compete in today's environment. However, despite the increasing adaptability to sustainability practices, pharmaceutical supply chain management is still facing challenges in preserving the global environment. The study contemplates the impact of sustainable supply chain strategy and sustainable competitive advantage while considering the mediating role of sustainable supply chain practice and moderating role of sustainability inhibitors. The data was collected from the 180 employees working in the pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan. The study applied a quantitative approach for testing a theoretical model, using discriminant validity analysis, assessment of measurement model, composite reliability & validity analysis to assess the dimensions and model's reliability and validity. The study results show a positive relationship between sustainable supply chain strategy and sustainable competitive advantage. Sustainable supply chain practice mediates the relationship between sustainable supply chain strategy and sustainable competitive advantage, while sustainability inhibitors strengthen the relationship between sustainable supply chain strategy and sustainable supply chain practice. This study will help managers develop impactful sustainable supply chain management practices that will lead to sustainable performance.

Critical human and behavioral factors on the adoption of sustainable supply chain management practices in the context of automobile industry

AbstractBuilt upon the resource‐based view, the study examines the critical human and behavioral factors (HBFs) on adopting sustainable supply chain practices in the automobile sector (AS). The Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Decision‐Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is applied to understand the causeeffect relationships between (HBFs), evidenced by a case study in the automobile industry of India. The causeeffect relationships are informed by an expert team consisting of 18 members working in academia, the automobile industry, and professional consulting companies. The experts provided their inputs based on their direct experience and expertise in this subject matter. The research findings highlight that sustainable supply chain cost (end to end) is a critical success factor. Mangers in the AS should prioritize and focus on sustainable supply chain costs (end to end) to pursue sustainable practices because such critical success factors can foster information sharing behavior. The firms could develop both hard and soft critical HBFs such as Information technology (IT) infrastructure and employee training to build up HBFs to integrate a supply chain. The study provides insight to academicians, policymakers, and practitioners about critical HBFs and develops sustainability goals and policies accordingly.

Supply chain sustainability drivers for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector: an Indian perspective

Purpose: Sustainability in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chains (SC) is receiving greater than ever attention due to the increasing awareness of sustainability challenges such as climate change and labor rights. A definite solution is to integrate sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices all through the upstream and downstream entities of SC. This study identified and compared the drivers for the implementation of SSCM practices in Indian FMCG sector.Design/methodology/approachA methodology based on Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), a hybrid multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique and sensitivity analysis was used to envisage the complex causal relationships among the identified SSCM drivers and to identify the critical ones.FindingsThe results showed that regulatory and legislative pressure, competition pressure and innovativeness dominantly drive the implementation of SSCM practices in the upstream and downstream SC of the FMCG sector.Originality/valueThe study examined levers of sustainability in FMCG supply chains in an emerging market with most of the extant research limited to automotive and electronic supply chains.

Development and Validation of a Measurement Instrument for Sustainability in Food Supply Chains

The purpose of this paper is to develop a measurement instrument for sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) critical factors, practices and performance and validate it in the food industry. A literature review was conducted in order to identify pertinent variables and propose relevant measuring items. An email survey was carried out in 423 Greek companies in the food and beverage sector. The questionnaire was sent by e-mail in the Google Forms format and it was requested to be answered by a representative of the company. The collected data was processed using exploratory factor analysis in order to extract the latent constructs of the SSCM critical factors, practices and performance measures. The validity of the proposed instrument was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. The extracted SSCM critical factors are “firm-level sustainability critical factors” and “supply chain sustainability critical factors”. The extracted SSCM practices are “supply chain collaboration” and “supply chain strategic orientation”. The extracted SSCM performance factors are “economic performance”, “social performance” and “environmental performance”. The three developed constructs constitute a measurement instrument that can be used both by practitioners who desire to implement SSCM and by researchers who can apply the proposed scales in other research projects or use them as assessment tools.

The relationship between sustainable supply chain management and enterprise economic performance: does firm size matter?

PurposeBased on the extended resource-based view (ERBV), this paper aims to investigate the relationship between sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), dynamic capabilities (DCs) and enterprise economic performance (EEP). Both the direct effects of SSCM on economic performance and the mediation effect of DCs are investigated. This empirical study also examines the moderating role of firm size.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies hierarchical regression analyses to test our hypotheses, and then the mediation test was performed using the macro PROCESS. Data were collected from 178 Chinese manufacturing firms.FindingsThe findings show that SSCM practices significantly and positively influence both economic performance and DCs. The results indicate that DCs partially mediate the relationship between SSCM practices and EEP. Moreover, firm size has a moderating effect on external SSCM practices that influence EEP, but the moderating effect was not found to be significant for the effects of internal SSCM practices on economic performance and SSCM practices on DCs.Practical implicationsThis study reveals insights into the potential benefits for large enterprises and SMEs related to the utilization of SSCM practices in China and puts forward differentiated suggestions for SSCM practices in large enterprises and SMEs.Originality/valueDrawing on the ERBV, this study provides a deeper perspective on the relationship between SSCM and EEP by regarding DCs as a mediating variable and firm size as a moderating variable.

Does bad press help or hinder sustainable supply chain management? An empirical investigation of US-based corporations

This study explores the effect of negative news about an organization on its sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. We focus on how public reports about controversial business practices motivate a company to make adjustments so that environmental and social concerns are better included in its supply chain management practices. Using agenda-setting theory, we identify managerial commitment as an important factor in transmitting external media pressure. We analyse longitudinal data, ranging from 2002 through 2014 and collected for more than 700 US-based corporations. Our findings reveal that companies significantly increase SSCM after being the subject of negative news, particularly when management commitment to environmental sustainability and social welfare is high. Our findings should encourage supply chain decision makers to consider more broadly how external stakeholders view their global supply chain operations. Our research sheds light on negative news as an external factor; previous literature used media attention as anecdotal evidence and focused more on internal company factors. We contribute to research in SSCM by studying the mediation effect. It is essential that supply chain decision makers better apprehend the importance of negative news, management commitment, and SSCM and understand their role in influencing public opinion.

Green supply chain practices and sustainable performance of mining firms: Evidence from a developing country

The negative impact of mining activities on mining communities has received increased calls for mining firms to engage in management practices that are deemed to be environmentally friendly. Using the ecological modernisation theory, the study sought to examine which of the environmentally accepted supply chain management practices should be encouraged to ensure that mining firms are able to sustain their performance economically, socially and environmentally. The current study, therefore, used the explanatory study design to gather primary data from 200 respondents. Data were analysed by means of PLS-SEM to model the relationship between green supply chain management practices and sustainable performance. The findings of the study indicated that all the four constructs of sustainable supply chain management practices predict the sustainable performance of mining firms. The study, therefore, recommends the adoption of green supply chain management practices by mining firms in order to sustain their performance. Details of the findings are discussed.

Strategic Direction of Information Technology on Sustainable Supply Chain Practices: Exploratory Case Study on Fashion Industry in Malaysia

A growing body of research emphasises sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) in contrary with limited studies exploring role of information technology (IT) in sustainable supply chain activities. Moreover, little is known on SSCM implementation in niche industries like fashion/textile-apparel industry. As most studies concentrated on investigating IT impact on business performance and profitability in supply chain, integrating sustainable practice with IT is still scarce. The aim of this study is to identify current SSCM practices with the focus on IT role in supporting SSCM in fashion industry. For that purpose, this study applies the sustainable key practices framework discussed in the literature of SSCM and adopted previous study framework that differentiates four IT roles for sustainability. Using the proposed frameworks, interviews were conducted with five fashion practitioners that are currently engaged with SSCM practices. The findings from this study highlight the existence of SSCM practices in fashion industry. Finally, this finding enhances the current understanding of how IT can support SSCM practices and helps future research in exploring the IT implementation, challenges and benefit towards SSCM.

Environment Sustainability Is a Corporate Social Responsibility: Measuring the Nexus between Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Big Data Analytics Capabilities, and Organizational Performance

Sustainability has profound implications for environmental competitiveness, yet little has been done to study the feasibility of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices as a predictor of organizational performance (operational and environmental performance). By integrating stakeholder theory and dynamic capability theory, this study aims to determine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on SSCM practices and assess its impact on organizational performance. This research also investigates the role of big data analytical capabilities (BDAC) in mediating the relationship between SSCM practices and organizational performance. The authors collected data online, examined 320 valid responses, and tested research hypotheses. The findings suggest that CSR (both internal and external CSR) positively promotes SSCM practices and contributes to expanding dynamic capacity theory in the context of BDA capabilities. BDAC is also a key mediator between SSCM practices and organizational performance. These results contribute to and improve the research on stakeholder theory and SSCM practice and provide a new perspective for scholars to further study this issue.

Modeling the pressures for sustainability adoption in the Indian automotive context

Sustainable excellence can be achieved by including sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices within the existing practices of industries. However, in developing countries such as India, industries, in general, are less willing to modify their existing traditional supply chain activities without pressures or motivations, which is the case in the automotive industries. The literature on SSCM pressure by the various stakeholders is limited in the Indian context. To fill this void in the literature, the present study examines the pressure for the adoption of sustainability in Indian supply chains, particularly in the context of the automotive industry. The automotive sectors to implement SSCM were identified from the literature review and the relationships among the elements were established using contextual, relationship-based, total interpretive structural modeling (TISM). The pressures were subjected to Matrice d’Impacts Cross-impact Matrix multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis to classify the different groups of pressures based on their driving powers and dependence. The developed TISM model was further assessed by a different group of industry experts to ensure its validity. The findings inferred that government regulations, the special benefits of social and environmental certifications, and the interests of the foreign investor in sustainable product development, are the most influential pressures for SSCM adoption in Indian automotive component manufacturing industries.

Supply Chain Social Sustainability: Unveiling Focal Firm’s Archetypes under the Lens of Stakeholder and Contingency Theory

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. Despite its importance, we know little about critical aspects of it, as some important gaps are highlighted in the SSCM literature: deepening social dimension, exploring governance mechanisms, and strengthening theoretical development. This research aims to analyze how stakeholder salience and contingency factors influence the extent to which focal firms implement governance mechanisms to address social issues in supply chains. We conduct a multiple case study in six focal firms operating in Brazil. We intend to reduce the shortage of empirical evidence on emerging economies by focusing on a leading emerging country. This study contributes to the literature in three main aspects: (1) We classify social issues into central, peripheral, and remote, based on their priority within SSCM practices from emerging economy cases; (2) We outline three archetypes of social-SCM, namely elementary, selective, and extensive, to reflect the extent that focal firms incorporate social issues within their practices; (3) We also provide a typology to assess the extent to which focal firms address social issues, therefore contributing to reducing the gap regarding the social dimension within SSCM scholarship, combining the stakeholder theory and contingency theory.