Sustainable Supply Chain Management Research Research Articles

Inside the world of stepsiblings: Linking global production networks to sustainable supply chain management

AbstractThe theoretical foundation of (sustainable) supply chain management (SSCM) is an issue of frequent debate. Integrating it with the Global Production Networks (GPN), which is a kind of stepsibling, can help expanding the theoretical foundations of SSCM. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the GPN approach links to SSCM in analysing and explaining interorganizational sustainability. This paper is conceptual. Five central GPN constructs are identified: (1) the emerging supply chain structures and sustainability; (2) the importance and relevance of embeddedness and governance; (3) power dynamics; (4) the stakeholder approach; (5) the sustainability dimensions and the implementation strategies. They are explained in detail and then contrasted with how the related topics are dealt within SSCM. The paper provides insights into the ongoing discussions in GPN and integrates the political economy debate into SSCM research. Findings reveal that GPN offers an alternative and yet complementary explanation about network and cluster formation in supply chains, the effect of embeddedness (geopolitical, social, and cultural) power relationships and governance mechanisms and their role in implementing ecological and social sustainability across the supply chains. The comparison of these complementary disciplines allows for the exchange of ideas between the SSCM and GPN approaches, thereby providing an enriched understanding for managing supply chain sustainability. The selective comparison of the SSCM and GPN constructs is the first of its kind and should trigger further research at this intersection. Five propositions capture core directions for future research.

Mapping the trends of sustainable supply chain management research: a bibliometric analysis of peer-reviewed articles

This bibliometric analysis explores the scope and knowledge base of scholarly efforts on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and how it has evolved in different economies and businesses to advance circular economy (CE) discourses in theory and practice across economies and businesses. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and search syntax, a total of 2,574 peer-reviewed articles from journals indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest were analyzed. The results show an exponential growth in SSCM research since 2013 with 6,306 authors from 83 countries published in 675 journals; however, less attention is given to developing economies (DEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The findings provide a useful direction for future research and theory development in SSCM, allowing scholars and businesses to implement true CE by addressing practical sustainability issues relevant to their operations and supply chains. This bibliometric analysis is the first study providing a holistic overview of SSCM research trends in developed countries (DCs), DEs, and MSMEs, and arguing for inter-disciplinary CE discourses and inter-organizational collaboration in SC to update and implement CE. This study makes important contributions to SSCM research and practice by providing multiple snapshots of the increasing growth trajectory of the idea of sustainability in SC and how its different aspects have evolved over the period.

Sustainable supply chain management and green technologies: a bibliometric review of literature.

To attain ecological sustainability and transition to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), effective technological innovation (TI) and solid waste management (SWM), as likely impending resources, are essential components. From 2000 through 2021, a detailed map of SSCMs in the context of TI and systematic history will be created, highlighting the most significant research themes and trends, primary features, development, and possibly relevant areas for future study. Due to utilizing bibliometric analysis, text mining, and content analytics methodologies, the following concerns were addressed: (1) How has SSCM research progressed over time in the TI domain? (2) Which SSCM research areas and trends receive the most attention in the TI domain? Additionally, (3) what are the research directions for SSCM in the context of TI? As a result, bibliometric networks were developed and examined using 983 journal articles from the Scopus database to highlight the substantial body of literature. As a result, SSCM has been divided into five crucial study themes: (i) transition to TI, (ii) SSCM in closed-loop supply chains, (iii) municipal solid waste management (MSWM), (iv) environmental consequences and life-cycle evaluation, and (v) policymakers and practitioners in SSCM can use the SSCM research landscape and its primary highlight patterns to guide and add in the TI. Considering SSCM research as a way to reduce waste, future study directions are also suggested.

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.

Social Sustainability in Fashion Supply Chains—Understanding Social Standard Implementation Failures in Vietnam and Indonesia Using Agency Theory

This paper explores why and how dominant international social standards used in the fashion industry are prone to implementation failures. A qualitative multiple-case study method was conducted, using purposive sampling to select 13 apparel supply chain actors. Data were collected through on-site semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The findings of the study are interpreted by using core tenets of agency theory. The case study findings clearly highlight why and how multi-tier apparel supply chains fail to implement social standards effectively. As a consequence of substantial goal conflicts and information asymmetries, sourcing agents and suppliers are driven to perform opportunistic behaviors in form of hidden characteristics, hidden intentions, and hidden actions, which significantly harm social standards. Fashion retailers need to empower their corporate social responsibility (CSR) departments by awarding an integrative role to sourcing decisions. Moreover, accurate calculation of orders, risk sharing, cost sharing, price premiums, and especially guaranteed order continuity for social compliance are critical to reduce opportunistic behaviors upstream of the supply chain. The development of social standards is highly suggested, e.g., by including novel metrics such as the assessment of buying practices or the evaluation of capacity planning at factories and the strict inclusion of subcontractors’ social performances. This paper presents evidence from multiple Vietnamese and Indonesian cases involving sourcing agents as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers on a highly sensitive topic. With the development of the conceptual framework and the formulation of seven related novel propositions, this paper unveils the ineffectiveness of social standards, offers guidance for practitioners, and contributes to the neglected social dimension in sustainable supply chain management research and accountability literature.

Recent advances and opportunities in planning green petroleum supply chains: a model-oriented review

ABSTRACT Today, petroleum companies cannot be competitive and efficient without considering potential solutions provided by sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) optimization models. SSCM can solve different challenges faced by this sector. Academics and practitioners consider the opportunities offered by decision-making tools for planning sustainable petroleum supply chains. Moreover, the ever-increasing number of publications applying decision-making models to the petroleum industry also attests to this fact. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to understand the evolution of sustainable supply chain planning in the petroleum industry and highlight the specificities of the body of knowledge in this area. A comprehensive analysis is performed using 23 papers published from 2010 to 2019. This paper proposes a classification framework to analyze different factors in developing mathematical models, including the triple bottom line pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social). The main observation is that planning models that focus on all three sustainability dimensions in the petroleum sector are scarce. Regarding the environmental dimension, the analysis demonstrates that consideration of greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2 impacts, is dominating planning models. Furthermore, there is an absence of quantitative models that include social dimensions, and this gap must be addressed in the future. Finally, we propose future extensions to develop research in SSCM in the petroleum sector, keeping in mind recent developments from both technological and economic drivers in this specific sector.

Mapping the Knowledge Base of Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Bibliometric Literature Review

Supply chain management (SCM) concerns itself with the integration of a firm’s internal management processes with the external environment. This could explain why sustainability has been embraced by scholars who study SCM. This bibliometric review was untaken with the explicit goals of updating and extending prior reviews of research on sustainable SCM (S-SCM). The goals of this research were to document the scope and development of S-SCM research; identify influential journals, authors, and documents; analyze the intellectual structure of this field of sustainability inquiry, and highlight emerging topics on the frontier of S-SCM inquiry. By using bibliometric tools, a relatively large and rapidly growing corpus of peer-reviewed research documents concerned with S-SCM were found. Citation analyses of journals, authors, and documents yielded a surprisingly high level of scholarly content for a literature body of such recent vintage. The author co-citation analysis revealed three coherent but closely connected groups of thought that comprise the intellectual structure of this knowledge base. Finally, the analysis identified a constellation of topics concerned with the integration of internal processes (e.g., decision-making, manufacturing, sensitivity analysis, risk assessment, life-cycle assessment) and the organizational environment (e.g., climate change, gas emissions, carbon emissions, greenhouse gases, energy utilization, climate change). The results of this research concluded that SCM practitioners and scholars may have embraced sustainability more than any other field of management.

Mapping Research on Sustainable Supply-Chain Management

The aim of the paper is to map the thematic landscape of the sustainable supply-chain management (SSCM) research field and contribute to exploring “relationships among specific constructs” in the field. The use of bibliometric methodology and the focus given to relationships among topics categorized into thematic clusters within the field are the features which differ the study from other reviews in the research field. The operational objectives of the study are as follows: (1) to profile the development of the SSCM research field and its scientific output, (2) to identify leading thematic areas in the field and explore their composition and relationships among them, (3) to identify ‘hot’, emerging topics in the field. The analysis of change in the number of publications and citations related to the SSCM concept supports the study of research productivity in the field. General publication profiling focuses on the identification of subject areas and leading contributors to the research field, i.e., countries, research institutions, source titles and authors. Keywords co-occurrence analysis is employed to identify and explore leading and emerging topics. The study points out that the main thematic areas in the SSCM research field are: (1) economy and management in the context of the environment, (2) supply chain in the context of sustainability, (3) sustainable supply chains—process approach, (4) decision making for SSCM, (5) the practice context of supply-chain management, and (6) competition and social responsibility (SR) issues. The most up-to-date topics of scientific inquiry in the field focus around the following issues: (1) human aspects, (2) sustainable supplier selection, (3) manufacturing, (4) circular economy, (5) efficiency, (6) sustainable practices, (7) commerce, (8) costs, (9) environmental impact, and (10) the textile industry.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management—A Conceptual Framework and Future Research Perspectives

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.

Sustainable supply chain management: continuing evolution and future directions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to update the work of Carter and Easton (2011), by conducting a systematic review of the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature in the primary logistics and supply chain management journals, during the 2010–2018 timeframe.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology which follows the methodology employed by Carter and Easton (2011). An evaluation of this methodology, using the Modified AMSTAR criteria, demonstrates a high level of empirical validity.FindingsThe field of SSCM continues to evolve with changes in substantive focus, theoretical lenses, unit of analysis, methodology and type of analysis. However, there are still abundant future research opportunities, including investigating under-researched topics such as diversity and human rights/working conditions, employing the group as the unit of analysis and better addressing empirical validity and social desirability bias.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings result in prescriptions and a broad agenda to guide future research in the SSCM arena. The final section of the paper provides additional avenues for future research surrounding theory development and decision making.Originality/valueThis SLR provides a rigorous, methodologically valid review of the continuing evolution of empirical SSCM research over a 28-year time period.

Mediated power and sustainable supplier management (SSM)

PurposeAs focal buyers implement sustainable supplier management (SSM) to advance their supply chain sustainability, the purpose of this paper is to provide a more nuanced understanding of how buyers’ use of power may incite varying perceptions of justice from suppliers that affect sustainable supplier performance (SSP).Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on multidisciplinary literature and collects empirical data from 181 supplying firms in China to examine the complex links among power use, justice, SSM, and sustainable performance using partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsBoth coercive and reward buyer power can facilitate SSM implementation and justice perception moderates the impact of SSM on SSP. Furthermore, coercive power adversely influences justice evaluation, thereby attenuating the effect of SSM on performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study complements and extends sustainable supply chain management research by evaluating SSM: on environmental, social and economic performance; from the perspectives of suppliers; and in an emerging market where many suppliers of Western firms are located. It also adds to behavioral SCM research by examining how buyers’ exercise of power might influence suppliers’ justice perception.Practical implicationsTo implement SSM, focal buyers cannot simply issue codes of conduct to suppliers and ignore suppliers’ disposition to commit to standards. While coercive power might be convenient and tempting for buying firms, managers ought to be judicious in the use of coercion.Originality/valueThis is the first large-scale empirical investigation on the links among power use, justice, SSM and sustainable performance from the perspectives of suppliers in an emerging economy.

Sustainable supply network management

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to scrutinise how the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature has discussed knowledge dynamics across the extended supply network, particularly in the contemporary context of fragmented, globally dispersed supply networks.Design/methodology/approachA systematic approach to reviewing the literature is applied, covering 20 years, starting with 267 references, and narrowing down to 88 articles specifically addressing knowledge diffusion processes across the extended supply network.FindingsThis study shows that vertical ties limited to direct suppliers or third-party monitoring of global suppliers are both insufficient. Lack of co-opetition is an impediment to knowledge diffusion. And the debate of whether or not global dispersion is an impediment to knowledge diffusion seems inconclusive. More importantly, there is a lack of network-level studies mapping the diversity of actors in supply networks.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, future SSCM research should shift from an operational focus to strategic knowledge diffusion. Second, the scope of SSCM should expand from linear buyer–supplier relationships to multi-tier and multilateral studies. Special focus should be placed on the literature on social network to support processes that look at the drivers of effective large-scale, global diffusion of sustainability.Originality/valueThis review contends that it is paramount to set a new research direction captured in a new definition of “sustainable supply network management”. Future research should overcome the barriers of data collection at the network level in order to contribute to the field’s current challenges, which clearly lies in globally dispersed and complex supply network, not dyads or linear chains.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A literature review of recent mathematical modelling approaches

This research maps and defines the modelling approaches and mathematical techniques that have been used in solving supply chain problems in various industries. An analysis of peer-reviewed research papers has been conducted through a comprehensive search of the literature published from 2010 to 2016. Therefore, mathematical tools and techniques utilised in sustainable supply chain management research in each industrial sector will be identified, thereby opening up directions for future research. This paper addresses the shortfalls in previous works which have not yet addressed the application of mathematical modelling approaches with an industry focus. In addition, this paper also provides a reliable source of information for future expansion in sustainable supply chain management literature and the decision-making process in different industries.

Sustainable supply chain management: a literature review of recent mathematical modelling approaches

This research maps and defines the modelling approaches and mathematical techniques that have been used in solving supply chain problems in various industries. An analysis of peer-reviewed research papers has been conducted through a comprehensive search of the literature published from 2010 to 2016. Therefore, mathematical tools and techniques utilised in sustainable supply chain management research in each industrial sector will be identified, thereby opening up directions for future research. This paper addresses the shortfalls in previous works which have not yet addressed the application of mathematical modelling approaches with an industry focus. In addition, this paper also provides a reliable source of information for future expansion in sustainable supply chain management literature and the decision-making process in different industries.

Honoring complexity in sustainable supply chain research: a rough set theoretic approach (SI:ResMeth)

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) faces greater complexity because it considers additional stakeholder requirements, broader sustainable performance objectives, increased sustainable business practices and technologies, and relationships among those entities. These additional complexities make SSCM more difficult to manage and operate than traditional supply chains. Complex systems require new methods for research especially given reductionist research paradigms of modern science. Rough set theory (RST) can be a valuable tool that will help address complexity in SSCM research and practice. To exemplify RST usefulness and applicability, an illustrative application using sustainable supply chain practices (SSCP), and environmental and economic performance outcomes is introduced. The conceptual case provides nuanced insights for researchers and practitioners in mitigating and evaluating various SSCM complexities. RST limitations and extensions are introduced.

Multi-tier sustainable supply chain management: The role of supply chain leadership

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) has been considered increasingly important by both industry and academia in recent years. Among the main streams of SSCM research, little is known on how multi-national corporations (MNCs), assuming leadership in their supply chain, have been able to facilitate their supply chain members to learn sustainability practice in an emerging economy context. To answer this research question, a multiple-case study was designed. Multi-tier supply chains of three MNCs were selected to investigate their proactive sustainability projects in China. A framework was proposed based on the constructs of supply chain leadership, multi-tier supply chain governance, multi-tier supply chain structure and supply chain learning. We found that the combined effect of supply chain leadership and governance mechanisms affects both supply chain structure and supply chain learning and MNCs change their supply chain structure to facilitate supply chain learning. Three sets of propositions are advanced and implications for future research are elucidated.

Sustainable Supply Chain Based on News Articles and Sustainability Reports: Text Mining with Leximancer and DICTION

The purpose of this research is to explore sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) trends, and firms’ strategic positioning and execution with regard to sustainability in the textile and apparel industry based on news articles and sustainability reports. Further analysis of the rhetoric in Chief executive officer (CEO) letters within sustainability reports is used to determine firms’ resoluteness, positive entailments, sharing of values, perception of reality, and sustainability strategy and execution feasibility. Computer-based content analysis is used for this research: Leximancer is applied for text analysis, while dictionary-based text mining program DICTION and SPSS are used for rhetorical analysis. Overall, contents similar to the literature on environmental, social, and economic aspects of the triple bottom line (TBL) are observed, however, topics such as regulation, green incentives, and international standards are not readily observed. Furthmore, ethical issues, sustainable production, quality, and customer roles are emphasized in texts analyzed. The CEO letter analysis indicates that listed firms show relatively low realism and high commonality, while North American firms exhibit relatively high commonality, and Europe firms show relatively high realism. The results will serve as a baseline for providing academia guidelines in SSCM research, and provide an opportunity for businesses to complement their sustainability strategies and executions.

A Framework of Sustainable Service Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

In recent years, the interdisciplinary research of supply chains and sustainability has received extensive, yet gradual, attention; when compared to the rapid economic growth of the service industry, however, sustainable supply chain management has not been systematically explored yet. It has not only great theoretical significance, but also positive practical significance to provide a framework for the operation of a sustainable service supply chain from a sustainable development point of view. Based on the triple bottom line (TBL), we have analyzed related sustainable supply chain management research between 2006 and 2015, reviewed papers involving two or three bottom lines as well, and then introduced some classical frameworks for manufacturing supply chain management and service supply chain management. Afterward, by analyzing the differences between the manufacturing and service industries, we propose a framework of sustainable service supply chain management (SSSCM). Based on the impacts of sustainable development TBL on service supply chain participants, we have finally made a framework for sustainable operation facing triads service supply chain and proposed a future research agenda.

A hybrid approach to configure eco-efficient supply chains under consideration of performance and risk aspects

Formal models that support multi-criteria decision making represent a strongly growing area in sustainable supply chain management research. However, uncertainties and risks are seldom considered in quantitative models for green supply chain (SC) design. The paper at hand suggests a hybrid approach to configure an eco-efficient SC for a new product under consideration of economic and environmental risks. Discrete-event simulation is applied to assess the financial, operational and environmental performance of different SC configuration options while the value-at-risk concept is adapted to evaluate related SC risks. The analytic hierarchy process is employed to solve the resulting multi-criteria decision problem of choosing the best option. The approach is illustrated at a case example of a fast moving consumer goods manufacturer.

Supplier development for sustainability: contextual barriers in global supply chains

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore contextual barriers to supplier development for sustainability (SDS) in global supply chains and managerial remedies to mitigate such barriers.Design/methodology/approach– A dyadic case study design was adopted with a Western European buyer and six of its Chinese suppliers. The database consists of 41 interviews and 81 documents.Findings– Contextual barriers to SDS in global supply chains derive from complexities in the sustainability concept, socio-economic differences, spatial and linguistic distance, as well as cultural differences between buyers and suppliers. Partial remedies include effective joint communications, an open organizational culture, and the fostering of cross-contextual understanding.Research limitations/implications– The findings contribute to theory development at the intersection of sustainable and global supply chain management research. They help to explain why scarce sustainability-related progress in global supply chains has occurred in recent years.Practical implications– The identified barriers facilitate managerial decision making that will expedite SDS progress in global contexts.Social implications– By diffusing knowledge regarding available remedies, the study contributes to improving SDS effectiveness, thereby fostering sustainability capabilities and performance of suppliers.Originality/value– This research highlights the criticality of contextual barriers to SDS. The barrier effects that stem from differing real-world conceptions of sustainability may inform future sustainable supply chain management research within and beyond SDS.