Sustainable Supply Chain Research Articles

A hybrid machine learning solution for redesigning sustainable circular energy supply chains

Sustainability development goals require decision-makers to incorporate social and environmental indicators in their economic models using innovative solutions, such as a sustainable circular economy. This paper presents an innovative integrated production and logistic model for a circular economy using multi-objective optimization. Empirical data includes a renewable energy supply chain. We assess the sustainability performance of the proposed decision-making model by simultaneously considering production and logistics costs, carbon emissions, and the number of jobs created. The case study is optimized with an exact method, and a hybrid machine-learning algorithm solves large-scale numerical examples. The paper’s main contributions include movable manufacturers, uncertain parameters, a hybrid machine learning algorithm, and empirical data in the proposed decision-making model. The findings show that a moveable facility can substantially decrease total cost and carbon emissions. Sensitivity analysis shows that changes in moveable capacity and percent yield considerably impact the objectives. Findings show that decision-makers can achieve cost parity with fossil-based sources when employing circular supply chain management.

Corporate social responsibility and circular economy integration framework within sustainable supply chain management: Building blocks for industry 5.0

AbstractThe emergence of Industry 5.0 (I5.0) underscores the importance of integrating sustainability and human‐centricity into organizations. This requires combining corporate social responsibility (CSR) and circular economy (CE) within sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). However, the interplay between CSR, CE, and SSCM remains underexplored, especially in the context of I5.0. Therefore, this article proposes a framework for integrating CSR and CE principles within SSCM, serving as a transition to I5.0. The framework is derived from a comprehensive scoping review and experts' input, with a backdrop of the business legitimacy theory. It comprises several key constructs, including the supply chain structure and promoters, organized around four pillars representing the components of CE and embracing the triple bottom line dimensions. With 12 guidelines, the framework stands as a practical tool for organizations aiming to seamlessly integrate CSR and CE within SSCM, facilitating the transition to I5.0 and promoting a sustainable, socially responsible ethos.

Leveraging Lean and Green Supply Chain Practices for Sustainable Supply Chain Performance: The Moderating Role of Environmental Orientation

Abstract This study investigates the impact of lean and green supply chain practices on business process performance and sustainable supply chain performance. The research utilises the resource-based view (RBV) theory to construct a conceptual model wherein lean and green supply chain practices are employed to augment business processes and sustainable performance. Concurrently, dynamic capabilities theory is applied to signify an organisation’s capacity to adapt and evolve in response to internal and external pressures from customers and competitors. The conceptual model is validated using structural equation modelling with a sample of 170 supply chain practitioners from the apparel and textile supply chain in Jordan. Results indicate that lean practices exhibit no direct impact, whereas green practices significantly influence business process performance and indirectly affect sustainable supply chain performance. Business process performance does not mediate the relationship for lean practices, but it does so for green practices. Moreover, the environmental orientation of both competitors and customers negatively moderates the impact of green practices on business processes and sustainable supply chain performance. These findings contribute to existing literature and underscore the crucial role of green supply chain practices in enhancing sustainable supply chain performance in the apparel and textile industry.

A Study on the Emergence of Sustainable Supply Chains and Response Types of Korean Seafood Exporters

A Study on the Emergence of Sustainable Supply Chains and Response Types of Korean Seafood Exporters

Blockchain technology as an enabler of transparency and efficiency in sustainable supply chains

Blockchain technology, known for its decentralized and immutable ledger, presents a promising solution to the challenges of ensuring transparency and efficiency in sustainable supply chains. This abstract explores how blockchain can enhance traceability, verify authenticity, and foster stakeholder trust by providing an unalterable record of transactions accessible by all parties involved. Additionally, blockchain improves supply chain efficiency through streamlined processes, accurate data, and reduced fraud and errors, enabled by its secure and automated systems. Case studies in the food, fashion, and pharmaceutical industries demonstrate blockchain's practical applications, showcasing its role in ensuring food safety, ethical sourcing, and counterfeit prevention. Despite its potential, challenges such as integration with existing systems, scalability, regulatory compliance, and data privacy must be addressed. As these obstacles are overcome, blockchain is poised to become a key component in the management of sustainable supply chains, offering substantial benefits in transparency and operational efficiency.

Sustainability in Supply Chain Planning

Sustainability in supply chain planning has emerged as a vital component for attaining long-term company success and environmental stewardship in today's quickly expanding global market. This is because sustainability is integral to the planning process. Sustainable supply chain planning incorporates environmental, social, and economic issues into the heart of supply chain management strategies. This is in response to the growing awareness among companies of the need to reduce their ecological imprint. When establishing a sustainable supply chain, it is necessary to conduct an exhaustive analysis of the whole supply chain lifetime, beginning with the procurement of raw materials and ending with the disposal of products at their end of life. It is necessary to put into practice procedures that cut down on waste, lessen the amount of carbon emissions, and increase the efficiency with which resources are used. The selection of suppliers who adhere to sustainable practices, the optimisation of transportation routes to minimise fuel usage, and the utilisation of technology that support the ideas of a circular economy are all important initiatives. Through the implementation of these components, organisations have the ability to reduce the risks connected with environmental requirements and interruptions in supply chain operations.

Sustainable supply chain management: The right way of doing business in Nigeria

Background: Improved organizational performances and increased competitiveness have been linked to sustainable supply chain management as a strategic tool. In Nigeria, most manufacturing companies seems to be unaware of the importance of this tool in their supply chain processes. Some of their manufacturing outputs are threats to life's existence. Proper adoption of all sustainable practices will not only reduce the cost of production but will also increase business profitability. Purpose: The main objective of this study is to investigate guidelines or practices manufacturing companies in Nigeria must adopt to achieve sustainability in their supply chain management. In addition, to explore the relationship between the outcomes of sustainable supply chain management practices and business profitability among manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Methodology: The research design is a descriptive type. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire that was designed to address each of the research questions. Findings: The findings are presented in tables. It was shown that the general awareness of sustainable practices is a bit above average and the adoption of the practices was seen in varying degrees. Reverse logistics (37%), sustainable warehousing (75%), environmental purchasing (26%) sustainable transportation (4%). Discussions: Adoption of these sustainable practices has been seen to increase sales, improve the corporate image of the firm, and improve information sharing among all stakeholders. However, this adoption is still poor, which means that the manufacturing sector has yet to harness the concept of sustainability as an option for doing business right in the country.

Impact of sustainable supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance in the manufacturing sector

Impact of sustainable supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance in the manufacturing sector

Defining a sustainable supply chain for buildings Off-Site envelope thermal insulation solutions: proposal of a methodology to investigate opportunities based on a context analysis

Defining a sustainable supply chain for buildings Off-Site envelope thermal insulation solutions: proposal of a methodology to investigate opportunities based on a context analysis

The Role of Business Leaders in Promoting Sustainable Practices and the SDGS-Experience from India

Objective: The article aims to analyse the role of business leaders in India for promoting sustainability and SDGs as a management best practice, having due regard to the regulatory framework which subsist in India as on date. Method: The article is qualitative research, which examines how Indian corporates promote sustainability and SDG best practices which entails relevant contextual knowledge. Reliance has been placed on secondary data like relevant literature, article and case studies to co-relate with the research problem and resultant analysis. Result & Discussion: The research revealed the growing trend among Indian corporate leaders to recognise the importance of sustainability and SDGs as a part of corporate strategy. The enhancement in investments and advancement and advancements in renewable energy, sustainable supply chain management, waste management etc demonstrating this transition. It also notes the challenges from various stakeholders for such changes as a major challenge for the purpose. Originality/ Value: The study pioneeringly investigates the role of business leaders in promoting sustainability and SDGs as a business strategy in India.

Application of Business Intelligence Technology Model to Sustainable Supply Chain

Under the backdrop of globalization, sustainable supply chains are becoming one of the most important directions for commercial development in the future. The efficiency of supply chain management (SCM) will be significantly improved when business intelligence is used in the supply chain. Sustainable supply chain refers to the integration of sustainable development elements on the basis of traditional supply chain management, introducing the assessment and management of social, environmental, economic benefits and other risks. The aim of this paper is to look at how different BI techniques affect different business models. Most of this paper is a summary of previous scholars work. The most successful and widespread application of BI is the final outcome of the technology acceptance model. These three BI models have different effects on sustainable supply chains, but in general, BI is very helpful for sustainable supply chain development in all aspects. Future results would be much more accurate and effective if three techniques were actually able to monitor and compare the sustainability of supply chains.

Sustainability: Is It a Strategic Management Research Fashion?

This article aims to identify the relationship between sustainability and strategic management to determine whether sustainability can be considered a strategic management research fashion. This involves a bibliometric analysis of recent academic literature from 2021 to 2023 to identify the latest academic research, key trends, collaboration and keyword networks within this relationship. The analysis was conducted using two datasets from the Scopus database. These datasets focus on English-language journal articles on business, management and accounting. The first covers academic research on strategic management, while the second expands to sustainability and sustainable development. The results show that strategic management research focusing on sustainability has recently grown faster (24.70%) and with higher funding frequency (22.4%) than the whole strategic management research field (14.30% and 17.5%, respectively). Furthermore, the geographical analysis of co-authorship identified articles from 88 countries, suggesting a broad interest in this relationship. Notably, the strategic management network mapping revealed a unique, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability cluster. Moreover, extended mapping revealed four clusters: strategic and innovation-driven sustainability, operational corporate sustainability, crisis management and environmental economics, and sustainable supply chain and resource management. The thematic analysis further highlights well-developed sustainability and strategic management research topics like digitalisation, circular economy, sustainable supply chain management, sustainable development goals, industry 4.0, COVID-19, environmental sustainability, etc. that are contributing to the progress of sustainability and strategic management research. The results thus confirm the rapid growth and widespread coverage of research on sustainability and strategic management, highlighting sustainability as a strategic management research fashion.

Analysis of Industry 4.0 technological enablers for sustainable supply chain transparency in a fuzzy environment

AbstractThis study aims to identify various Industry 4.0 technological enablers and analyze their relationships in achieving transparency in sustainable supply chains. Initially, 17 Industry 4.0 technological enablers were selected based on an extensive literature review of sustainable supply chains and evaluated through Systems and Information Processing theories. Using the fuzzy Delphi method, these enablers were then narrowed down to 14 relevant ones. The reliability of these enablers was assessed by measuring their internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha (α) and McDonald's omega (ω). The fuzzy Decision‐Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method was then used to demonstrate that blockchain, cybersecurity, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) are the most prominent and influential enablers for enhancing transparency in a sustainable supply chain. Additionally, the cause–effect relationship of other key enablers provides evidence for a feasibility study that links sustainability with transparency across the supply chain. These identified Industry 4.0 technological enablers can assist external stakeholders and policymakers in improving transparency and advancing sustainable supply chain practices.

Examining the Correlation Between Sustainable Supply Chains and Economic Growth in the United States

This study addresses the critical intersection of climate change, depleting natural resources, and the urgent need for sustainability initiatives to ensure long-term economic growth and environmental conservation. With a growing demand for eco-friendly products and sustainable business practices, the role of supply chain management in promoting sustainable development has become increasingly significant. Hou et al. (2023) highlighted the convergence between sustainability and supply chains, identifying areas for future research. However, the relationship between sustainable supply chains and economic growth in the United States remains underexplored. This qualitative research aims to investigate this correlation by analyzing relevant literature and empirical studies. The findings will offer recommendations to support the United States in achieving its sustainability and economic growth objectives, considering its position as a global leader.

Manufacturer Encroachment on a Sustainable Supply Chain under Asymmetric Green Information

This paper investigates manufacturer encroachment on a sustainable supply chain, where the manufacturer holds exclusive information on product greenness and is responsible for both corporate social responsibility (CSR) and greening. The manufacturer and the retailer play a signaling game whereby CSR effort and wholesale price serve as joint green signals. Findings reveal that, firstly, encroachment induces higher CSR efforts from manufacturers. When customers exhibit a strong CSR preference, the resulting CSR increment leads to increased offline demand and drives up both wholesale and retail prices in a mutually beneficial manner. This phenomenon is referred to as the CSR effect, yielding a win-win encroachment. Secondly, when signaling product greenness to highly CSR-sensitive customers, the high-greenness manufacturer principally distorts her CSR effort downward to an extent unprofitable for the low-greenness manufacturer to mimic and subordinately distorts the wholesale price downward to counter CSR-induced demand decrement and mitigate CSR cost pass-through downstream. Finally, the win-win encroachment pattern is characterized by encroachment profit and signal expense sharing, with encroachment strengthening downward-distorted signaling while signaling weakens the CSR effect. These insights contribute valuable guidance for green manufacturers in CSR decision-making, which functions as a component of green signaling and facilitates transitioning to dual-channel sustainable supply chains.

Effecting the adoption of blockchain technology enablers in supply chain sustainability with green hydrogen acceptance role as a mediator: Evidence from complex decarbonization industries in the United Arab Emirates

The industrial sector is undergoing a pervasive digital transformation in the current landscape, particularly in steel, cement, chemicals, and refineries. These are collectively termed "complex decarbonization industries (CDI)," where reducing emissions poses a significant challenge. Green hydrogen (GH) production, conducted sustainability, represents an innovative solution that facilitates energy storage and reduces reliance on fossil fuels. However, producing green hydrogen requires effective management and flexible strategic decisions to ensure transparency and environmental friendliness. This paper utilizes blockchain technology enablers (BCTE) to track carbon emissions and ensure the origin of green gas in these sectors while independently exploring its relationship to a sustainable supply chain (SSC). GH is presented as a mediating variable in this relationship. Utilizing a cross-sectional methodology, the research gathered data via interviews and an online survey from 462 employees in companies participating in the 2022 Shams Dubai program under the aegis of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority in the UAE. The Structural Equation Modeling - Analysis of Moment Structures (SEM-AMOS) technique was used to perform the statistical analyses. Based on interviews and survey results in the UAE's CDI, the findings show that BCTE directly impacts SSC's social and environmental dimensions, while its effect on the economic dimension is negative. However, when GH mediated this relationship, the results were indirectly positive in enhancing the SSC in complex decarbonization industries without any negative environmental effects. Adopting GH is a way to reward sustainable behavior. The findings of this study could inform the UAE's policymaking, particularly in designing incentives for GH adoption in industrial sectors and creating regulatory frameworks that encourage BCTE integration for energy tracking and emissions reduction. This approach could serve as a model for similar economies striving for sustainable industrial practices.

The nexus of stewardship and sustainability in supply chains: revealing the impact of purchasing social responsibility on innovativeness and operation performance

The nexus of stewardship and sustainability in supply chains: revealing the impact of purchasing social responsibility on innovativeness and operation performance

Beyond the new normal for sustainability: transformative operations and supply chain management for negative emissions

PurposeThis paper aims to explore three operations and supply chain management (OSCM) approaches for meeting the 2 °C targets to counteract climate change: adaptation (adjusting to climatic impacts); mitigation (innovating towards low-carbon practices); and carbon-removing negative emissions technologies (NETs). We suggest that adaptation nor mitigation may be enough to meet the current climate targets, thus calling for NETs, resulting in the following question: How can operations and supply chains be reconceptualized for NETs?Design/methodology/approachWe draw on the sustainable supply chain and transitions discourses along with interview data involving 125 experts gathered from a broad research project focused on geoengineering and NETs. We analyze three case studies of emerging NETs (biochar, direct air carbon capture and storage and ocean alkalinity enhancement), leading to propositions on the link between OSCM and NETs.FindingsAlthough some NETs are promising, there remains considerable variance and uncertainty over supply chain configurations, efficacy, social acceptability and potential risks of unintended detrimental consequences. We introduce the concept of transformative OSCM, which encompasses policy interventions to foster the emergence of new technologies in industry sectors driven by social mandates but lack clear commercial incentives.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the first that studies NETs from an OSCM perspective. It suggests a pathway toward new industry structures and policy support to effectively tackle climate change through carbon removal.

IMPACT OF SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN IN GHANA'S PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR ON UPSTREAM PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

Purposes: In today's business landscape, success isn't solely reliant on financial goals. Adapting to the global economy is crucial for a company's viability. Stakeholders prioritize business sustainability, evident in empirical studies exploring sustainable supply chain management theories in the sector. The study aimed to assess how Sustainable Supply Chain in Ghana's Pharmaceutical Sector influences firm performance within the upstream industry. Method: The study was conducted in the accessible southern part of Ghana, known for its concentration of pharmaceutical companies. Specifically, individuals involved in procurement and supply chain activities within these companies were selected for inclusion in the study. The study used quantitative methods to explore Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) in the upstream pharmaceutical industry. Out of 2000, 210 managers were randomly sampled, and SPSS Version 26 was employed for structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. Results and Conclusion: The study found that there was a significant relationship between SSCM and supply chain performance (SSCMP). Besides, the study found moderation impact between Top Management Commitment (TMC) and SSCM and SSCMP respectively. Pharmaceutical companies should not solely focus on economic performance; rather, strategic efforts and policies must prioritize sustainability. Top management commitment is crucial for enhancing supply chain performance. Their dedication ensures the integration of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) with strategic objectives, embedding sustainability across the entire supply chain, from procurement to distribution. Research Implication: Top management should drive sustainability strategy, integrating it into operations and fostering a culture of sustainability for robust Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the pharmaceutical upstream sector. Originality/Value: the study leverages on the theoretical understanding of upper echelon theory to provide empirical evidence on the impact of top management commitments on performance of supply chain which hitherto has been scarcely deployed in recent years.

TOP MANAGEMENT ROLE IN ENSURING SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: EXPLORATORY REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Purpose: Top management plays a crucial role in implementing Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) practices, especially in developing countries, by driving performance, securing resources, and promoting necessary changes. This study explores how top management's commitment and strategic leadership impact SSCM adoption and implementation in developing countries like Ghana, where SSCM adoption rates are low and empirical research is lacking. Method: Using a qualitative research design and a systematic literature review from the SCOPUS database, the study analyzes peer-reviewed studies from 2010 onwards. Results and Conclusion: Findings reveal that top management's commitment to sustainability fosters organizational responsibility, innovation, and compliance with ethical standards, encouraging proactive approaches to opportunities, market adaptation, and green practices. Research Implication: These insights provide practical recommendations for improving performance, building trust, and achieving sustainable development goals, contributing significantly to the understanding of SSCM practices and their positive impact on organizational performance. Originality/Value: By leveraging empirical work this study builds analytical patterns on issues that relate with management roles and sustainable supply chain management. The standardized assessment of the issues provides a trustworthy result as this study does not entirely rely on the exclusive opinion of the researchers but is based on standard deduction of the role of managers in ensuring the adoption of sustainable supply chain management within industries.