Analysing green supply chain management practices in Brazil’s electrical/electronics industry using interpretive structural modelling

An Integrated Fuzzy DEMATEL and Fuzzy TOPSIS Method for Analyzing Smart Manufacturing Technologies

I4.0 promotes a future in which highly individualized goods are mass produced at a competitive price through autonomous, responsive manufacturing. In order to attain market competitiveness, organizations require proper integration of I4.0 technologies and manufacturing strategy outputs (MSOs). Implementing such a comprehensive integration relies on carefully selecting I4.0 technologies to meet industrial requirements. There is little clarity on the impact of I4.0 technologies on MSOs, and the literature provides little attention to this topic. This research investigates the influence of I4.0 technologies on MSOs by combining reliable MCDM methods. This research uses a combination of fuzzy DEMATEL and fuzzy TOPSIS to evaluate the impact of I4.0 technologies on MSOs. The fuzzy theory is implemented in DEMATEL and TOPSIS to deal with the uncertainty and vagueness of human judgment. The FDEMATEL was utilized to identify interrelationships and determine criterion a’s weights, while the fuzzy TOPSIS approach was employed to rank the I4.0 technologies. According to the study’s findings, cost is the most critical factor determining MSOs’ market competitiveness, followed by flexibility and performance. On the other hand, additive manufacturing (AM) is the best I4.0 technology for competing in the global market. The results present an evaluation model for analyzing the relative important weight of multiple factors on MSOs. They can also assist managers in concentrating on the most influential factors and selecting the proper I4.0 Technology to preserve competitiveness.

Factors affecting managers' intention to adopt green supply chain management practices: evidence from manufacturing firms in Jordan

Global sustainability movement encourages companies to adopt and implement green supply chain management (GSCM) practices across the organization. Moreover, the integration of green practices into traditional supply chain is still to be a difficult task in manufacturing sector. However, empirical studies regarding the identification of influential factors affecting GSCM adoption among supply chain managers in manufacturing sector are under researched. This study assesses the factors affecting GSCM adoption in Jordan manufacturing firms. A well-structured questionnaire was administered for data collection. A valid 376 responses were collected from different manufacturing firms in Jordan. The data were analyzed, and the proposed model was validated using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Results reveal that four factors, namely, supplier, environmental, customer, and cost factors significantly influence the intention to adopt GSCM among managers. The firm size had significantly moderated the relationship between market/financial and GSCM adoption, internal factor and GSCM adoption. The study will help the policymakers to understand the drivers of GSCM adoption among managers and assist them in implementing GSCM practices according to the size of the firm. This study is first of its kind to analyze the role of firm size as a moderator on the relationship between market/financial, supplier, governmental, environmental, internal, customers, cost factors, and GSCM in the context of Jordon.

Green supply chain management pressures, practices and performance: a critical literature review

Purpose

The concept of green supply chain management (GSCM) is evolving rapidly due to the environmental concerns and gaining popularity in the research community. This study critically analyze the literature of GSCM pressure, practice and performance for manufacturing enterprises based on the results of bibliometric, network and frequency analyses.

Design/methodology/approach

Scopus database is used for literature search. Bibliometric network and frequency analysis are used to critically review the evolution of identified constructs and measures of GSCM pressure, practice and performance.

Findings

This study has identified that the selected topic is in growing stage through the collaborative effort of the worldwide researchers. This study also shows the diffusion of influence in developing countries and there are enormous opportunities of research in these regions. The study finds evaluation of GSCM constructs and measures with time and shift in focus areas by the researchers. The study suggests more focus on the measurement of informative pressures, reverse logistics practices and negative impact on economic performance due to the adoption of GSCM practices. There is a need of simultaneous analysis of GSCM pressures, practices and performance to identify the cascading effect in different regions and industrial sectors and developed a conceptual framework to identify this effect. This study also observes the need of more quantitative measures-based case studies and suggests the use of life cycle assessment for the quantification of environmental performance.

Originality/value

This study for the first time has analyzed a specific topic of GSCM pressure, practice and performance through bibliometric and network analyses. This study critically reviews the constructs and measures of GSCM pressure, practice and performance and identified the future research directions.

Safety Failure Factors Affecting Dairy Supply Chain: Insights from a Developing Economy

Safety issues in the dairy industry have attracted greater attention in recent years, and the public have showed an intensive concern regarding safety failure in the dairy supply chain. Since the dairy industry is closely associated with humans and fulfills basic necessities, it is necessary to explore safety failure factors (SFFs) affecting the supply chain of the dairy industry. This paper aims to explore the SFFs of the dairy supply chain using an interpretive structural modeling technique (ISM) and Matrice d’Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliques a un Classement (MICMAC) analysis in a Pakistani context. A total of twenty-five failure factors have been identified through literature reviews and the opinion of an expert team, including managerial and technical experts from the dairy industry, as well as academics. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is applied to analyze the mutual interaction among barriers and to develop a structural model. The MICMAC technique is used to identify the importance of SFFs based on their driving and dependence power. The results of this study will help decision-makers in the dairy industry to plan their supply chain activities more effectively and efficiently by managing the identified barriers.

Evaluating and Prioritizing the Green Supply Chain Management Practices in Pakistan: Based on Delphi and Fuzzy AHP Approach

Nowadays, green supply chain management (SCM) practices are increasing among firms to adopt green practices and reduce the negative effects of supply chain operations on the environment. Firms such as manufacturing, mining, and agriculture have to improve their capacity in green SCM practices because environmental regulations force them to consider these issues. However, green practices are new and require comprehensive study to determine this problem. This study has taken the case of three garment manufacturing firms for the evaluation of green SCM practices in the context of Pakistan. The green SCM requires multi-dimensional techniques; therefore, fuzzy-based multi-criteria decision analysis approaches must be adopted while assessing green SCM practices of firms. This is because fuzzy-based methods obtain a significant solution for complex, vague, and uncertain multi-attribute problems in fuzzy environment. Therefore, in this study, a hybrid decision model comprised of Delphi, and Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodologies is proposed for assessing the green SCM practices of firms in terms of green design, green purchasing, green production, green warehousing, green logistics, and reverse logistics. The Fuzzy AHP method results reveal that “green purchasing,” “green design,” and “green production” are ranked the most important green indicators. Further, results reveal the ranking of manufacturing firms (alternatives) in the context of green SCM practices. This study shall help industries to focus on green SCM practices and adopt the green manufacturing process.

Analysis of interpretive structural model of Indian railway security system by analytic hierarchy process (AHP)

Purpose

Security and safety have remained important concerns for mankind since ancient times. In the context of railways, however, the threat perceptions to safety and security have increased significantly lately. In view of this, the Indian Railways requires an effective and efficient security management system. The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated approach to help develop the Indian railway security system (IRSS) by successively reducing the complexity of the system through a series of studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The relevant elements of the complex system of Indian Railways have been identified. The framework in which the elements exist and interact with each other has been clearly established using the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique. The output of ISM is further reduced in complexity by having different policy option profiles. A comparison of different option profiles has been done by a multi-criteria decision-making technique, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), by choosing suitable criteria for comparison.

Findings

The following elements need to be pursued as the key objectives for making IRSS: protection of passengers, protection of property, modernisation, manpower enhancement, multi-skilling of staff, latest technology and enhanced legal powers.

Research limitations/implications

The present research can be extended in many important ways. Interpretive structural models for different contextual relationships can be developed and used for formulating and implementing customised security policy. Policy elements and the ISM structure obtained in this research can be utilised for the system dynamic modelling of IRSS. A pilot study can be done to implement the recommendations made in this study.

Practical implications

The ISM model developed can be implemented as a policy tool in enhancing the railway’s security. Some of the policy elements proposed appear to be consistent with the strategic direction being undertaken in the railway security in the country.

Social implications

Security is an important concern for mankind and social civilisations. The results have significant welfare implications in India and the rest of the world.

Originality/value

The present study is one of the first approaches in a series of studies in railway security in India. The results of this study can be extended to other security scenarios with similar needs.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Sustainability, the simultaneous management of economic, environmental and social dimensions in a supply chain is a challenging research area in supply chain management. Researchers have adopted different techniques to integrate the three components of sustainability. But the relationship between different sustainability initiatives and the performance outcomes are still to be analyzed systematically. In the present study, the review of various works published in sustainable supply chain management domain is carried out with a hybrid method of meta-analysis and content analysis. The research papers were selected based on different theories of sustainable development. The theories considered in the present study are the following; theory of population ecology, resource-based view theory, natural resource-based view theory, resource dependence theory, stakeholder theory, and transaction cost economics theory. The developments in the sustainable supply chain management area and the methodologies used for modelling and analysis are reviewed using this hybrid method by carefully analyzing the literature published during the period 2005-2017. This review will enable researchers in identifying the potential areas for research on sustainable supply chain management.

Adoption of green practices throughout the supply chain: an empirical investigation

Purpose

There is a dichotomy in the actual and expected environmental performances of the Indian enterprises even though the Indian enterprises have aligned their businesses with intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) targets. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the supply chain of Indian enterprises to understand influences to adopt green practices throughout the supply chains, and how these green practices influence economic, operational and environmental performances to reveal the underlying currents explaining difference in actual and expected performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Five research propositions are developed based on the existing literature. Data are collected from 233 ceramic enterprises in India. Exploratory factor analysis has been done to test construct validity and correlation. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to check unidimensionality of constructs. Structural equation modeling is used to test the strength and direction of the relations between the constructs and to develop the model.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that the Indian companies have aligned their businesses with INDC targets but they have not adopted the green practices in inbound and outbound supply chains; therefore, the actual environmental performance is not as expected. Other major finding is that the enterprise and government are not focusing on the informative pressure and instead the focus is on coercive techniques which are not yielding positive results. The statistical results show that the adoption of green practices led to the improvements in environmental and operational performances but reduction in economic performance.

Originality/value

This paper has analyzed green supply chain management pressure, practice and performance measure for Indian ceramic enterprises and proposed a structural model with their interrelation.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices in Petrochemical Industry Using Interpretive Structural Modeling

Across different geographical and industrial boundaries, different firms are attempting to implement sustainability in their supply chain in response to pressures from different groups. This article aims at identifying and analyzing influential practices for implementing sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). By determining these practices, top management can focus on them in order to improve the performance of their supply chains. The petrochemical industry was selected because of its role in the Iranian economy and its considerable environmental and social impacts. The interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique was used as a useful technique to identify interrelations between different sustainable practices. According to the results, set up reduction and pull production system (related to JIT practices) are driving other practices, and these practices have vital role among other practices. There are four practices related to evaluating and collaborating suppliers and other industry peers, which occupy the highest level.

Benchmarking Indian ceramic enterprises based on green supply chain management pressures, practices and performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) pressures, implementation level of GSCM practices and improvement in performance of the Indian ceramic enterprises. The paper also aims at benchmarking the Indian ceramic enterprises based on enterprise size and market orientation (export activity).

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on the empirical study of Indian ceramic industry. Propositions are developed to study: the impact of GSCM pressures, implementation level of GSCM practices, improvement in GSCM performance, and the effect of GSCM pressures on implementation of practices, and impact of GSCM practices on GSCM performance. Data are collected from Indian ceramic enterprises of different sizes. Exploratory factor analysis is performed to segregate the pressures, practices and performance variables into constructs. Two-step algorithm, with log-likelihood measures of distance and Bayesian information criterion, is used to decide the optimal number of clusters. These clusters are compared and benchmarked according to the enterprise size and export activity.

Findings

This study finds that the implementation level of GSCM practices is higher in large- and medium-size enterprises as compared to small-size enterprises. Large- and medium-size enterprises have high impact of mimetic and informative pressures and small enterprises have high impact of coercive pressure (CP). Although the CP is high on small enterprises but due to the limited resources, these enterprises cannot afford to implement GSCM practices. The implementation of GSCM practices results into the improvement of environmental and operational performance but decrease in economic performance.

Practical implications

The findings of this study will suggest the policy maker to encourage the diffusion mechanism through a collaborative partnership with larger enterprises to enhance the implementation level of GSCM practices in small-size enterprises.

Originality/value

The novelty of the paper are: it analyzes and benchmarks GSCM pressures, practice and performance for Indian ceramic enterprises by considering enterprises size and export activities as control variables, and it finds the effect of GSCM pressures on the implementation level of GSCM practices and improvement in enterprise performance for Indian ceramic enterprises.

"There is no carnival without samba": Revealing barriers hampering biodiversity-based R&D and eco-design in Brazil

Considering the unique relevance of Brazilian biodiversity, this research aims to investigate the main barriers to biodiversity-based R&D and eco-design development in a leading national company which has been commended for its innovation and sustainability. The methodology for this research was based on on-location visits, in-depth interviews, and consensus building among R&D, sustainability, and quality managers. A multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was adopted through interpretive structural modelling (ISM), a method that assists decision makers to transform complex models with unclear data into structural models. Some of the most influential barriers to biodiversity-based eco-design initiatives are "lack of legal incentive", "not enough demand from the market", and "not enough available knowledge/scientific data." The most relevant barrier was "no legal incentive" from government. Consequently, managers should concentrate their efforts in tackling those barriers that may affect other barriers known as 'key barriers'. Government should work decisively toward promoting a framework of legal incentives for bio-based eco-design; otherwise, metaphorically, "there is not carnival without the samba singer who pushes the rhythm". The results given here reveal the barriers for bio-based eco-design in a Brazilian leading company, and this is the first work combining ISM to barriers to biodiversity R&D and eco-design.