A framework for benchmarking product sustainability efforts

Drivers of green supply chain management: a close-up study

Green supply chain management (GSCM) is an important part of most production organisations in developed countries. Meanwhile, developing countries are yet to fully embrace the concept. This study, therefore, investigated the drivers of GSCM using a close-up approach in a leading manufacturing organisation in Nigeria with sustainability initiatives. One hundred and fifty-four questionnaires retrieved from the supply chain management team of the organisation were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics such as mean score, standard deviation, and factor analysis. Based on the results of the analyses, the drivers of GSCM in the organisation could be grouped as government-related, organisational-related, and societal-related drivers. The study concluded that synergy of the government, organisations, non-government organisations, and individual is important for achieving green supply chain practices in developing countries. It was recommended that training at all levels is essential to improve the awareness and importance of sustainable production to the environment.

Environment, Business, and Health Care Prevail: A Comprehensive, Systematic Review of System Dynamics Application Domains

System dynamics, as a methodology for analyzing and understanding various types of systems, has been applied in research for several decades. We undertook a review to identify the latest application domains and map the realm of system dynamics. The systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA methodology. We analyzed and categorized 212 articles and found that the vast majority of studies belong to the fields of business administration, health, and environmental research. Altogether, 20 groups of modeling and simulation topics can be recognized. System dynamics is occasionally supported by other modeling methodologies such as the agent-based modeling approach. There are issues related to published studies mostly associated with testing of validity and reasonability of models, leading to the development of predictions that are not grounded in verified models. This study contributes to the development of system dynamics as a methodology that can offer new ideas, highlight limitations, or provide analogies for further research in various research disciplines.

Understanding the implications of Belt and Road Initiative for sustainable supply chains: an environmental perspective

Purpose

This research aims to explore the potential impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on sustainable supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs twenty qualitative interviews with supply chain managers located on the BRI lane from Asian countries.

Findings

Findings revealed that if not managed properly, BRI can pose a serious threats to sustainable supply chains from environmental perspective. The findings also revealed additional properties which lead to the emergence of these perspective.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study may not be generalizable to a broader population. Second, this study explores supply chain managers’ interpretations from Asian countries only.

Practical implications

Supply chain firms can use the findings from this study to understand the implications of BRI for sustainable supply chains. Particularly, firms can understand how the BRI may harm the organization's sustainable supply chains from the environmental perspective.

Originality/value

This is, perhaps, the first study which provides empirical evidence concerning the potential impacts of BRI on the management of sustainable supply chains.

Supply Chain Collaboration for Transparency

From an interdisciplinary theoretical perspective, this study uncovers how and to what extent building supply chain relations impacts supply chain transparency in an industrial context characterized by mistrust, complexity and privacy. By conducting a case study involving a multinational fashion group and an influential NGO, this study investigates how a fashion group forms supply chain relations that eventually influence their transparency performance. The fashion group under investigation initially started disclosing information about their supply chain actions in order to ensure legitimacy and protect the brand image. Nevertheless, the group started sharing more information about their supply chains, changing the perspective from a legitimacy driven reactive approach toward an ethics driven proactive approach. Particularly, supplier engagement, commitment and leadership appear to be antecedents to supply chain transparency. The study also reveals the novel influence of NGOs on supply chain transparency. Fashion Revolution has been substantial to drive fashion companies to obtain and disclose information about their supply chains. Supply chain visibility and stronger partnerships are required to overcome problems relating to supply chain complexity on the way toward transparency. Results suggest that supply chain engagement is fundamental for supply chain transparency, and that NGOs play a pivotal role to enhance transparency through knowledge sharing and awareness increasing. The results provide numerous implications that can help industrial practice and research improve the status quo.

Distributed manufacturing

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a preliminary conceptual scale for the measurement of distributed manufacturing (DM) capacity of manufacturing companies operating in rubber and plastic sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-step research methodology is employed. In first step, the dimensions of DM and different levels of each dimension have been defined. In second step, an empirical analysis (cluster analysis) of database firms is performed by collecting the data of 38 firms operating in Italian mould manufacturing sector. Application case studies are then analyzed to show the use of the proposed DM conceptual scale.

Findings

A hyperspace, composed of five dimensions of DM, i.e. manufacturing localization; manufacturing technologies; customization and personalization; digitalization; and democratization of design, is developed and a hierarchy is defined by listing the levels of each dimension in an ascending order. Based on this hyperspace, a conceptual scale is proposed to measure the positioning of a generic company in the DM continuum.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical data are collected from Italian mould manufacturing companies operating in rubber and plastic sectors. It cannot be assumed that the industrial sectors in different parts of the world are operating under similar operational, regulatory and economic conditions. The results, therefore, might not be generalized to manufacturing companies operating in different countries (particularly developing countries) under different circumstances.

Originality/value

This is first preliminary scale of its kind to evaluate the positioning of companies with respect to their DM capacity. This scale is helpful for companies to compare their capacity with standard profiles and for decision making to convert the existing manufacturing operations into distributed operations.

Effects of the attributes of supply chain openness on sustainable supply chain performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effects of the attributes of supply chain openness on sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected by questionnaire survey from 259 supply chain executives in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that the relative openness of supply chain organizations in Pakistan is very low. Further, all the attributes of supply chain openness have positive but weak association with SSCP. This indicates that there is some awareness of sustainable supply chain but there remains a significant room for improvement with regard to the relationships among different attributes of supply chain openness and SSCP. Pakistani organizations do not fully embrace the concept of supply chain openness in order to achieve SSCP.

Originality/value

The current paper makes three important contributions to the existing literature. First, it empirically examines the attributes of supply chain openness. Second, it contributes to the broader sustainable supply chain management literature by exploring the effects of the attributes of supply chain openness on SSCP. Third, given the limited studies that address sustainable supply chain issues in the context of developing countries, this is one of the few studies that add value to the body of literature in the context of developing countries, such as Pakistan.

What Does the Sustainability-Risk Interaction Look Like? Exploring Nuanced Relationships in Emerging Economy Sustainability Initiatives

To be viable long-term, sustainability programs must be profitable. Unfortunately, current sustainability practices increase risk, increasing costs and threatening revenues. Higher costs and lower revenues negatively impact profitability and, thus, the viability of sustainability. To understand how sustainability-induced risks affect food production systems, sustainability-induced risks in food production systems are identified and classified. It is also explored how sustainability risks interact, making it especially costly and difficult to eradicate them. An inductive, interview-based method was employed, which relies on 41 semi-structured interviews, with managers at 32 companies. The study documents the interaction between sustainability and risk in five risk categories—behavioral, opportunism, organizational routines, safety and traceability routines and systems design. The negative impact of intensive interactions among these risk categories threatens food production systems’ sustainability initiatives. Behavioral risks are particularly pervasive and harmful as they either induce or exacerbate other risk clusters. Elaborating the interaction between sustainability and risk, as well as documenting risk types and interactions, provides a more holistic view of sustainability implementation. This nuanced view will lead to a more accurate and insightful costing of sustainability programs. Lamentably, the most pervasive risk category—i.e., behavioral risks—are often overlooked in the supply chain management literature. However, this research shows a clear need to delve more deeply into the behavioral dimension to improve risk management and to increase the viability of sustainability. This study identifies and categorizes sustainability-induced risk factors in food production systems, and shows how they interrelate, providing the foundation for better planning and execution of viable sustainability programs.