Green supply chain management initiatives and operational competitive performance

Industry 4.0 impacts on operational and green innovation performances with the mediation of green practices

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate how green supply chain management (GSCM) practices mediate the effect of Industry 4.0 technologies on operational and green innovation performances.

Design/methodology/approach

To explore the study, data were collected from 225 different manufacturing industries in Pakistan. Gathered data were used to test the hypotheses using SmartPLS 3 software by using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The findings reveal that operational and green innovation performances are directly affected by the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and GSCM practices. Furthermore, the GSCM practices positively affect operational and green innovation performances. The study also investigated that the GSCM practices partially mediate the effect of Industry 4.0 on operational and green innovation performances.

Research limitations/implications

This study has some limitations, the data of this study were majorly collected from large enterprises of Pakistani firms and related to the manufacturing sector only. So, there is a huge need for attention toward small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Very few researchers are focusing on SMEs, so future research can be on SMEs. It can be suggested that the relationship between digital technologies and green innovation performance can be tested through a quantitative procedure. Moreover, the effect of GSCM's aspects can be estimated on manageable execution.

Originality/value

Through the mediating relationship of GSCM practices, this research has made a unique contribution by investigating the influence of Industry 4.0 on operational and green innovation performances. To the author's knowledge, no research has been undertaken in this area.

Top management commitment in greening supply chain operations: post-COVID-19 perspectives from an emerging economy

Purpose

The novel COVID-19 supply chain disruption has globally altered the environmental needs of society. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to examine how top managers are environmentally committed to integrating green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in the operational performance of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, within the post-pandemic economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a cross-sectional survey to obtain data from 270 SMEs in Ghana, using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling to test seven hypothesized relationships.

Findings

The outcome of the analysis revealed that top management environmental commitment has a significantly positive effect on supply chain operational performance. The structural model also revealed that top management environmental commitment has a positive and significant effect on both internal and external GSCM practices. The results further revealed that both internal and external GSCM practices have positive and significant effects on supply chain operational performance. Finally, both internal and external GSCM practices mediate the path between top management environmental commitment and supply chain operational performance.

Research limitations/implications

The study provides a novel framework which contributes to both theoretical studies and managerial decisions on COVID-19 related supply chain management issues. However, the study was limited to the Ghanaian context, thus, further related studies are required in other contexts.

Originality/value

This study provides a novel framework by elucidating the intervening role of GSCM practices in the path between top management environmental commitment and supply chain operations in an emerging post-pandemic world context.

Big data analytics capabilities for reinforcing green production and sustainable firm performance: the moderating role of corporate reputation and supply chain innovativeness

The literature review lacks empirical studies on the role of big data analytics (BDA) and green technological innovation capabilities (GTICs) in promoting the sustainable performance of the manufacturing industry. The primary objective of this study is to examine the role of BDA-technology capability, GTIC, and environmental orientation toward green production and sustainable firm performance. Moreover, this research paper investigates the mediating role of green production and green competitive advantage and the moderating role of corporate reputation and supply chain innovativeness. Primary data was collected from Pakistani manufacturing firms through the survey method. Structural equation modeling was applied to measure and verify the relationship of proposed hypotheses. Empirical findings show BDA technology capability, GTIC, and environmental orientation positively contribute to green production. Moreover, green production helps achieve a green competitive advantage, and green competitive advantage positively influences sustainable firm performance. Furthermore, mediating role of green production and green competitive advantage and moderating role of corporate reputation and supply chain innovativeness was also confirmed. This study contributes by developing a comprehensive model showing the relationship between organizational capabilities, BDA technology capability, GTIC, and sustainable firm performance by considering potential mediators and moderators. Thus, this research suggests enhancing green production and sustainable firm performance through adopting BDA technology capability and GTIC by Pakistani manufacturing firms.

Understanding the impact of Green supply chain management practices on operational competitive capabilities

Purpose

The purpose of this research is twofold: first, to investigate the impact of the adoption of green supply chain practices (GSCPs) on various parameters of competitive operational capabilities; second, to investigate the parameters that influence the market performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling analysis was done based on the collected data through a self-administrated questionnaire from managers of 120 manufacturing firms.

Findings

In this study, we suggest that the relationship of GSCPs is positively related to all competitive operational capabilities. Further, we recommend that operational capabilities are directly related to market performance.

Originality/value

This paper investigates the relationship between GSCPs, Operational Competitive Capabilities and market performance, a relatively unexplored area in the developing economy. Moreover, it also adds value to the nascent literature on GSCPs in developing countries.

Green Supply Chain Management Implemented by Suppliers as Drivers for SMEs Environmental Growth with a Focus on the Restaurant Industry

This study was designed to better understand how restaurants can achieve effective environmental performance by focusing on their business relationships with suppliers that implement green supply chain management (GSCM). Restaurant suppliers’ GSCM was particularly assessed as a two-dimensional concept (external and internal) to explore if those two GSCM practices could possibly encourage restaurant ethical attitudes, thereby encouraging cooperative behaviors (‘joint action’, ‘information sharing’ and ‘flexibility in arrangement’) toward green suppliers. A total of 259 responses obtained from restaurant owners/managers were used for our analysis. Results revealed a significant effect of external GSCM on restaurant ethical attitudes, while internal GSCM was found to have no measurable effect. Further it was found that restaurant ethical attitudes facilitated cooperative behaviors toward green suppliers. More specifically, restaurant ‘information sharing’ and ‘flexibility in arrangement’ significantly improved their environmental performance; however, ‘joint action’ had no such effect. Based on our findings, several important theoretical and practical implications are proposed for restaurants to “go green” more effectively.

Green Supply Chain Management Practices’ Impact on Operational Performance with the Mediation of Technological Innovation

Industries strive to prevent ecologically destructive actions in their supply chains. At the same time, the optimization of their resources is a major concern for industries to minimize carbon emissions, boost sustainable practices, and improve a country’s long-term economic development. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the impact of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) methods on operational performance with the mediation of technological innovation, in the context of Pakistani manufacturing firms. The partial least square-structural modeling (PLS-SEM) method is adopted in this paper. Data were gathered from 223 different manufacturing firms in Pakistan and then analyzed among these variables. The data show good validity and reliability, and structural model explains 61% of the variance in operational performance and 45.4% of the variance in technical innovation, demonstrating its predictive validity. The R-square criteria classify R-square entities of 0.67, 0.33, and 0.19 as considerable, moderate, and weak, respectively. It is demonstrated that all the f-square values are greater than 0.020 and 0.35, indicating a significant effect on the model’s validity. The findings of this study reveal that GSCM practices have a significantly positive effect on both technological innovation and operational performance. Technological innovation has a direct influence on operational performance and has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between GSCM practices and operational performance. Therefore, this research offers managers insight into the importance of technological innovation and GSCM practice adoption to achieve competitive advantages. It further provides the groundwork for managers, practitioners, and environmental management researchers to emphasize the value of GSCM practice in improving operational performance.

Green supply chain management for operational performance: anteceding impact of corporate social responsibility and moderating effects of relational capital

Purpose

The paper aims to study the relationship between corporate social responsibility, green supply chain management, and operational performance and the moderating effects of relational capital on these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct an empirical study with a structural equation modeling approach to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility—constructed by the quality and environmental responsibility, green supply chain management—including green supplier and customer management and operational performance—manifested by quality, cost, flexibility, and delivery performance using data from 308 manufacturers in China. Besides, the authors explore the moderating effect of supplier and customer relational capital on these relationships.

Findings

The findings indicate that a company's quality and environmental responsibility significantly impacts its green supply chain management practices, which further improve its operational performance in quality, cost, flexibility, and delivery. In addition, supplier and customer relational capital strengthens the influence of environmental responsibility on green supply chain management. While supplier relational capital reinforces the impact of green supplier management on flexibility and delivery performance, customer relational capital only strengthens the influence of green customer management on flexibility performance.

Originality/value

The study enriches the extant literature by developing a holistic framework integrating corporate social responsibility, green supply chain management, relational capital, and operational performance and unraveling their intricate relationships. The authors’ findings help practitioners prioritize proactive steps in environmental conservation more than achieving operational performance.

Green Supply Chain Management and Competitive Advantage of Jordanian Pharmaceutical Industry

This research aims to investigate the effect of green supply chain management (GSCM) on the competitive advantage (CA) of Jordanian pharmaceutical manufacturing (JPM) organizations. Data were collected by questionnaires from managers who were working in JPM organizations, then checked and coded against SPSS. After confirming the tool validity, reliability, and relationship between variables, the hypotheses were tested by multiple regressions. The results show that JPM organizations implement green purchasing and green selling, while weakly implementing green operations. At the same time, for CA dimensions, the results show that JPM organizations are more concerned with quality, speed (time), and reliability than cost reduction and innovation. Moreover, the results show that the relationship between GSCM and CA is very strong. The results also show that green supply chain components affect the CA of JPM organizations, where green operations have the highest effect on total CA, followed by green purchasing and finally, green selling. Additionally, the green supply chain affects CA dimensions of JPM organizations, where GSCM has the highest effect on quality, followed by innovation, then time, while GSCM does not have any significant effect on reliability and cost.

Multi-criteria decision-making toward supplier selection: exploration of PROMETHEE II method

Purpose

Supplier Selection (SS) is one of the vital decisions frequently executed by numerous industries. In recent times, the number of suppliers has increased enormously depending on a wide range of criteria. A selection of suppliers is a sensitive process that may impact various supply chain activities. The purpose of this research is to explore an underutilized technique called PROMETHEE II method for SS.

Design/methodology/approach

Various tools and techniques are available under multi-criteria decision-making tools, which sometimes creates confusion in researchers' minds regarding reliability. PROMETHEE II was the most prominent method for ranking all available alternatives that ultimately avoid decision-making errors. To execute this equal and unequal weights approach has been used with three case studies.

Findings

In this research, three case studies have been used and soved with the help of the PROMETHEE II approach. The study also provides fundamental insights into the supplier's ranking on different criteria using sensitivity analysis. Further, criteria were divided as per benefits and non-beneficial to get a robust result. The pros and cons of PROMETHEE II approaches are also highlighted compared to other MCDM tools in this study.

Originality/value

Most of the SS research uses either AHP or TOPSIS as per existing literature. There are very few attempts highlighted in the literature that use PROMETHEE II for the SS problem with sensitivity analysis. The proposed method is probable to motivate decision-makers to consider using a more sophisticated method like PROMETHEE II in supplier evaluation processes. This study opens a new direction for the ranking of suppliers in the field of the supply chain. The study also bears significant practical as well as managerial implications.

Sustainability of operations through disruptive technologies in the petroleum supply chain

Purpose

Disruptive technologies can significantly contribute to the sustainability of operations in the petroleum supply chain. The present study aims to identify the prime sustainable dimensions and disruptive technologies implementation in the supply chain of the petroleum industry. The authors used content analysis in the literature and experts input to explore the sustainable dimensions and disruptive technologies in the supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a hybrid method of hesitant fuzzy set and regret theory to identify the prominent sustainability dimensions and prominent disruptive technologies. This method emphasizes the decision-makers psychological characteristics under uncertain environments.

Findings

The result indicates that social responsibility, labor practices, safety and technical standards hold the most prominent sustainable dimensions in the petroleum supply chain. Further, the result also depicts that when consider an equal degree of regret and rejoice, artificial intelligence and big data could significantly enhance operations sustainability in the petroleum industry.

Research limitations/implications

This study considers only 11 sustainable dimensions and 43 sustainable factors, whereas other dimensions and factors could also be considered in future research. The research uses hesitant fussy set and regret set theory to identify the prominent sustainable dimensions and disruptive technologies, whereas other multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques can also be used.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to explore the sustainable dimensions (environmental, social and economic) and disruptive technologies in the supply chain of the petroleum industry. This research intended to guide the practitioners, policymakers and academicians to emphasize their effort toward sustainable operations supply chain management.

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.

The antecedents and consequences of green purchasing: an empirical investigation

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of the supplier's coercive and cognitive pressures on a manufacturer's green purchasing decision-making process and the resultant implications in terms of operational and environmental performances.

Design/methodology/approach

Path analysis is performed to test the hypothesized linkages.

Findings

This study finds that the supplier's coercive pressure, environmental focus and socio-cultural responsibility will lead a firm to more successful implementations of green purchasing, which, in turn, results in improved operational and environmental performances. The study findings reveal that the commercial values of green purchasing in addition to social and political obligations will promote the adoption of green purchasing in supply chain management practice.

Originality/value

This study helps business managers understand the impacts of the supplier's coercive and cognitive pressures on green purchasing and the manufacturer's resultant performances. In particular, coercive pressure is operationalized by the supplier's coercive pressure and environmental regulatory pressure, while cognitive pressure is reflected in the supplier's environmental focus and socio-cultural responsibility. This study contributes to the extant theories and enriches the literature on green purchasing.

Impact of Enhanced Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) on Firm Performance through Green Supply Chain Management

This study investigates the impact of enhanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) on firm performance through green supply chain management, supplier integration, and internal integration. The population is the manufacturer domiciled in East Java, Indonesia, which has implemented ERP and been certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the environmental management system. Data collection used a questionnaire designed with the five-point Likert scale. Of 243 manufacturers, 150 questionnaires were distributed, and 135 questionnaires are considered valid for analysis. Data analysis used smart PLS software. The result indicated that all eight predetermined hypotheses were supported. Enhanced ERP affects supplier integration, internal integration, and green supply chain management. Internal integration affects green supply chain management and firm performance. Supplier integration affects green supply chain management and firm performance. Green supply chain management affects firm performance. An interesting finding is that green supply chain management, internal integration, and supplier integration mediate the effect of enhanced ERP on firm performance. This study’s novelty lies in the research model that analyzes the relationship between the four constructs simultaneously with the green supply chain management, internal integration, and supplier integration as a mediating variable. The research provides an insight for the manager on how to improve the firm performance in supply chain management. This study could also contribute to the current research in supply chain management.

Selection of environmental-conscious sourcing: an empirical investigation

Purpose

The prime objective of this paper is to design a green supply chain management (GSCM) framework to evaluate the performance of environmental-conscious suppliers using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature survey reveals critical factors for implementing GSCM, adopted methodologies and the result obtained by several researchers. Data have been collected by conducting surveys and interviews with strategic-level personnel of five esteemed organizations in automobile manufacturing sectors. A GSCM framework is developed in which a mathematical tool entropy–the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) has been used to analyze the six parameters of automobile manufacturing unit. Initially, entropy is used to find the weights of each of the parameters that influence the decision matrix of the TOPSIS method. Secondly, the proposed GSCM framework ranks the supplier. Finally, sensitivity analysis of the model satisfies the GSCM framework and benchmarked the supplier.

Findings

The result shows that “Total CO2 emission” has an influential role for GSCM sustainability, and hence, firms should put more effort to reduce emissions to improve overall performance. Again, the parameters like investment in R&D and total waste generation may be ignored in the selection process. The result reveals the benchmarked supplier and its strategies for effective sourcing, which would have an indirect effect on organizations' overall sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

This research entirely focuses on sustainability within supply chain considering economic, social and environmental paradigms. The mathematical modeling of the proposed work considers many influential parameters and provides an easy and comprehensive decision-making technique.

Practical implications

The methods may be adopted by the industries for sustainable supply chain management. This study benchmarks the supplier organizations and explores the adopted policies by benchmarked organizations. Other organizations should follow the policies followed by benchmarked organization for enhancing environmental, social and economic performance. Organizations striving for sustainable development can adopt this framework for evaluation of supplier performance and benchmark with better accuracy.

Originality/value

The design of the GSCM framework explores both the qualitative and quantitative data based on environmental, social and economic parameters simultaneously in the evaluation of environmentally conscious suppliers. The research also investigates the constraints of the system to implement the GSCM in automobile manufacturing unit. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis justifies the benchmarked supplier and the adopted strategies to be followed by other manufacturing unit.

The role of green logistics management practices, supply chain traceability and logistics ecocentricity in sustainability performance

Purpose

The priority giving to green practices in today's competitive market has made green logistics management practices (GLMPS) a significant driver of organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of GLMPS, logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability on sustainability performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses structured questionnaires to gather data from 274 managers of manufacturing firms in Ghana. The partial least square structural equation modeling approach is used to analyze the data to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results obtained from the analysis indicate that GLMPS positively influence social sustainability and environmental sustainability. However, GLMPS negatively influence business performance. The results further reveal that logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability augment GLMPS to achieve significant improvement in both business performance and environmental sustainability through the mediation effect approach.

Originality/value

The study proposes a conceptual framework that tests the combined effect of GLMPs, logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability on environmental sustainability, social sustainability and business performance from the Ghanaian perspective.

Examining the link among green human resource management practices, green supply chain management practices and performance

Purpose

The increasing concern for the protection of the environment through pollution prevention, conservation of resources and less usage of energy has attracted several firms to align green practices with their supply chain and human resource policies and practices. This study explores the influence of green human resource management and green supply chain management practices on operational, market, financial, social and environmental performances.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses partial least square–structural equation modeling approach to analyze the data gathered through structured questionnaires from supply chain and human resource managers in manufacturing and hospitality firms in Ghana.

Findings

It is established that green supply chain management practices play complementary partial mediating role between green human resource management and operational, market, social and environmental performances, while it plays competitive partial mediating role between green human resource management and financial performance. Subsequently, the analysis reveals that the synergy between green human resource management and green supply chain management creates the highest value in operational performance, followed by market performance, environmental performance, financial performance and social performance.

Originality/value

The study proposes and tests a conceptual model that examines the synergistic influence of green human resource management and green supply chain management on operational, market, financial, social and environmental performances.

The effect of investment in green technology in a two echelon supply chain under strict carbon-cap policy

Purpose

Strict carbon-cap policy is one of the basic policies proposed by the regulatory bodies to reduce the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether it is beneficial for a company to invest in green technology or not under the strict carbon-cap policy and for that a two echelon supply chain model is developed. This paper gives insight about judicious decision about investment on green technology.

Design/methodology/approach

Mathematical modeling approach has been adopted to understand the effect of investment on green technology. All the cost and emissions parameters have been derived and the total cost (TC) and total emission equations have been formulated mathematically. Two constrained mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problems have been formulated and solved considering with or without green investment. Further, supply chain cost is optimized without carbon constraint to understand the effect of carbon constraint.

Findings

The investment in green technology can reduce the total supply chain cost. The study reveals that handling different parameters optimally can reduce both cost and emissions.

Originality/value

This paper tries to assess the effectiveness of green investment on technology under strict carbon-cap policy on a supply chain and, thereby, added value to the existing work. It examines the role played by various parameters under strict carbon-cap policy to draw insights, which will be beneficial for the academic community and managers.

Exploring the consequences of judgmental and quantitative forecasting on firms' competitive performance in supply chains

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of different forecasting methods (judgmental, quantitative and mixed forecasting) on firms' supply chains and competitive performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Working with three groups of manufacturing companies, we explore the consequences of judgmental, quantitative and mixed forecasting methods on firms' competitive performance in supply chains. The validity of constructs and path relationships was examined using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

Our findings indicate that supply chain efficiency influences both cost reduction and customer satisfaction. In addition, the three dimensions of supply chain performance are shown to be direct antecedents of competitive performance. Our empirical results reveal that although all studied forecasting methods meaningfully influence supply chain performance, the mixed method, compared to the other two methods, has greater capabilities to enhance supply chain performance.

Originality/value

This research provides originality and insight into supply chain practices through forecasting methods to improve competitive performance.

Barriers and opportunities to greening the construction supply chain management

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate critical barriers hindering the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) and the opportunities that can be exploited with such an implementation in the construction industry of developing countries. It also devises strategies to avoid critical barriers in implementation and exploit opportunities for a better overall environmental performance of the construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This research relies upon an extensive literature review; data are collected from 163 professionals and 15 interviews of field professionals from 11 developing countries are conducted. The barriers and opportunities are synthesized through literature review and then data are collected over their significance from the construction professionals through an online survey. To highlight the interconnectedness of the critical barriers and opportunities, a causal loop framework is developed. Furthermore, expert opinion is sought to develop the strategies.

Findings

This research integrates information from different sources and provides a holistic view of the current situation of GSCM in developing countries. In total, 34 barriers and 23 opportunities are extracted from literature. The top 4 barriers fall under the “involvement and support” category, whereas the top four opportunities fall under the “environmental” category. Furthermore, the strategies to implement GSCM include suitable policies by top management to incorporate practices such as innovative green design, green procurement, green packaging, green distribution and even end-of-life management, which play a vital role in emission reduction.

Originality/value

This research is a first attempt at evaluating the barriers and opportunities facing GSCM in the construction sector of the developing countries. The findings encourage the stakeholders in adopting GSCM practices by presenting a clear picture of the potential benefits that can be exploited by implementing the proposed strategies to eliminate critical barriers in the construction industry.

Developing integrated framework to measure performance of green supply chain management

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore green supply chain management (GSCM) performance measures and to develop a framework for evaluating the impact of GSCM implementation on organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This research develops a performance measurement framework by integrating GSCM enabler with GSCM performance measures criteria. These criteria are selected from literature review and expert opinion. This study proposes a fuzzy balanced scorecard – fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution-based methodology to evaluate the overall organizational performance. The empirical case study of an Indian automobile organization is conducted. Further, the proposed framework is tested with three Indian Automobile organizations and their results are compared with the case organization.

Findings

The integrated methodology offers an effective way to measure and benchmark the impact of the proposed GSCM performance measurement framework. The empirical results show that the output of the proposed model is consistent. Thus, the study contributes to the advancement of knowledge toward GSCM and its management for sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to the automotive sector; hence the outcomes may not be comprehensively applicable across different sectors. The results cannot be applied to other sectors with other product and process specificities.

Practical implications

It helps the practitioners to measure and improve the effectiveness of GSCM implementation.

Originality/value

This study is the generalized performance measurement framework and can be used to measure the performance for any type of organizations to benchmark one organization with the other or the group of organizations.

Identification and causal assessment of supply chain flexibility

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to map the causal relations among various supply chain flexibility (SCF) dimensions having significant impact on the Indian personal hygiene industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The author(s) have gone through extensive literature review and extracted 22 SCF dimensions. After conducting field visits and expert interaction in the firm related to case industry, 11 major SCF dimensions that seem to have a significant amount of influence on supply chain performance of the firms were retained for further consideration. The author(s) have used decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to establish initial causality and structural equation model (SEM) to investigate the contribution of different flexibility dimensions on overall SCF.

Findings

After DEMATEL analysis, three major SCF dimensions were considered for SEM modeling. The result shows that product flexibility and physical distribution flexibility have favorable influence on the SCF, while the demand management flexibility adversely impacts overall SCF.

Practical implications

The approach adopted in the study can help firms to determine and exercise the flexibility dimensions of a particular supply chain. The DEMATEL and SEM offer a facilitation to explain the causal relationship between the different dimensions to take long-term decisions and address the uncertainty in the demand and supply side.

Originality/value

This paper has made an attempt to evaluate the supply chain flexibilities, prioritize them and evaluate the relationship amongst these flexibilities and the degree to which they affect or are affected by one another in the Indian personal hygiene industry.

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.

Role of lean manufacturing and environmental management practices in eliciting environmental and financial performance: the contingent effect of institutional pressures

This study aims to examine the impact of firm lean manufacturing (LM) and environmental management (EM) practices on firm performance (i.e., environmental and financial performance). Drawing upon institutional theory, we also examine the moderating effect of institutional pressures in adopting EM practices and their subsequent effects on firm performance. The data were collected from 178 textile manufacturing firms operating in Pakistan. Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings support the positive direct effect of LM practices on EM practices and the indirect effect on environmental performance which ultimately increases financial performance. Institutional pressures moderate the direct effect of EM practices on environmental performance. Firms are advised to implement LM accompanied by EM practices to ensure the protection of the natural environment as well as to enhance profit-making capability, in the long run. Further, firms can also enhance environmental performance capabilities through strict synchronization of EM practices with institutional pressures. This research fills the literature gap by investigating the effects of firm's EM practices on environmental and financial performance under the contingent effect of institutional pressures. The study also provides important implications for firms and practitioners.

An integral GSCM index for assessment of environmental performance in manufacturing companies

Purpose

From the green supply chain management (GSCM) approach, the purpose of this paper is to propose a green index as a benchmarking tool to assess environmental performance in manufacturing companies. The index involves 10 green practices and 46 performance dimensions, which were identified by way of an exhaustive literature review.

Design/methodology/approach

The GSCM index was designed as follows: survey design; experts group selection; relationship identification and green practice weighting (DEMATEL method); and GSCM index construction. The proposed GSCM index was validated at a set of ten Colombian manufacturing companies, which belong to different industrial subsectors.

Findings

The structural relationships between both green practices and performance dimensions (cause group vs effect group) were determined. Consequently, a set of green practices and performance dimensions on which managers must focus their environmental efforts (cause group), in order to positively affect the system as a whole, was identified. The environmental performance of a set of manufacturing companies was established.

Practical implications

As a decision support tool, the GSCM index provides a baseline for the deployment of environmental improvement plans. It also permits the comparison of environmental performance between companies from different industrial sectors. Further, it can be used to monitor internal operations and collaboration programs in each echelon of the supply chain.

Originality/value

This publication contributes to the field of environmental performance measurement by introducing a new index, from the GSCM perspective. In contrast with the existing green indicators, the proposed index is the first to consider causal relationships between green practices and between their performance dimensions.

Identifying the best practices in green operations strategy of hospitals

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the best practices in the green operations strategy of hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 25 cases from all over the world were investigated. The source of data was the annual sustainability reports that were retrieved from Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) database. The present research adopted the benchmarking method and the quantitative content analysis of sustainability reports. Then, the indicative models of best practices were developed by using two analysis approaches; within cluster analysis and across clusters analysis.

Findings

This study found four major taxonomies of green operation strategy in hospitals. The significant strategic groups were resources/waste management; electrical power management; non-hazardous waste management; and emissions/resources management. Indicative models for the relationship between actions and key green performance indicators were developed in the two stages of the analysis.

Originality/value

The best practices of green operations strategies in hospitals have not so far been investigated. Countries around the world should obey the new regulations for their environmental footprint; if they do, it will exert pressure on all sectors and organizations at all levels to take immediate steps to measure and improve their environmental performance.

Importance of innovation and flexibility in configuring supply network sustainability

Purpose

The alignment of procurement strategy with overall business strategy is important for superior firm performance. It is also essential for firms’ purchasing structure to fit the purchasing strategy whether it is cost reduction; value analysis and/or improving delivery and increasing flexibility for achieving superior purchasing performance. The purpose of this paper is to scientifically examine the influence of organization culture (OC), green supplier development (GSD), supplier relationship management, flexibility and innovation on sustainability in supply network (SSN) under the moderation effect of institutional pressures and resources availability.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is grounded by integrating institutional theory (IT) and resource-based view (RBV) theory. The study empirically tests the conceptual model through survey data gathered from 175 respondents in the KwaZulu-Natal province of Southern Africa using structural equation modeling which is a multivariate data analysis technique that permits to simultaneously examine many relationships among manifest and latent variables.

Findings

It was found that OC plays a crucial role in shaping the workforce behavior and responsible for enhancing GSDs and building good relationship with suppliers which ultimately results into increased flexibility and innovativeness. Coercive pressures (CPs) play a moderating role between the causal relationship of innovation and SSN. Therefore, CPs have got the ability to amplify or reverse the effect between innovation and SSNs.

Research limitations/implications

The study suffers from few limitations. First, the study is restricted to one particular province in South Africa. Second, cross-sectional data were used for testing of model in the research study.

Practical implications

The findings are of great importance for both the researchers and supply chain practitioners. Supply chain practitioners may use this knowledge for benchmarking the supply network configuration process and continuously improve the process. The tested model actually shows the mechanism for enhancing SSNs. In today’s dynamic and uncertain business environment, all firms in the supply network aims to minimize risks and maximize profitability. The findings show that CPs play a moderating effect on the relationship between innovation and SSN. Whenever government authorities and institutions pressurize firms for minimizing pollution levels, we see a trend of increased innovations in the form of new product developments, usage of eco-friendly raw material and application of eco-friendly technology which ultimately minimizes the carbon footprint. Through such initiatives steel and engineering firms conform to the government norms and regulations. However, innovations are possible through collaboration with specialist suppliers and sub-suppliers by adopting a common standard across the supply network. Through this overall process of innovation, the focal firm and sub-suppliers linked in the network will benefit and ultimately achieve a competitive edge. Therefore, firms can experience multiple benefits in terms of lower development costs, lower project cycle completion time, improvement in design for re-manufacturability, low downtime, low supply risks, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, sustainable development.

Originality/value

The study is unique from dual perspective – both in terms of scope and contribution to supply chain management literature. First, the study integrates flexibility and innovation to study the impact on SSNs. Second, it integrates both IT and RBV theory of firm to test the moderation effect and the findings further opens up window for future research.