Best supply chain management practices and high-performance firms

Enabling manufacturing firms' supply chain performance in the Middle East region through boosting the quality of multi-directional relationship, and supply chain risk dilution: A moderated-mediation model

Elasticity and dependability factors are considered fundamental elements that have a significant and direct impact on reducing waste in manufacturing companies' resources as well as their supply chains (SCs) in order to improve their overall performance, as well as improving the performance of these companies' supply chains. This is in addition to not overlooking the effective and important strategic relationship and the role of suppliers to manufacturing companies as a mediating factor in the relationship between the qualities of the multi-directional relationship and mitigating the risks that it may be exposed to during its operational and production process. 156 samples were included in this study out of 743 small to large manufacturing companies in the Middle East region, including Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, where an experimental examination was conducted of the companies targeted in this study to prove or reject the proposed hypotheses. Structural equation modeling was applied and used to examine the proposed hypotheses. The results of this study indicated that the elements of flexibility and dependability have positive, direct, and statistically significant effects on mitigating supply risks, and this therefore works to improve the performance of the supply chain of manufacturing companies, especially small and medium-sized companies. In addition, the results of this study showed that building strong strategic partnerships with dependable, certified, high-performance, and flexible suppliers has a positive impact on moderating the potential supply risks that manufacturing companies may face in their operational processes, while the results showed that there is no statistically significant effect on the relationship between dependability and mitigate supply risks. This research paper offers empirical evidence for using the quality of the multi-directional relationship within supply risk dilution of manufacturing firms' context in developing countries for enhancing their supply chain performance. This study provides a clear roadmap and basis for managers and decision-makers in manufacturing companies to focus on the importance of the quality of relationships with suppliers and business partners in their business dealings to limit and mitigate the risks that they may face, which may lead to interruption of the necessary supplies to them.

Waste Management in Qatar: A Systematic Literature Review and Recommendations for System Strengthening

Billions of tons of waste are generated annually, with the amount of waste rapidly increasing and its management expected to worsen. Qatar is a small and wealthy country in the Arabian Peninsula that is undergoing enormous economic and urban development. This study presents the results of a systematic literature review on waste management in Qatar and offers recommendations for system strengthening based on an analysis of the available evidence. The PRISMA guidelines were followed to review literature from the ProQuest and SCOPUS platforms, from which 82 unique publications were analyzed according to ten themes. The results draw upon diverse disciplinary and research focus areas related to waste management, ranging from the generation of value-added products from wastes to the role of religion in waste management awareness. The main recommendations emerging from the available evidence include the need for a holistic approach to address increasing waste generation, which must include diverse stakeholders such as government entities, researchers, and broad community representation for decision making as well as raising awareness for behavior change. Additionally, the main waste types, including construction, food, plastic, and electronic wastes, require specific attention since the cause of generation and type of management varies accordingly. The rise of interest in improving waste management, in particular to work toward meeting the targets of the Qatar National Vision and the National Development Strategy should bring about positive outcomes for strengthening waste management systems.

Assessing sustainable tourism development through service supply chain process maturity and service quality model

Purpose

This study aims to propose a framework for identifying and measuring the gaps between evaluation and goal setting in service supply chain (SSC) processes towards planning and development of sustainable tourism aligned with the firm's real conditions and capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

By the concept of the service quality gap model, the existing gaps between auditors' evaluation and the managers' goals in SSC processes maturity were examined. Then, each of the designed gaps was measured considering the goals addressed by managers’ and auditors' evaluation. Finally, the strategy and priority of sustainable tourism planning and development were determined based on importance–performance analysis (IPA).

Findings

The gaps caused by the expectations and perceptions of the firm about the dissatisfaction of managers regarding their addressed goals and the evaluation of auditors in the planning and development of sustainable tourism can be classified into three categories of goals gap, assessment gap and main gap. To improve the performance of the firm in each of the evaluation criteria under the results of IPA analysis, solutions were provided.

Practical implications

Realistic evaluation and recognition of the capabilities of the organization's processes through the proposed framework can be effective in goal setting and sustainable tourism development policies.

Originality/value

The framework proposed in this study can be a suitable approach for the balanced growth of all aspects of the firm in planning and developing sustainable tourism and helps firms in setting the right and logical goals.

Developing a framework for evaluating sustainability index for logistics service providers: graph theory matrix approach

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify sustainability practices and to propose a framework for evaluating the sustainability index of logistics service providers (LSPs).

Design/methodology/approach

Sustainable practices followed by LSPs are identified through literature review and analysis of a case study. Thirteen such sustainable practices are identified. Thereafter, with expert inputs, nine sustainable practices are shortlisted and considered for the evaluation of the sustainability index in the proposed framework. Graph Theory Matrix Approach has been applied to evaluate the sustainability index of an LSP.

Findings

Major practices identified for evaluating sustainability index include the use of recyclable packaging, use of renewable energy sources, green procurement, reduction in carbon emissions, use of CNG/electric vehicles, rainwater harvesting and so on. The sustainability index of an LSP is evaluated by using the proposed framework.

Practical implications

LSPs can benchmark their sustainability index with respect to the best in the industry. Based on it, LSPs can also identify potential areas for improvement.

Originality/value

Novelty of the study lies in the proposed framework for evaluation of sustainability index which can be used to develop strategies for green logistics. LSPs can also improve their performance in terms of sustainability measures by adopting green logistics.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices and Sustainable Performance in Hospitals: A Systematic Review and Integrative Framework

Hospital supply chains are responsible for several economic inefficiencies, negative environmental impacts, and social concerns. However, a lack of research on sustainable supply chain management specific to this sector is identified. Existing studies do not analyze supply chain management practices in an integrated and detailed manner, and do not consider all sustainable performance dimensions. To address these gaps, this paper presents a systematic literature review and develops a framework for identifying the supply chain management practices that may contribute to sustainable performance in hospitals. The proposed framework is composed of 12 categories of management practices, which include strategic management and leadership, supplier management, purchasing, warehousing and inventory, transportation and distribution, information and technology, energy, water, food, hospital design, waste, and customer relationship management. On the other side, performance categories include economic, environmental, and social factors. Moreover, illustrative effects of practices on performance are discussed. The novelty of this document lies in its focus on hospital settings, as well as on its comprehensiveness regarding the operationalization of practices and performance dimensions. In addition, a future research agenda is provided, which emphasizes the need for improved research generalizability, empirical validation, integrative addressing, and deeper analysis of relationships between practices and performance.