Balancing priorities: Decision-making in sustainable supply chain management

The need for environmental protection and increasing demands for natural resources are forcing companies to reconsider their business models and restructure their supply chain operations. Scholars and proactive companies have begun to create more sustainable supply chains. What has not been fully addressed is how organizations deal with short-term pressures to remain economically viable while implementing these newly modeled supply chains. In this study, we use theory-building through case studies to answer the question: how do organizations balance short-term profitability and long-term environmental sustainability when making supply chain decisions under conditions of uncertainty? We present five sets of propositions that explain how exemplars in green supply chain management make decisions and balance short and long term objectives. We also identify four environmental postures that help explain the decisions organizations make when dealing with strategic trade-offs among the economic, environmental and social elements of the triple-bottom-line.     

Practices and strategies for sustainability-related risk management in multi-tier supply chains

This study investigates how sustainability-related risks are managed in multi-tier supply chains. It focuses on the strategies and practices that companies use to manage sustainability-related risks and how these differ between supply chains and supply chain tiers. We use a multiple-case study with 25 companies forming 5 multi-tier supply chains. As a result of this study, we present a conceptual framework for sustainability-related risk management practices in multi-tier supply chains and apply it empirically by defining sustainability-related risk management profiles for the case supply chains. We show that in multi-tier supply chains, companies need direct and indirect collaboration and direct and indirect monitoring practices for managing sustainability-related risks emanating from not only their first-tier suppliers but also lower-tier suppliers. Our framework helps purchasing and supply chain managers understand the dimensions of sustainability-related risk management in a multi-tier setting and develop strategies and practices for mitigating and managing those risks. We also empirically show the challenge of extending sustainability-related risk management practices beyond first-tier suppliers due to the different practices in different supply chain tiers.     

Sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: Understanding the double agency role of the first-tier supplier

In light of the growing complexity of globally dispersed, multi-tier supply chains, the involvement of first-tier suppliers has become instrumental in the quest for achieving sustainability compliance along the supply chain. We describe this new responsibility as the double agency role. We employ agency and institutional theory arguments to explore the conditions under which first-tier suppliers will act as agents who fulfill the lead firm's sustainability requirements (i.e., the primary agency role) and implement these requirements in their suppliers' operations (i.e., the secondary agency role). The findings from three in-depth case studies embedded in different institutional contexts highlight the importance for lead firms to incentivize each agency role separately and to reduce information asymmetries, particularly at the second-tier level. In addition, our inductive analysis reveals several contingency factors that influence the coupling of the secondary agency role of the first-tier supplier. These factors include resource availability at the first-tier supplier's firm, the lead firm's focus on the triple-bottom-line dimension (i.e., environmental or social), the lead firm's use of power, and the lead firm's internal alignment of the sustainability and purchasing function. We integrate our findings in a conceptual framework that advances the research agenda on multi-tier sustainable supply chains, and we subsequently outline the practical implications of assigning the double agency role to first tier suppliers.     

Green supply chain management in the automotive industry: A study in Brazil

The auto industry is experiencing a time of restlessness, which stems from several elements that currently threaten the stability and status quo of its supply chains. Among these elements are autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification, and trip sharing that has led to new forms of mobility. In this context, this article presents the results of a research, which had three main objectives: (1) to identify the green supply chain management (GSCM) practices most commonly implemented in all industrial sectors worldwide, (2) to evaluate how these practices are considered by professionals in the automotive industry and by researchers working on the subject in Brazil, and (3) to identify and evaluate which practices are most widely adopted within these companies and/or supply chains and influence their environmental performance. The research method combined a qualitative research step (Delphi) with another quantitative one (survey). The results show that most of the reality of the automotive industry in Brazil is in line with studies on GSCM practices worldwide, but some specific findings have also been identified and discussed.     

Core issues in sustainable supply chain management – a Delphi study

Sustainable supply chain management has emerged as a growing topic, receiving increasing interest in the sustainability and supply chain management area. So far, the field is dominated by either case or survey based research. Few attempts have been made to take a broader look at the overarching issues, which form core topics of sustainable supply chain management. This paper presents the findings from a Delphi study where experts were asked to contribute their opinion. The Delphi study allows an aggregation of these opinions and extracts underlying topics in a structured manner. Four major topics were identified, which are (1) pressures and incentives for sustainable supply chain management, (2) identifying and measuring impacts on sustainable supply chain management, (3) supplier management (particularly addressing issues at the supplier–buyer interface) and (4) supply chain management (dealing with issues across all companies involved in the supply chain). The research presented contributes to substantiating and consolidating the field of sustainable supply chain management. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Linking forward and reverse supply chain investments: The role of business uncertainty

This paper explores managerial efforts in reverse supply chains (RSC), where the focus is on the capture and exploitation of used products and materials. The RSC can potentially reduce negative environmental impacts of extracting virgin raw materials and waste disposal. If so, investment in the reverse supply chain should not be made in isolation, but instead must be integrated with investments selected to improve the forward supply chain. After defining and operationalizing these constructs, a survey of plant managers was used to empirically assess the linkages between supply chain investments, organizational risk propensity (i.e., willingness to take risk) and business uncertainty. Reverse supply chain investment had two primary dimensions: reconditioning (i.e., high-value recovery) and recycling and waste management (i.e., low- or no-value recovery). Ongoing investment in the forward supply chain was significantly related to investment in recycling and waste management, but not to investment in reconditioning. Moreover, risk propensity was found to mediate the relationship between the external business uncertainty and investment in the forward and reverse supply chain.     

Environmental management systems and green supply chain management: complements for sustainability?

Some researchers question the legitimacy of EMSs since organizations can claim to have one when in fact they make no attempt to reduce their environmental harm. In instances where EMSs enhance an organization's environmental performance, critics argue that improvements are likely to occur within the organization's operational boundaries rather than being extended throughout the supply chain. However, previous research suggests that the organizational capabilities required to adopt an EMS may facilitate GSCM implementation and the institutional pressures to adopt both management practices are similar. Consequently, EMS adopters may have a greater propensity to expand their focus beyond their organizational boundaries and utilize GSCM practices to minimize system‐wide environmental impacts. This research illuminates the debate by empirically evaluating the relationship between EMS and GSCM practices. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

论企业的生态化供应链管理

随着全球性环保意识的高涨,对产品环保性要求日益强烈,供应链体系也因此发生了很大的变化,只有把环境问题和环保理念融入整个供应链,建立合理科学的生态化供应链管理模式,才能迎接接踵而来的生态化浪潮的挑战。     

Drivers of green supply management performance: Evidence from Germany

Five potential drivers of green supply management performance were identified in the literature review: green supply management capabilities, the strategic level of the purchasing department, the level of environmental commitment, the degree of green supplier assessment, and the degree of green collaboration with suppliers. These constructs were used to form a structural model explaining the environmental performance and the purchasing performance. The model was analysed with SmartPLS 2.0 using data collected among German purchasers. The results suggest that the degree of green supplier assessment and the level of green collaboration exert direct influence on environmental performance. These two practices are driven by the strategic level of the purchasing department and the level of environmental commitment of the firm. Whereas commitment influences green assessment directly, the impact of commitment on green collaboration is mediated by the capabilities of the purchasing department. Furthermore, the results show that environmental performance has a positive impact on purchasing performance.     

物联网环境下绿色供应链闭环运作模式研究

随着环境压力的增加及资源的限制,建设绿色环保型企业已成为我国相关企业发展面临的迫切任务。确保信息的准确性和及时性是绿色供应链闭环运作模式成功的关键因素,物联网的兴起为绿色供应链闭环运作管理提供了良好的发展机遇。文中对物联网环境下的绿色供应链闭环运作模式进行了探讨,给出了物联网环境下绿色供应链闭环运作结构模型,为绿色闭环供应链管理模式的应用进行了有价值的探索。     

An empirical investigation into supply chain vulnerability

A growing number of academicians and practitioners have put supply chain risks on their agendas, particularly triggered by a recent series of catastrophic events that have disrupted economies and supply chains around the globe. Given the increasing awareness of this important topic, the purpose of this research was to study supply chain risks in more detail and to investigate the relationship between supply chain vulnerability and supply chain risk. Responses from 760 executives from firms operating in Germany reveal that supply chain characteristics such as a firm's dependence on certain customers and suppliers, the degree of single sourcing, or reliance on global supply sources are relevant for a firm's exposure to supply chain risk. Overall, this research represents the first large-scale investigation of this important relationship and provides a finer understanding of the antecedents of supply chain vulnerability.     

Sustainable supply chain management in tourism

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) encapsulates the trend to use purchasing policies and practices to facilitate sustainable development at the tourist destination. Most research has focused on environmental aspects of manufacturing, while other aspects of sustainability or the challenges for the service sector are largely ignored. Yet SSCM is particularly important for tour operators, as the product depends on the activities of suppliers, such as accommodation, transport and activities. Therefore, tour operators' contribution to sustainable tourism will be more effective through the definition and implementation of policies that acknowledge responsibility for the impacts of suppliers. Exploratory research of SSCM practices amongst tour operators generated a wide range of examples of good practice across the whole supply chain, and recommendations are made for more widespread engagement. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Environmental supply chain management in the construction sector: theoretical underpinnings

Environmental implications of a product/project are typically spread across its supply chain, from design through to end-of-life. This is particularly acute for construction sector because of the inherent nature and complexity of its supply chain. The sector, therefore, could benefit from the application of environmental supply chain management (ESCM), a systematic and integrated approach towards restraining the adverse environmental impacts emanating from the supply chain. Unfortunately, uptake of ESCM in construction vis-à-vis other sectors is limited and fragmented. This formed the motivation, which using 39 interviews across 20 firms in the UAE construction sector, provide systemic insights on the various facets of ESCM namely, core and facilitating environmental practices, internal and external drivers (pressures/motives) and barriers/challenges affecting environmental practices’ implementation, and relevant environmental performance measures across different firm types and stakeholders with the support of several established/emerging theories. The findings is expected to enhance the application of ESCM in construction.     

Using integrated information systems in supply chain management

The aim of this paper is to empirically test not only the direct effects of information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities and integrated information systems (IS) on firm performance, but also the moderating role of IS integration along the supply chain in the relationship between ICT external and capabilities and business performance. Data collected from 102 large Iberian firms from Spain and Portugal are used to test the research model. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis is employed to test the direct effects and the moderating relationships proposed. Results show that external and internal ICT capabilities are important drivers of firm performance, while merely having integrated IS do not lead to better firm performance. In addition, a moderating effect of IS integration in the relationship between ICT capabilities and business performance is found, although this integration only contributes to firm performance when it is directed to connect with suppliers or customers rather than when integrating the whole supply chain.     

How product representation influences the understanding of supply chain process models

ABSTRACT

Process models are increasingly being used to analyse business processes within supply chains. Although products are an essential part of supply chain semantics, product representation in supply chain process models is insufficient. This research proposes a novel product representation, namely, ‘labelled flows,’ which directly assigns product names to flows instead of implicitly representing products through other visual constructs. Using a laboratory experiment, we find that labelled flows improve domain understanding with respect to product comprehension and product modelling performance. Our contribution to modelling research is a novel product representation within supply chain process models, which enhances domain understanding.     

An empirical analysis of green supply chain management in the German automotive industry

The purpose of this paper is the empirical investigation of the status quo of green supply chain management in the German automotive industry from a practitioner's point of view. Several aspects of green supply chain management, such as the point of time of implementation, the driving forces, the relevance of intended goals and their particular realization and the adoption of eco‐programs with suppliers and customers as well as internal and external barriers are analyzed. Furthermore, the link to different performance criteria is tested by inductive statistics in order to show the potential of green supply chain management for competitiveness. For this study, managers from the automotive supply industry in Germany were asked about their estimations in this regard. The main conclusion is that managers express the need for green supply chain management on the one hand but also see corresponding problems in terms of required resources on the other hand. Furthermore, the analyses show that green supply chain management leads to higher performance in terms of several performance criteria. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Customer-facing supply chain practices—The impact of demand and distribution management on supply chain success

Traditionally, distribution has been viewed as the key (physical) link between a company's internal supply chain activities and its customers. More recently, demand management has emerged as a new dimension at the customer interface. Although it has become increasing popular in industry, it has not yet been analyzed in depth with respect to its impact on supply chain performance. Both distribution management and demand management entail customer-facing processes and practices and that are interrelated and (may) jointly determine supply chain performance. In this paper we seek to extend the stream of research in supply chain management by systematically investigating the impact of customer-facing supply chain practices on supply chain performance. Specifically, the paper examines the relative impact of relevant practices associated with demand and distribution management. To this end, we collected data from 116 multi-national companies based in Europe and analyzed it using structural equation modeling techniques. Our results suggest that (i) high demand management performance has a substantial positive impact on the overall supply chain performance, (ii) this effect is stronger than that of distribution management performance, and (iii) there is no evidence that demand management might be an enabler for effective distribution management. Among the individual practices that constitute demand and distribution management, adherence to the demand and distribution management processes and demand segmentation emerged as the strongest performance levers. Based upon additional in-depth interviews conducted with selected companies from our sample, we shed light on some of the most important findings that emerged from our survey analysis.     

绿色供应链下的供应商管理策略——以A公司为例

在回顾绿色供应链管理定义的基础上,分析了绿色供应链管理的主要内容,并以中国台湾A公司为案例,系统阐述了A公司在构建绿色供应链过程中采取的供应商管理策略的要点。     

Gaining from disorder: Making the case for antifragility in purchasing and supply chain management

The purchasing and supply chain management (P&SCM) discipline assumes that supply chains are fragile systems, hence taking a “negative” approach toward disorder. Building on Taleb’s concept of antifragility—the ability to gain from disorder rather than avoiding it—, we challenge this traditional assumption. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that some companies were indeed able to gain from disorder, whereas some of those that focused too much on robustness and resilience lost ground. Building robust and resilient supply chains may no longer be enough to thrive in today’s highly volatile business world. This article sparks a new debate by introducing antifragility to the P&SCM literature and provides new directions for future research.     

Drivers and barriers to environmental supply chain management practices: Lessons from the public and private sectors

This study explores the factors that drive or hinder organisations to implement green supply chain management initiatives. A literature review identifies the main categories of internal and external drivers of green supply chain management practices, including organisational factors, regulation, customers, competitors and society, but there is little indication of suppliers as drivers for green supply chain management. Internal barriers include cost and lack of legitimacy, whereas external barriers include regulation, poor supplier commitment and industry specific barriers. An explorative study is conducted based on interviews from seven different private and public sector organisations. Encouragingly, across the organisations, more drivers than barriers to environmental supply chain management are identified. Organisations seem to be more influenced by external rather than internal drivers. The barriers to environmental supply chain management experienced by organisations tend to be both internal and external.