Environmental Sustainability, Innovation Capacity, and Supply Chain Management Practices Nexus: A Mixed Methods Research Approach

Purpose China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects are widely spread throughout Pakistan with the potential to have a massive impact on Pakistan’s economic future. CPEC projects have, therefore, made it imperative that green practices are adapted to provide sustainability to the CPEC projects. The adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) framework will significantly increase the value attained from CPEC projects through the increased benefits to the socio-cultural and economic conditions of Pakistan without causing harm to the environment. The purpose of this paper is to identify and rank the GSCM practices for implementation in the construction industry of Pakistan according to expert opinion. Design/methodology/approach This study targets the experts who are employed as supply chain managers in the different construction industries of Pakistan. The opinions of these experts have been extracted through an online questionnaire that was based on six alternatives along with four criteria. The tool of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) that is a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) has been used to analyze the results. Findings Six alternatives that have been used for this study are green design, green procurement, green production, green warehousing, green transportation and green recycling. The top-ranked alternative as a practice for GSCM is green warehousing followed by green production. The lowest ranked alternative in this study is green recycling. The alternatives have been ranked on the basis of “cc” values derived through TOPSIS. Practical implications As the advancement in the construction industry will definitely going to impact the environmental sustainability of the country, the results derived through this research will assist the managers of the construction industry of Pakistan to adopt best practices among green supply chain in order to lower their impact. Originality/value Framework using TOPSIS in order to find the best GSCM practice in Pakistan has not been reported before this study.

Download Full-text

Impact of JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices on environmental sustainability

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management ◽

10.1108/jmtm-01-2018-0015 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 26-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Kenneth W. Green ◽

R. Anthony Inman ◽

Victor E. Sower ◽

Pamela J. Zelbst

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Supply Chain Management ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Environmental Performance ◽

Management Practices ◽

Green Supply Chain Management ◽

Green Supply Chain ◽

Chain Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Improvement Programs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the complementary impact of JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices on environmental performance.Design/methodology/approachData from a sample of 225 US manufacturing managers are analyzed using a PLS-SEM methodology.FindingsJIT and TQM are directly and positively associated with green supply chain management practices. JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices are complementary in that combined they provide a greater impact on environmental performance than if implemented individually.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is limited to US manufacturing managers, with a low response rate.Practical implicationsSuccessful implementations of JIT and TQM improvement programs support the implementation of green supply chain management practices leading to improved environmental performance.Social implicationsThe combination of JIT, TQM and green manufacturing practices improves the environment by eliminating all forms of waste and providing customers with eco-friendly products and services.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to empirically assess the complementary impact of JIT, TQM and green supply chain practices within the context of environmental sustainability.

Download Full-text

Going above and beyond: how sustainability culture and entrepreneurial orientation drive social sustainability supply chain practice adoption

Supply Chain Management An International Journal ◽

10.1108/scm-08-2014-0267 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 434-454 ◽

Cited By ~ 90

Author(s):

Donna Marshall ◽

Lucy McCarthy ◽

Paul McGrath ◽

Marius Claudy

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Supply Chain Management ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Social Sustainability ◽

Chain Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Behavioural Changes ◽

Lower Tier

Purpose – This paper aims to examine what drives the adoption of different social sustainability supply chain practices. Research has shown that certain factors drive the adoption of environmental sustainability practices but few focus on social supply chain practices, delineate which practices are adopted or what drives their adoption. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine the facilitative role of sustainability culture to explain the adoption of social sustainability supply chain practices: basic practices, consisting of monitoring and management systems and advanced practices, which are new product and process development and strategic redefinition. The authors then explore the role played by a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation in shaping and reinforcing the adoption of social sustainability supply chain practices. A survey of 156 supply chain managers in multiple industries in Ireland was conducted to test the relationship between the variables. Findings – The findings show that sustainability culture is positively related to all the practices, and entrepreneurial orientation impacts and moderates social sustainability culture in advanced social sustainability supply chain adoption. Research limitations/implications – As with any survey, this is a single point in time with a single respondent. Implications for managers include finding the right culture in the organisation to implement social sustainability supply chain management practices that go beyond monitoring to behavioural changes in the supply chain with implications beyond the dyad of buyer and supplier to lower tier suppliers and the community surrounding the supply chain. Practical implications – The implications for managers include developing and fostering cultural attributes in the organisation to implement social sustainability supply chain management practices that go beyond monitoring suppliers to behavioural changes in the supply chain with implications beyond the dyad of buyer and supplier to lower tier suppliers and the community surrounding the supply chain. Originality/value – This is the first time, to the authors’ knowledge, that cultural and entrepreneurial variables have been tested for social sustainability supply chain practices, giving them new insights into how and why social sustainability supply chain practices are adopted.

Download Full-text

An exploratory study of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption intention in logistics and supply chain management

The International Journal of Logistics Management ◽

10.1108/ijlm-11-2016-0274 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 131-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Mengru Tu

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Supply Chain Management ◽

Internet Of Things ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Perceived Benefits ◽

Chain Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Adoption Intention

Purpose The Internet of Things (IoT) envisions a global infrastructure of networked physical objects that render radical transparency to supply chain management. Despite the perceived advantages of IoT, industry has still not widely adopted IoT-enabled logistics and supply chain management. The purpose of this paper is to understand the incentives and concerns behind firms’ decisions to adopt IoT, explore the determinant factors affecting IoT adoption in logistics and supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach This study uses mixed methods research to explore the determinants of IoT adoption intention in logistics and supply chain management. Qualitative analysis using the Grounded Theory methodology reveals the underlying perceptions regarding logistic innovation with IoT. Quantitative hypotheses are then developed based on qualitative investigation and adoption literature. Survey data were collected from the managerial staff of Taiwanese firms across various industries. Structural equation modeling with partial least square is used for data analysis. Findings The results of the qualitative study identify uncertainties and issues regarding firms’ intention to accept or reject IoT technology in logistics and supply chain management, including the benefit and cost aspects of adopting IoT, uncertainties about the trustworthiness of IoT technology, and the external motivating force to embrace IoT. The resulting quantitative model shows that perceived benefits, perceived costs, and external pressure are significant determinants of IoT adoption intention, while technology trust is not. However, technology trust does indirectly influence IoT adoption intention through perceived benefits. Practical implications The empirical findings of this study provide some guidelines for logistics and supply chain managers to evaluate IoT adoption in their firms. Likewise, IoT solution providers can also benefit from this study by improving their solutions to mitigate the IoT adoption concerns addressed herein. Originality/value This paper is among the first known to examine IoT adoption intention in logistics and supply chain management using mixed methods research. The mixed methods approach offers a better insight in understanding incentives behind firms’ decisions to adopt IoT vs the use of either a qualitative or quantitative method alone.

Download Full-text

A Relationship between Supply Chain Practices, Environmental Sustainability and Financial Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in Jordan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13042152 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 2152

Author(s):

Luay Jum’a ◽

Dominik Zimon ◽

Muhammad Ikram

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Supply Chain Management ◽

Financial Performance ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Management Practices ◽

Manufacturing Companies ◽

Chain Management ◽

Firm Financial Performance ◽

The Impact

Pursuing sustainable development creates competitiveness for manufacturing firms in the market, however the financial pressure of adopting sustainable environmental practices is still a major concern. Few studies were found on the inter-relationships between supply chain management practices, environmental sustainability, and firm financial performance. Moreover, manufacturing companies are compelled by different pressure groups across the globe to maintain environmental standards while conducting their business and supply chain activities. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the impact of supply chain practices on environmental sustainability and financial performance. In addition, the role of environmental sustainability as a mediator between supply chain management and financial performance was analyzed to improve sustainable development. A well-designed questionnaire was administered to manufacturing companies in Jordan for data collection. A total of 376 responses were analyzed and the proposed hypotheses were tested by using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. The results reveal that environmental sustainability was tested significantly and influenced by supply chain practices such as relationship with customers, postponement, level of information sharing, and information quality. Whereas environmental sustainability had a significant direct effect on financial performance. Finally, environmental sustainability mediated the relationship of all supply chain management practices with financial performance except strategic supplier partnership dimension. The study provides policy guidelines to decision makers while simultaneously assists the managers to improve sustainability practices in manufacturing companies.

Download Full-text