Green supply chain management and the circular economy

Author(s):  
Junjun Liu ◽  
Yunting Feng ◽  
Qinghua Zhu ◽  
Joseph Sarkis

Purpose Green supply chain management (GSCM) and the circular economy (CE) overlap but also differ. The purpose of this paper is to clarify linkages between these two concepts. It identifies mutual theory applications used to study GSCM and CE. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review is conducted to identify theories from GSCM and CE studies. A critical analysis explores the theories that can provide mutual applications between GSCM and CE fields. Propositions are developed. Findings In all, 12 theories are applied in both GSCM and CE studies. Several theories are only applied in GSCM studies, but can help to advance CE study. These theories include complexity, transaction cost economics, agency, and information theories. Each of the eight theories only applied to CE can potentially advance GSCM study. Research limitations/implications The findings contribute to further theory development for both GSCM and CE study. A methodological review can advance theoretical development and cross-pollination in both fields. Originality/value This work is the first study to explicitly explore linkages of GSCM and CE from a theoretical perspective.

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardeep Chahal ◽  
Ramesh Dangwal ◽  
Swati Raina

Purpose – The purpose of the study is twofold. First, to examine the domain of green marketing construct in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in emerging economies (i.e. India) across electrical industries and, second, to assess its impact on the SMEs performance. Design/methodology/approach – All the owners of electrical industries (SMEs) operating in Jammu District, that is, 152, were contacted using census method. Findings – The study identifies and confirms five factors, namely, greening the process, green supply chain management, green strategic policy initiative, proactive energy conservation and green innovation of green marketing as important dimensions of green marketing orientation (GMO) scale. All the dimensions of the GMO scale have positive and significant impacts on performance of the firms. In addition, there exists stronger impact of green marketing dimensions on the customer business to business (B2B) satisfaction and employee retention. Research limitations/implications – The research has certain unavoidable limitations. First, the study is based on only one sector, that is, electrical industries operating in developing industrial region of India and hence future research is suggested to comprehend green marketing in other green-savvy manufacturing sectors like pharmaceutical sector and service sector like hotels and hospitals. Further, the study has focussed on the development of GMO scale and future studies need to extend research to include variables like green satisfaction, green trust and green loyalty to understand their mediating role in green marketing and performance relationship. Furthermore, the moderating role of variables such as nature and age of the SMEs can also be studied in future research. Practical implications – GMO allows managers to understand how their firms facilitate green environment and they affect the business outcomes. Furthermore, GMO takes into consideration all important aspects (greening the process, green supply chain management, green strategic policy initiatives, proactive energy conservation and green promotion) which provide better explanatory power and identification of priority areas for managerial attention. GMO can be used by managers to determine which strategies and practices will have the most positive influence on employees’ outcome. Originality/value – This paper can help managers in identifying the perspectives of GMO in electrical sector for the developing countries. Unlike the three dimensions confirmed by studies, this study established five dimensions of green marketing, namely, greening the process green supply chain management, green strategic policy initiatives, proactive energy conservation and green promotion.


Author(s):  
Abednico Lopang Montshiwa

Purpose This study aims to present a competitive advantages framework suited for disaster prone regions in the era of climate change, present supply chain cooperation (SCC) as an integral part of GrSCM within the automobile industry and evaluate the competitive advantages framework merits based on SCC as a new implementation tool. Design/methodology/approach In an effort to address limited green supply chain management implementation strategies in disaster prone regions, the paper presents SCC as an economic, social and political implementation tool. To explore this; the study introduces SCC in a three-phase competitive advantages model adopted from the Barney 1995 model (with slight differences). Smart PLS 3.0 software package was adopted to carry out multi-variable data analysis. The study’s assumption is a capital economic system and bases its argument of analysis on stockholder theoretical lenses. Findings Big company size does not significantly affect SCC, suggesting that companies of all size can organize and enhance their network to be cooperative. Companies with cooperative supply chain network tend to have competitive advantages. SCC is also a viable way to manage business risks, be there internal or external. Research limitations/implications One of the study’s limitation is the stockholder theory it adopts, which shoulders its assumptions on a capital economic model of operation. Indeed, the study covered China, which is seen to be a communist-based economy. Another study’s limitation is that it narrows its data collection to disaster prone areas as documented by Guha-Sapir et al. (2012). Consequently, the findings of this study might be only applicable to areas that experience significant level of disruptions usually caused by disaster incidents. Originality/value The study is also the first of its kind to propose a model for automobile manufacturing in disaster prone regions. This is done by introducing SCC as an economic, social and political factor, while risk ranking is introduced as an environmental factor to constitute the external changes that Barney 1995 introduced.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1110-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhijit Majumdar ◽  
Sanjib Sinha

PurposeSmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) of Indian clothing industry have become one of the most important cogs of global fashion supply chain. However, the implementation of green practices is still in the nascent stage. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the important barriers of green supply chain management in Indian clothing SMEs.Design/methodology/approachA total of 36 barriers related to green supply chain management (GSCM) practices were identified through exhaustive literature review. Then ten important barriers were shortlisted through questionnaire survey among supply chain practitioners using five-point Likert scale. Finally, interpretive structural modeling technique was used to decipher the contextual relationships among these barriers.FindingsComplexity of green process and system design and lack of support from regulatory authorities were found to be the barriers having the maximum driving power. Lack of consumer support and high investment and low economic benefits were also found to be important barriers in the way of green practices implementation in clothing SMEs. In contrast, lack of reward systems for suppliers, uncertainty of green outcome, lack of green materials, process and technology and lack of flexibility to switch over to green system were the dependent barriers.Originality/valueThe important barriers of GSCM practices in Indian clothing SMEs have been identified and analyzed. The finding will be helpful in making the Indian clothing SMEs environmentally sustainable by eliminating the important barriers.


Author(s):  
R.K. Singh ◽  
Sanjay Rastogi ◽  
Mallika Aggarwal

Purpose In the present context of a globalised economy, market requirements are changing regularly in term of product cost, delivery time, safety and environmental issues. Apart from conventional measures, environmental factors have become an integral part of performance measurement system. This study aims to analyse major barriers and factors in green supply chain (GSC) management implementation. Design/methodology/approach The present study has tried to identify barriers and factors for green supply chain management (GSCM) based on literature review. Factors for GSCM have been modelled by interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach. Findings Based on literature review, 12 factors have been identified. It has been observed that top management commitment, integration among supply chain members, vendors’ development, environmental friendly packaging and transportation, reverse logistic management and development of a green performance measurement system are major drivers for successful implementation of GSCM. Research Limitations/implications Organisations need to follow a proactive approach for taking GSC initiatives. For generalisation of findings, empirical study and some case studies need to be carried out. Originality/value Findings of this study will help organisations in strategy formulation for GSCM and successful implementation for sustainable competitiveness.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amulya Gurtu ◽  
Cory Searcy ◽  
M.Y. Jaber

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the keywords used in peer-reviewed literature on green supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach To determine the keywords that were used in this area, an analysis of 629 papers was conducted. The papers were identified through searches of 13 keywords on green supply chains. Trends in keyword usage were analyzed in detail focusing on examining variables such as the most frequently used journals/keywords, their frequencies, citation frequency and research contribution from different disciplines/countries. Findings A number of different terms have been used for research focused on the environmental impacts of supply chains, including green supply chains, sustainable supply chains, reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains, among others. The analysis revealed that the intensity of research in this area has more than tripled in the past six years and that the most used keyword was “reverse logistics”. The use of the terms “green supply chains” and “sustainable supply chains” is increasing, and the use of “reverse logistics” is decreasing. Research limitations/implications The analysis is limited to 629 papers from the Scopus database during the period of 2007 and 2012. Originality/value The paper presents the first systematic analysis of keywords used in the literature on green supply chains. Given the broad array of terms used to refer to research in this area, this is a needed contribution. This work will help researchers in choosing keywords with high frequency and targeting journals for publishing their future work. The paper may also provide a basis for further work on developing consolidated definitions of terms focused on green supply chain management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 470-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Silvestre de Carvalho ◽  
Nelson Oliveira Stefanelli ◽  
Lilian Carolina Viana ◽  
Diogo de Siqueira Camargo Vasconcelos ◽  
Bruno Garcia Oliveira

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the main associations between research regarding innovation and green supply chain management (GSCM).Design/methodology/approachFor this the study sought to (1) present the most cited authors in the area; (2) demonstrate the main localities that develop research with this focus; (3) list the main journals with the published research on the themes. The methodology used was a bibliometric survey using the Scopus database as the data source. The VOSviewer® software was used to perform the analysis of the database from the respective DOI® of each article.FindingsAs results of the research, it is possible to demonstrate the existence of an agglomeration of countries that are interrelated in the development of research on these themes, especially China, the United States and the United Kingdom as the main foundations of this center.Originality/valueThis paper evidences the direction of scientific research within the analyzed area, demonstrating where there is convergence for innovation in actions related to GSCM. This guidance may demonstrate possible existing and unexplored gaps so that researchers can direct future research or check gaps to be filled by the development of new processes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1279-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kailash Choudhary ◽  
Kuldip Singh Sangwan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to aim at prioritizing and identifying the interrelations among the green supply chain management pressures, practices and performance measures. The study also compares the reasons of green supply chain management implementation, levels of implementation and improvement in performance for medium and large Indian ceramic enterprises because of green supply chain management implementation. Design/methodology/approach The most frequent constructs and measures of green supply chain management pressure, practice and performance are identified from the literature. The identified measures are corrected/added/removed, as per the suggestions of industry professionals, to develop a survey instrument. An interpretive structural model is developed to prioritize the constructs. Matriced “impacts croises-multiplication applique” and “classment” (MICMAC) analysis is done to identify the driving and dependence powers of the constructs. The identified results are validated through the descriptive analysis of responses obtained from multiple case studies. Findings It is observed that the informative pressures followed by coercive and mimetic pressures are the main drivers for the implementation of green supply chain management practices. Internal environmental management in enterprises is found to be the driving power behind the implementation of other green supply chain management practices. The implementation of these practices drives the environmental and operational performance. It is observed, through the multiple case study analysis that the impact of the pressures to adopt green supply chain management practices is high on Indian ceramic enterprises but the implementation of practices is in the early stage. The improvement in performance is also not found to be significant at this stage. This study also found that large ceramic enterprises are doing better than the medium enterprises in terms of green supply chain management implementation, largely because of higher pressures and availability of resources. Originality/value This study prioritizes the constructs of green supply chain management pressure, practice and performance for Indian ceramic enterprises and compares the large and medium enterprises on the basis of these constructs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Cosimato ◽  
Orlando Troisi

Purpose – Globalization has led worldwide organizations to balance their economic and environmental performances in order to achieve a concrete sustainable development. In an environmental centered world, logistics is called to put into action advanced programs based on technological and organizational improvement, in order to gain or maintain a concrete competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how logistics organizations try to face the recent ecological challenges and the role that the emergent green technologies play in making them finally “green” and competitive. Design/methodology/approach – Green supply chain management (GSCM) practices have been investigated to better understand their influence on economic performance and corporate competitiveness. After providing a background discussion on Green Logistics and GSCM, the authors have also identified specific research questions that are worthy of investigation, also thorough the DHL case study. The case study analysis has been conducted according to a specific conceptual model (Rao and Holt, 2005), which allows a deeper understanding of literature review results. Findings – The present paper offers some insights on innovation influence on supply chain management (SCM) greenness, a process oriented to a sustainable and environmental-friendly approach to management of supply chain. According to DHL case study evidence, in logistics innovation, often based on emerging green technologies, is strictly related to the development of a much more sustainable and environment-friendly approach to SCM, based on reduction of core activities’ ecological impact, cost saving, quality, reliability, performance and energy efficiency. In this context, the respect of environmental regulations is fundamental to achieve not only a reduction of ecological damage, but also to overall economic profit. Research limitations/implications – There is a concrete need of further research to better understand the potential link between GSCM, green innovation and logistic organizations competitiveness. In fact, this research area still represents a source of interesting challenges for practitioners, academicians and researchers. Concluding, the research findings cannot be generalized to all logistic organizations, even if DHL is on of the most important and globalized logistic companies. Future researches should empirically test the achieved results also through comparative studies based on a large sample. Originality/value – The suggestion of literature review and the result of case study analysis represent a first attempt to better understand the real and potential influence of GSCM on corporate image and competitiveness. In fact, the present investigation has pointed out that logistic organization can achieve environmental goals and acquire a better positioning than their competitors also cooperating with stakeholders. Therefore, it is necessary that organizations contribute to make them able to participate in corporate activities and develop a concrete environmental-friendly orientation, based on the respect of market’s requests and environmental regulations in order to get their corporate reputation strong than ever.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su-Yol Lee

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the effects of green supply chain management (GSCM) on environmental and operational performances with a perspective of social capital accumulation in the supply chain. The roles of structural capital and relational social capital in GSCM were empirically explored. Design/methodology/approach – A research model was developed to investigate the effects of GSCM on a supplier’s environmental and operational performances through structural and relational social capitals. Using an exploratory factor analysis, the study identified the structural and relational dimensions of social capital and the environmental and operational performance dimensions of supplier’s performance. The hypotheses were tested on data of 207 responses collected from supplying firms in South Korea, using structural equation modeling. Findings – The paper finds that GSCM contributes to the environmental and operational performance improvements of the supply chain through social capital accumulation. Relational capital, in particular, plays a more important pivoting role in the relationships between GSCM and environmental and operational performances. Practical implications – The findings of this paper provide useful insights about how supply chain members should integrate environmental issues into supply chain management practices that would enhance social capital accumulation to foster stronger operational and environmental performances throughout the entire supply chain. Originality/value – This research is one of the few studies that explore the effects of GSCM on performance by explicitly considering social capital as an important intervening variable. By applying social capital theory, this study provides theoretical underpinning for furthering the GSCM literature.


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