The effects of socio-technical integration on sustainability practices: a supply chain perspective

PurposeThis study aims to investigate sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) through the lens of socio-technical system (STS) theory. Specifically, it examines the individual and synergistic effects of social and technical integration on two main sustainability practices (i.e. sustainable production and sustainable sourcing). Supply chain uncertainty is further explored as a key environmental factor.Design/methodology/approachA moderated joint effects model was hypothesized. A sample of 759 manufacturing firms was used to test the proposed hypotheses by hierarchical linear regression.FindingsThe results show that both social and technical integration have positive effects on sustainable production and sustainable sourcing. Interestingly, social and technical integration have an enhancing synergistic effect on sustainable sourcing, which is further strengthened in high-uncertainty supply chains.Originality/valueThis study extends the application of STS theory in the SSCM setting. It enriches the sustainability literature by uncovering the impact of the interplay among the firm's social, technical and environmental systems on sustainable production and sourcing, and offers system-wide insights for sustainability management.

What do South African supermarket retailers disclose about the sustainability of suppliers?

Background: As intermediaries between producers, manufacturers and consumers, retailers are uniquely positioned to influence production practices and consumption trends. Supermarket retailers are increasingly imposing responsibility on their suppliers to improve the sustainability of their supply chains. Purpose of study: The ways in which supermarket retailers disclose their sustainable sourcing initiatives are not well understood. The purpose of the study was to investigate the manner in which South African supermarket retailers disclose their sustainable sourcing practices and performance. The objective was to understand if sustainable sourcing is a key aspect of disclosure in the annual reporting of these retailers and if so, what information and performance measures are communicated. Design/Methodology/Approach: The annual reports of the five largest supermarket retailers in South Africa were downloaded from the internet. Content analysis was used to obtain information from the annual reports. Research questions were formulated from which the content categories were defined, for which in turn coded data was extracted from the reports. A scoring system was developed to score the status quo of the coded sustainable sourcing disclosure information. Results/Findings: The results show inconsistency in what information which the different supermarket retailers disclose with regard to sustainable sourcing and how they present it. It is difficult to compare sustainable sourcing practices and performance measurement amongst supermarkets. This has the potential to compromise the competitive advantage of the retailer. Recommendations: The authors recommend a standardised reporting protocol to aid the verification of sustainable sourcing claims and to enable comparisons between retailers. Managerial implication: Being able to disclose information on sustainable sourcing in the supply chains of retailers in a consistent manner, will enable performance comparisons amongst competing businesses. Using a standardised reporting protocol will facilitate the process of consistent and comparable disclosure, providing a basis for continuous improvement.

Secure and Sustainable Sourcing of Plant Tissues for the Exhaustive Exploration of Their Chemodiversity

The main challenge of plant chemical diversity exploration is how to develop tools to study exhaustively plant tissues. Their sustainable sourcing is a limitation as bioguided strategies and dereplication need quite large amounts of plant material. We examine if alternative solutions could overcome these difficulties by obtaining a secure, sustainable, and scalable source of tissues able to biosynthesize an array of metabolites. As this approach would be as independent of the botanical origin as possible, we chose eight plant species from different families. We applied a four steps culture establishment procedure, monitoring targeted compounds through mass spectrometry-based analytical methods. We also characterized the capacities of leaf explants in culture to produce diverse secondary metabolites. In vitro cultures were successfully established for six species with leaf explants still producing a diversity of compounds after the culture establishment procedure. Furthermore, explants from leaves of axenic plantlets were also analyzed. The detection of marker compounds was confirmed after six days in culture for all tested species. Our results show that the first stage of this approach aiming at easing exploration of plant chemodiversity was completed, and leaf tissues could offer an interesting alternative providing a constant source of natural compounds.

Coffee Roasters’ Sustainable Sourcing Decisions and Use of the Direct Trade Label

This paper analyzes motivations for coffee roasters to source directly from farmers and how roasters decide whether to use the Direct Trade sustainability label. Direct Trade is an uncertified label connoting an approach wherein roasters negotiate coffee price and quality with farmers without intermediaries, with purported farmer income benefits. We examine semi-structured interviews with 11 US roasters and three coffee stakeholders to identify motivations to source directly, provide customers sourcing information, and use or reject the Direct Trade label. We find that roasters directly source coffee primarily for quality reasons and communicate about sourcing because they believe customers would value coffee more if they understood their sustainable sourcing practices. However, the lack of a clear definition for the Direct Trade label, coffee roaster concerns about the label’s utility, and the threat of “free riders” disincentivizes label use. Without a shared label, customers face high costs for information about directly sourced coffee, which may limit the expansion of a sourcing practice that could benefit farmers.

Motives, processes and practices of sustainable sourcing: a literature review

PurposeThis paper aims to attempt to examine pressures, incentives, processes and practices used for sustainable sourcing. Further, it also proposes a framework to provide a composite method for monitoring and controlling the sustainability aspects of supply management. This would enable suppliers to consider buyers’ requirements, translate these into suitable strategies, assess suppliers’ capabilities and also judge the impact of these strategies on suppliers.Design/methodology/approachThis study opts for literature review as a method. In total, 150 research papers in peer-reviewed English language journals were reviewed to examine the pressures, incentives, processes and practices used for sustainable sourcing.FindingsThis study attempts to answer the “why”-, “what”- and “how”-related questions about sustainable sourcing. It is observed that research in sustainable sourcing is multileveled and involves various functional departments in a firm. It is diverse and fragmented and is more concentrated on certain geographic areas, industries and methodologies.Practical implicationsThis study can be helpful to both researchers and practicing managers. It provides a snapshot of the work done on sustainable sourcing, which can be used as a base for research addressing specific aspects of sustainable sourcing or for building strategies related to sustainable sourcing.Originality/valueThis study takes the present reviews available in the literature forward and provides a generic view of sustainable sourcing and proposes a composite method for monitoring and controlling the sustainability aspects of supply management. It attempts to consolidate the diverse literature presently available on sustainable sourcing.