This paper aims to examine how a complex supply chain yields cost reduction benefits through the global integration of production and distribution decisions. The research is motivated by a complex real world supply chain planning problem facing a large automotive company. A mixed-integer nonlinear production-distribution planning model is solved using a customised memetic algorithm. The performance and effectiveness of the developed model and solution approach in achieving the global optimisation is investigated through experiments comparing the numerical results from the proposed integrated approach with those of a typical non-integrated (hierarchical) production–distribution optimisation.
Clean manufacturing, pollution reduction, and waste minimization, have been in the limelight for the past decade as the best way to achieve industrial environmental. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory survey conducted of seven companies in the Central Massachusetts Region that have made the decision to approach the Surface Cleaning Lab (SCL or SCLab) of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) seeking a substititte for toxic chemicals they currently use. We examine the factors associated with the decision to approach the SCL, and the factors associated with the decision to implement the recommendation of the SCL. The strongest factors in their final decision to seek a substitute are regulatory in nature, as reported by the six companies. Only one of the seven companies reports implementation of the recommendations made by the SCLab. The main determining factors for not implementing the recommendation were those associated with the quality of the substitute recommended, and employee satisfaction. This is one of the few studies that investigates motivational factors for substitutability for environmentally sensitive purposes.
There is an ongoing debate over the impact of corporate pro-environment actions and strategies (reflected, for example, in pollution prevention and emission reductions, product re-design, materials stewardship) on corporate financial performance in US corporations today. A review of the existing literature in this area yields no consistent pattern of relationships between corporate environmental proactivism and financial performance when historical corporate accounting performance and stock market measures of performance are used. We revisit this relationship using a novel measure of firm performance: security analyst earnings forecasts. Specifically, we demonstrate a significant, negative relationship between environmental proactivism (using Toxic Release Inventory data) and industry analyst 1- and 5-year earnings-per-share performance forecasts for a sample of 523 US firms in 1992. We discuss the implications of these findings and provide suggestions for future research. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Proponents present the circular economy as an alternative to traditional, linear systems that use natural resources indiscriminately. The puzzle guiding this perspective piece is that the circular economy model needs further investigation in more diverse, unstructured contexts. With economic growth at the top of the agenda for Global South countries, testing the relevance of the circular economy in these contexts is important. There remain questions about whether the adoption and upscaling of circular principles and practices can contribute to economic development in contexts where social factors, such as high inequality, collide with environmental factors, such as high natural biodiversity. Another blind spot concerns how the structural conditions in Global South countries, such as vast informal economies, hinder this transition, and what new forms of organisation can facilitate the implementation of innovative circular practices. This perspective calls for greater attention from the academic community to help fill in some of the missing pieces in the puzzle of the informal economy and the circular economy.
Blockchain technology can improve supply chain transparency to solve many problems in agricultural supply chains, such as lack of social responsibility and poor environmental performance. However, how to enable the transparency and sustainability of supply chain through blockchain technology is indeed a complex decision-making problem. Based on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) theoretical framework, this paper develops a hierarchical enablers framework for improving sustainable supply chain transparency (SSCT) by blockchain technology in the cocoa industry. Then, the best-worst method (BWM) is used to evaluate the weights of main enablers and sub-enablers by a real case of cocoa supply chain in an emerging African economy. The case results indicate the most important main enabler is “Technical Characteristics”, and the top three sub-enablers are: “blockchain smart contract”, “blockchain security,” and “tracking product components”, respectively. The framework and method of this study can help decision-makers and supply chain managers develop strategies to promote the effective application of blockchain to improve SSCT. As far as we know, this paper is one of the first studies to evaluate blockchain's enablers for SSCT, especially in the context of African emerging economies.
Offshoring manufacturing activities to low-cost countries has been an industry mantra for decades. Some companies have started to re-think this supply chain configuration choice; bringing production back home. Reshoring or backshoring production has seen increased interest. This evolution poses a major question for sustainable supply chain management scholars: what is the relationship between reshoring, or global supply chain reconfiguration, and environmental sustainability at firm, country, and global levels? In this paper we propose a set of potential research directions facing this question. Main aspects of reshoring, including motivations, implementation and impact are all discussed in this context.
This paper introduces a decision model and framework for subcontractor selection and team formation in the built environment based on the economic/business, social and environmental triple-bottom-line aspects of sustainability. The model and decision framework aid the decision maker in forming a construction project team that can most benefit the overall goal of sustainability and compatibility amongst the subcontractors (supply chain) from a number of trade industries. The model uses both the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Analytic Network Process (ANP) as its basis. Once the generic decision model is defined, an example application is described to show its use and feasibility. The robustness of the solution is demonstrated using sensitivity analysis, allowing the decision maker to appreciate the complexities in this decision environment. This work builds on the relatively sparse formal mathematical modeling research and applications to sustainability in the built environment, an industry that has significant economic, social, and environmental influences.
Increasing pressures from a variety of directions have caused the Chinese automobile supply chain managers to consider and initiate implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices to improve both their economic and environmental performance. Expanding on some earlier work investigating general GSCM practices in China, this paper explores the GSCM pressures/drivers (motivators), initiatives and performance of the automotive supply chain using an empirical analysis of 89 automotive enterprises within China. The results show that the Chinese automobile supply chain enterprises have experienced high and increasing regulatory and market pressures and at the same time have strong internal drivers for GSCM practice adoption. However, their GSCM implementation, especially with consideration of external relationships, is poor. Therefore, GSCM implementation has only slightly improved environmental and operational performance, and has not resulted in significant economic performance improvement. In furthering this analysis we investigate one specific organization in this supply chain, the Dalian Diesel Engine Plant, and how this pioneering company has addressed the issues identified by the broader empirical analysis.
Decisions regarding offshoring and reshoring of manufacturing facilities and processes are of strategic importance for companies. These decisions often require the consideration of multiple financial, quantitative and qualitative factors. Integrating these often disparate factors can be extremely difficult for managers. This article presents a methodology, based on expert and practitioner input and literature, which aids in this process. The methodology incorporates concepts from activity-based costing, multi-attribute decision making and utility theory. An illustrative example using factors derived from literature and practice is presented to demonstrate the methodology and to discuss the issues which must be considered when making offshoring/reshoring decisions. The results of a series of interviews with supply chain professionals to establish the validity of the approach are discussed.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Employees’ proenvironmental behaviors (PEBs) are important to the success of corporate sustainability initiatives. Seeking to understand these behaviors, we tested a model of the determinants of PEBs. Using data from 294 employees in China, we examined the links between organizational commitment to sustainability, managerial transformational leadership on environmental issues, employees’ extrinsic and autonomous motivation, and employees’ PEBs. Our results generally support our model. Organizational commitment to the environment was associated with increases in employees’ autonomous and extrinsic motivation to perform PEBs. Autonomous motivation, but not extrinsic motivation, was positively related to PEBs. In addition, organizational environmental commitment was positively related to environmental transformational leadership, which, in turn, was positively related to PEBs. Surprisingly, transformational leadership was not related to autonomous motivation. Overall, these findings suggest that organizational commitment to the environment, transformational leadership, and autonomous motivation are critical in fostering employees’ PEBs.
Introduction Robert Sroufe, Duquesne University, USA, and Joseph Sarkis, Clark University, USA Part I: EMS planning and design 1. EPI Design: Integrating corporate strategies into the development process of an environmental performance evaluation system Enrico Cagno, Lorenzo Tardini and Paolo Trucco, Politecnico di Milano, Italy 2. A comparison of environmental management system components and practices Gwen Christini, Montgomery Watson Harza, USA, and Deanna H. Matthews and Chris Hendrickson, Carnegie Mellon University, USA 3. EMS and sustainable development: A model and comparative studies of integration Ulku Oktem, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, Phil Lewis, Rohm and Haas Corporation, USA, Deborah Donovan, Sunoco, USA, James R. Hagan, GlaxoSmithKline, UK, and Thomas Pace, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co., USA 4. Designing a sustainability management system at BMW Group: The Designworks/USA case study Kellie A. McElhaney and Michael W. Toffel, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Natalie Hill, Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, USA 5. Core values and environmental management: A strong inference approach John D. Hanson, Steven A. Melnyk and Roger J. Calantone, The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University, USA Part II: Implementation and operation 6. A product-based environmental management system Kathleen Donnelly, Arjen Salemink, Frederick Blechinger, Albrecht Schuh and Theresa Boehm, Lucent Technologies, Inc. 7. Environmental reporting on the internet: From a technical tool to a strategic necessity Ralf Isenmann, University of Bremen, Germany, and Christoph Bey, ESCEM School of Business and Management Tours-Poitiers, France 8. Web-based environmental management systems for SMEs Adeline Maijala, Lassi Linnanen and Tuula Pohjola, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland 9. Integrating sustainability practices into power generation operations Teresa DeBono, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, USA 10. The environmental management system of the Environmental Services Department of Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos, Calliopi Raftopoulou, Charalampos N. Kavouras and Panagiotis Karamanos, Environmental Services Department, Athens International Airport, Greece Part III: Environmental management system evaluation 11. Factors influencing the implementation of environmental management systems, practices and performance Olaf Weber, Department of Environmental Sciences and GOE, Zurich, Switzerland 12. Environmental management systems in the US and Thailand: A case comparison Deborah Rigling Gallagher, Duke University, USA, Richard N.L. Andrews, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, Achara Chandrachai, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Kaewta Rohitratana, Thammasat University, Thailand 13. Change management: Sustainable development via an augmented EMS Martin Callinan, University of Melbourne, Australia 14. Environmental management systems and environmental performance Jonas Ammenberg, Link
The selection of third‐party logistics providers is an intriguing practical and research question. With the development and advancement of reverse logistics concepts and practice, the selection of partners for the specific function of reverse logistics support becomes more important. This paper is one of the first to address this issue. The factors that play an important role in selecting a third‐party reverse logistics provider; such as a focus on end‐of‐life product organizational roles (e.g. recycling, reuse, etc.), differ from some traditional factors for supplier selection. How these new factors can be included for the selection of a partner is modeled within a decision‐making framework.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the most recent requirement for being able to compete on a global level. We introduce a methodology that will help in the planning and implementation of CIM. A detailed top-down approach for the strategic implementation of these systems is presented. With the latest manufacturing technology, no longer is the responsibility of planning and implementation of these technologies left to operational or tactical level decision makers, but requires a strategic focus. There needs to be an integrated effort across functional areas and among various levels of managerial decision making for successful implementation of CIM. This methodology is meant to aid in this process. In each of the stages, references and sources have been identified. These sources will provide a detailed exposition of the methodology and should benefit both researchers and practitioners.
Purpose Using the resource-based and the resource dependence theoretical approaches of the firm, the paper explores firm responses to supply chain disruptions during COVID-19. The paper explores how firms develop localization, agility and digitization (L-A-D) capabilities by applying (or not applying) their critical circular economy (CE) and blockchain technology (BCT)-related resources and capabilities that they either already possess or acquire from external agents. Design/methodology/approach An abductive approach, applying exploratory qualitative research was conducted over a sample of 24 firms. The sample represented different industries to study their critical BCT and CE resources and capabilities and the L-A-D capabilities. Firm resources and capabilities were classified using the technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework. Findings Findings show significant patterns on adoption levels of the blockchain-enabled circular economy system (BCES) and L-A-D capability development. The greater the BCES adoption capabilities, the greater the L-A-D capabilities. Organizational size and industry both influence the relationship between BCES and L-A-D. Accordingly, research propositions and a research framework are proposed. Research limitations/implications Given the limited sample size, the generalizability of the findings is limited. Our findings extend supply chain resiliency research. A series of propositions provide opportunities for future research. The resource-based view and resource-dependency theories are useful frameworks to better understanding the relationship between firm resources and supply chain resilience. Practical implications The results and discussion of this study serve as useful guidance for practitioners to create CE and BCT resources and capabilities for improving supply chain resiliency. Social implications The study shows the socio-economic and socio-environmental importance of BCES in the COVID-19 or similar crises. Originality/value The study is one of the initial attempts that highlights the possibilities of BCES across multiple industries and their value during pandemics and disruptions.
