Sustainability Management within Supply Chains – A Resource Dependence View

Abstract

Proceeding from three basic concepts of resource dependence theory – organizational effectiveness, interdependence and external control – we conducted a multiple‐case study to investigate factors that facilitate and hinder sustainability management within supply chains. Our empirical observations highlight that focal firms do not necessarily transfer their own corporate sustainability agendas into control mechanisms for managing the sustainability of their suppliers. Based on this insight, we develop a new theory that explains how intra‐ and interorganizational sustainability management is affected by a firm's business case for promoting sustainability, control mechanisms, trade‐offs, trust and market liberalization. The theory offers new insights into drivers and barriers for effective interorganizational sustainability management, whereas previous theories could not fully explain the reasons for diverging sustainability management practices in supply chains. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Do Board's Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and Orientation Influence Environmental Sustainability Disclosure? UK Evidence

“…Finally, and closely connected with legitimacy and stakeholder theories, resource dependence theory (RDT) considers CESD as a tool to manage a company's image through communicating its output, goals, or methods of operations, and to enhance its legitimacy (Casciaro and Piskorski, ; Davis and Cobb, ; Hillman et al , ; Schnittfeld and Busch, ). It focusses on the effect of environmental constraint on the organization and its engagement in exchanges and transections with other entities for various resources (Hillman et al , ; Pfeffer and Salancik, ; Schnittfeld and Busch, ). RDT has been recently used to explain the role of the board of directors in achieving corporate sustainable developments (see, e.g., Casciaro and Piskorski, ; Mallin et al , ; Shaukat et al , ).…”

Sustainable supply chain management and partner engagement to manage climate change information

“…Therefore, the way in which firms manage information is critical in their engagement with supply chain partners. For example, extant literature provides insights into the aspects, contingencies, and variations in information management for the development of sustainable supply chains (Oelze, Hoejmose, Habisch, & Millington, ; Schnittfeld & Busch, ; Solér, Bergström, & Shanahan, ). Within the context of climate change, findings suggest that economic reasoning, weak actor bonds, and differing perceptions of the rules of the game together act as barriers hindering firms to develop collective responses within their supply chains (Finke et al, ).…”

Evaluating environmental sustainability strategies in freight transport and logistics industry

“…This growing body of literature investigates mainly the green initiatives adopted by companies operating in manufacturing industries (Dao, Langella, & Carbo, ; Gerstlberger, Præst Knudsen, & Stampe, ; Park, Sarkis, & Wu, ; Ranganathan, Teo, & Dhaliwal, ; Wang, Chen, & Benitez‐Amado, ; Whinkler, ), whereas in the field of freight transport and logistics industry, there is not yet a structured framework (Davarzani, Fahimnia, Bell, & Sarkis, ; Centobelli, Cerchione, & Esposito, , ; Lin & Ho, ; Oberhofer & Dieplinger, ). This issue is relevant because the green initiatives adoption by companies operating in this industry could play a pivotal role towards the achievement of environmental sustainability strategies affecting the entire supply chain (Brockhaus, Kersten, & Knemeyer, ; Dhakal, Smith, & Newbery, ; Laari, Töyli, & Ojala, ; Reinerth, Busse, & Wagner, ; Schnittfeld & Busch, ; Waller, Fawcett, & Johnson, ). In addition, in the literature, there is a variety of definitions of green initiatives that converge into two main definitions according to an organisational and a technological perspective: (a) green initiatives as green practices supporting the green aims through organisational methods or techniques, for example, eco‐driving, empty running reduction, full vehicle loading, and routing techniques to minimise travel distances (Lieb & Lieb, ; Perotti, Zorzini, Cagno, & Micheli, ; Pieters, Glockner, Omta, & Weijers, ); (b) green initiatives as information systems supporting the green practices, for example, emissions control systems and real‐time locating systems (Iacob, Van Sinderen, Steenwijk, & Verkroost, ; Loebbecke & Powell, ).…”