Using Country Sustainability Risk to Inform Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Design Science Study

Abstract

The sustainability of our global supply chains is an essential concern in strategic supply chain management research. Modern information and communication technologies enable stakeholders to punish buying firms for any sustainability‐related grievances at their suppliers, even in remote locations. This study investigates how the notion of country sustainability risk can inform sustainable supply chain management, in particular with respect to sustainability risk assessment at the individual supplier level. Drawing on institutional theory, we provide insights surrounding the emergence of environmental, social, and governance‐related country‐level sustainability risks and show their implications for and application in sustainable supply chain management. The study employs a design science methodology, based on cooperation with a multidivisional German technology firm, to develop a supply chain sustainability risk (SCSR) map as technological solution design. This article contributes to the study of SCSR by reconciling the scholarly SCSR discourse with the buying firms’ pursuit of efficiency. Moreover, it elucidates the augmentation of a research agenda through a design science approach. In practical terms, the technological solution design can directly inform managers about SCSR at the country level and serves as a decision basis for the management of individual suppliers.

Blockchain Practices, Potentials, and Perspectives in Greening Supply Chains

“…It is this upstream portion of the supply chain that has the most profound influence on overall supply chain sustainability. Issues in the upstream supply chain can be easily hidden from buying organizations, furthering their exposure to risk and affecting supply chain resilience [23].…”

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, ).…”

“…& Ojala, 2018; Reinerth, Busse, & Wagner, 2018;Schnittfeld & Busch, 2016;Waller, Fawcett, & Johnson, 2015). 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, 2010;Perotti, Zorzini, Cagno, & Micheli, 2012;Pieters, Glockner, Omta, & Weijers, 2012); (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, 2013;Loebbecke & Powell, 1998).…”

A Stochastic Multi-Attribute Method for Measuring Sustainability Performance of a Supplier Based on a Triple Bottom Line Approach in a Dual Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Environment

“…One of the most important activities of supplier selection decisions is establishing the criteria system. Since 1960s, many researchers have focused on the establishment of these criteria [60]. However, it is not easy to obtain a criteria system that satisfies all of these suppliers.…”