Implementing sustainability on a corporate and a functional level: Key contingencies that influence the required coordination

Disruptions in sourcing and distribution practices of supply chains due to COVID-19 pandemic: a sustainability paradigm

Purpose

The present research paper is an attempt to study how COVID-19 can affect the global sourcing practices of various supply chain intermediaries across the demand chain. This study aims to explore and is an attempt to understand the overall impact of COVID-19 on the sustainable operations of the firm such as sourcing, procurement, economic performance, social responsibility, consumption and distributions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a quantitative technique using data collected from 708 respondents. Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been applied to test the proposed model and hypothesis.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that sourcing practices, distribution and sustainability considerations of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and retailers are affected by COVID-19 to a great extent but the pandemic has also led to making supply chain intermediaries understand the changing dynamics of the business scenario which can help them in their own strategic and business evolution.

Research limitations/implications

The current disruptions throughout global delivery chains caused by COVID-19 affect badly, the already poor-performing supply chains. Hence, the present study provides fresh insight on how organizations can limit the ill effects of COVID-19 by safeguarding some of their key sustainable operations in a post-pandemic business scenario.

Originality/value

The present study takes into consideration how core supply functions such as sourcing, distribution and manufacturing and various sustainable operations are disrupted by pandemic and its after-effects. This knowledge base can help business organizations to mitigate such problems/disruptions in the future.

Does PMS influence the strategy pillars: OPP relationship? Evidence from HEIs in Indonesia

Purpose

This study aims to investigate whether strategy pillars have a positive direct effect on organizational productivity performance (OPP) in the Indonesian HEI (Higher Education Institutions) research setting and, if so, whether the effect is mediated by a performance management system (PMS).

Design/methodology/approach

This study used quantitative research employing partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses. A mediation model of the research framework was developed to investigate the mediating role of PMS.

Findings

Using a sample of 182 Indonesian HEI managers, the results indicate that strategy pillars have a positive effect on OPP. Further analysis shows that PMS partially mediates the strategy pillar–OPP relationship.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations. Firstly, the sample size used was relatively small and this may raise the issue of generalization. Secondly, it used a Likert scale and therefore may raise the issue of judgment bias. Lastly, this study is context-specific for Indonesia and caution should be used when generalizing it to other countries.

Practical implications

To enhance the HEIs productivity performance, the HEI managers should develop strong strategy pillars for the purpose of effective strategy formulation and execution.

Social implications

This study provides a model showing how to improve the HEIs productivity performance by employing strategy pillars and a PMS. The better the performance of the HEIs, the better the quality of life of society in the era of the knowledge economy.

Originality/value

Strategy pillars have rarely been researched. This study is therefore one of the few studies on strategy pillars. This study also provides new elements related to measuring strategy pillars, PMS and OPP in the context of HEIs in Indonesia as an emerging economy.

Integrated internal audit in management system

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of integrated internal audit management (IIAM) and compare the implementation of IIAM by Malaysian firms with different certifications (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001).

Design/methodology/approach

This study involves three studies on the implementation of integrated internal audit processes. Furthermore, this study compares the implementation of the audit in the selected firms. The qualitative research methodology was adopted to analyse the data.

Findings

This study is an exploratory study and the findings indicate the differences between the implementation of the internal audit process across different firms. All the firms are highly motivated and demonstrate resource management whilst implementing the IIAM while firms experiencing the same difficulties. The study also found that all of the firms are enjoying similar benefits.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of this research paper is limited to three Malaysian manufacturing firms with different quality certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. Thus, the finding cannot be generalised to all firms in Malaysia. However, the findings are significant as they present an interesting comparison between the implementation of IIAM by manufacturing firms in Malaysia.

Originality/value

Although the integration of management systems has been analysed many times, this study focussed on the comparison of firms’ practices of the IIAM.

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

Purpose

This 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/approach

This 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.

Findings

This 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 implications

This 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/value

This 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.

Relational asymmetry, trust, and innovation in supply chain management: a non-linear approach

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the non-linear aspects of the asymmetry-performance relationship under varying conditions of trust and innovation. Its novel approach is useful for addressing the strategic elements of supply chain management (SCM) relationships based on trust and innovation decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

Results are based on a study of 90 managers from small- and medium-sized firms in Spain. Instead of a classical linear relationship analysis, the authors performed a non-linear analysis, using polynomial modeling and Warp 3 partial least squares method, which provides a more nuanced view of the data and constitutes an original approach to empirical research in SCM.

Findings

This study adds a new viewpoint on SC relationships by suggesting that not all trust and innovation development leads directly to performance improvement. The principal finding is, in varying trust and innovation contexts, that the influences of asymmetry on performance have uneven characteristics and follow non-linear paths.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on only one particular institutional environment in one country. The data are also cross-sectional, which makes it difficult to empirically test causality.

Practical implications

The findings provide rational insights to managers on when it is appropriate to reduce (or not) asymmetric relationships with partners.

Originality/value

Trust and innovation are important and ones of the key requirements of supply chain relationships in any environment, this study argues that the interactions of key SCM elements that drive members to better performance are more complex and non-linear.

Procurement sustainability tensions: an integrative perspective

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to unpack tensions faced by procurement professionals as part of their triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability activities. The authors take an integrative perspective based on the procurement sustainability and organizational tensions literature, as well as stakeholder and institutional theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a multiple case study approach. Data are collected through multiple interviews and archival data from eight case companies in Australia.

Findings

The authors identify supply chain and company procurement sustainability tensions (PSTs) and explain their multi-level nature. The analysis also dissects the multi-stakeholder and multi-institutional environments where PSTs operate. The authors discuss such environments in terms of various temporal and spatial legitimacy contexts (LCs) that, through their assessment of institutional distance, can characterize the manifestation of PSTs.

Practical implications

The findings are instrumental for managers to make informed decisions when dealing with PSTs, and they pave the way for paradoxical leadership given the increasing importance of simultaneous development and balancing of TBL dimensions, as evidenced in this study.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to empirically investigate PSTs by drawing on an integrative approach to identify PSTs, and to discern various LCs that underpin stakeholder judgments of procurement’s TBL sustainability activities.

Content analysis in SCM research: past uses and future research opportunities

Purpose

Content analysis is a methodology that has been used in many academic disciplines as a means to extract quantitative measures from textual information. The purpose of this paper is to document the use of content analysis in the supply chain literature. The authors also discuss opportunities for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct a literature review of 13 leading supply chain journals to assess the state of the content analysis-based literature and identify opportunities for future research. Additionally, the authors provide a general schema for and illustration of the use of content analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that content analysis for quantitative studies and hypothesis testing purposes has rarely been used in the supply chain discipline. The research also suggests that in order to fully realize the potential of content analysis, future content analysis research should conduct more hypothesis testing, employ diverse data sets, utilize state-of-the-art content analysis software programs, and leverage multi-method research designs.

Originality/value

The current research synthesizes the use of content analysis methods in the supply chain domain and promotes the need to capitalize on the advantages offered by this research methodology. The paper also presents several topics for future research that can benefit from the content analysis method.

Internal coordination to enable high load factor

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to clarify how activities may be coordinated within shippers’ organisations to enable high load factor (a key aspect of transport efficiency).

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple-case study involving three shippers was conducted, in which the logistics or transport managers of each company were interviewed. The cases were analysed according to which activities were coordinated to achieve high load factor, interdependencies between the activities, and the coordination mechanisms that shippers adopted.

Findings

A matrix is developed to show the differences in applying various coordination mechanisms in eight categories, according to intrafunctional or interfunctional coordination, sequential or reciprocal interdependencies, and the number of activities (dyadic or multiple). For example, coordination mechanisms aimed at exerting control are more suitable for intrafunctional than interfunctional interaction; interfunctional coordination relies more on mechanisms that aim to increase the understanding of transport-related issues among non-logistics activities.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on data from three Swedish companies.

Practical implications

Managers are provided with suggestions for coordinating activities when their goal is to improve load factor. These findings are of interest for reducing costs and emissions.

Originality/value

In response to suggestions in the earlier literature that shippers could improve their internal coordination to improve their load factor, this paper articulates several mechanisms for performing such coordination in eight situations.

Conflict minerals traceability – a fuzzy set analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate legal effects on social sustainability practices at buying firms. The US Dodd-Frank Act has forced listed companies to determine the degree to which their products contain conflict minerals (CM). The research question this study seeks to answer is the following: which factors influence a company’s ability to determine the provenance of its inputs?

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines secondary data in the form of CM reports of 50 US listed firms for two consecutive years using a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) approach.

Findings

This study identifies different configurations of stakeholder salience and firm resources that lead individual companies to achieve high levels of traceability. Findings show that firms’ CM governance mechanisms are a key determinant in the firms’ capacity to meet regulatory traceability requirements. Further, the authors find that both the presence and absence of specific stakeholder pressures and firm resources can lead to traceability. Findings also suggest that firms can achieve traceability without any pressure from stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

The study investigates the practices of individual firms that are subject to the Dodd-Frank Act, rather than adopting a supply chain-wide perspective. Further, proxies had to be used to measure several constructs because of reliance on firms’ reporting, which implies that the study did not account for certain behavioral factors that influence traceability.

Practical implications

This study provides managers of both resource-rich and less resource-rich firms with possible pathways for achieving CM traceability.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the field of sustainability by providing exploratory insights into the antecedents of traceability and deriving theoretical propositions to guide further research. The authors apply fsQCA to investigate secondary data over multiple years, thus using a novel configurational methodology.

Food integrated management systems: dairy industry insights

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the management systems integration from both sector and size perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

Extant literature is reviewed focussing on food-related management topics. A single case is used to delve into the understanding of integrated management systems (IMSs) using the contingency approach. Data are drawn from documents and archives, on-site observations and by interviewing employees of all hierarchy levels.

Findings

This case shows how size and sector-related constraints may condition integration in terms of IMS scope, strategy, level, audits, resources, motives, benefits and difficulties. Traceability is identified as an integration “catalyst” for multiple MSs in food companies. It is further discussed, how an environmental management system would be embedded within the existing integrated structure.

Research limitations/implications

Conclusions bring to light the sustained business leverage provided by food IMSs. Thus, food industry managers are driven to streamline the quality, food safety and environmental processes following an IMS approach. Future research on multiple cases of different size would reflect a wider IMS sector-specific perspective. Research on other sectors is expected to provide different particular aspects of integration, as well.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first in-depth study on the adoption of an integrated generic and sector-specific MS from the contingency perspective. The case visualizes the contribution of integration when addressing the critical food safety and quality operations and the significant environmental aspects.

The impact of environmental and social sustainability practices on sourcing behavior

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to make an initial attempt to understand if environmental and social sustainability practices of suppliers influence the buying decision and ultimate supplier selection in a purchasing organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– In order to test the effects of sustainability on sourcing decisions, this research utilizes two scenario-based behavioral experiments grounded in a transportation carrier selection context.

Findings

– Two scenario-based experiments with managerial participants were conducted and results suggest that environmental and social aspects of sustainability are indeed relevant sourcing considerations that impact both economic and relational aspects of exchange relationships. These sustainability aspects enable carriers to differentiate themselves in a highly commoditized market.

Originality/value

– Extant research advocates for sourcing organizations to take an active role in selecting sustainable suppliers. However, little is known about how supplier sustainability performance impacts sourcing decisions and supplier selection. This research addresses this gap in the literature and explores the effects of price, environmental, and social sustainability on purchase intentions and trust formation in a transportation carrier selection context.

On the relationship between purchasing integration and purchasing decision-making speed

Purpose

– First, this study expands knowledge on the strategic decision process dimension decision-making speed by analyzing decision-making speed and two possible antecedents in a purchasing context. Second, it takes an additional step toward clarifying the relationship between strategic and lateral integration. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the potential mediating effect of lateral purchasing integration on the relationship between strategic purchasing integration and purchasing decision-making speed.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research analyzes survey data of 152 firms from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland using covariance-based structural equation modeling.

Findings

– The results of the structural equation model provide strong support for the hypothesized relationships. Strategic purchasing integration drives lateral purchasing integration, which in turn positively influences purchasing decision-making speed.

Research limitations/implications

– This study focusses solely on internal types of integration. A logical next step would be to further enrich the model by including external dimensions, such as supplier or customer integration.

Practical implications

– This study should help managers gain a better understanding of the relationship between strategic and lateral purchasing integration, highlighting their positive impact on decision-making speed. Decision-making speed is particularly important for companies operating in volatile markets and time-constrained business environments.

Originality/value

– This study offers new insights into the theoretical and empirical connection between intra-organizational purchasing integration, unpacked as strategic purchasing integration and lateral purchasing integration, and purchasing decision-making speed. Furthermore, it offers insights into decision-making speed in a purchasing context.