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

Mapping the field of sustainable procurement: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose

The study aims to analyze the intellectual structure in sustainable procurement (SP) research to identify the knowledge research clusters and provide potential avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The study conducted a bibliometric analysis to analyze the intellectual structure in the area of SP. Overall, 1,294 articles were selected from the Scopus database published between 2000 and 2022. The analysis was conducted using bibliometric R package, Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software. Further, content analysis of research clusters was carried out to set the future research agenda.

Findings

The study identifies four major knowledge research clusters of SP, namely, (1) green supply chain practices, (2) socially responsible purchasing, (3) environmental purchasing and (4) public procurement and policy. The study suggests a few research directions in the SP field. Moreover, the future research directions are aligned with specific organizational theories applicable in the area of SP research.

Research limitations/implications

The study is dependent on the Scopus database for the source of research publications on SP. Future studies may consider other research database sources.

Practical implications

Identifying knowledge research clusters of SP research is of paramount importance for developing policies in the near future. These policy initiatives pave the way for the adoption of SP practices in the business. The findings indicate the issues managers encounter while implementing SP in organizations.

Originality/value

The study offers valuable insights concerning parameters such as significant publication outlets, influential countries concerning the number of publications, impactful authors, title keywords and identifying major knowledge research clusters of SP to suggest future research directions. Further, the present study highlights emerging areas that require further research, including process governance, supplier diversity, innovation, the role of emerging technologies and the application of organizational theories in SP.

Maintenance strategy selection: a comprehensive review of current paradigms and solution approaches

Purpose

In today's competitive industries, the selection of best suitable maintenance strategy is dependent on large number of quantitative and qualitative factors, and it becomes an extensively difficult problem for maintenance engineers. Over the years, a diverse range of solution methodologies have been developed for solving this multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. In this paper, the authors have presented a comprehensive review of latest maintenance strategy paradigms and solution approaches proposed for the selection of an appropriate strategy in various industries. It would provide a systematic mapping of developments in this field and identify some research gaps to explore further studies.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic state-of-the-art comprehensive literature review on maintenance strategy paradigms and selection approaches is presented in this study. In this study, 87 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals, since year 2012, are reviewed.

Findings

For the selection of a suitable maintenance strategy, a variety of criteria are considered to better evaluate the alternatives. In this study, contemporary strategies are discussed, and their applications in different industries are also depicted. Moreover, through the analysis of extant literature, critical criteria are selected and classified in six major categories (namely, economic, technical, safety, environmental, feasibility and social) and further sub-categorized in quantitative and qualitative classes. These clusters of criteria can be helpful as an initial set of criteria for survey and then case- or industry-specific criteria can be shortlisted for further alternative evaluation.

Practical implications

From the perspective of maintenance managers, maintenance management can be a very difficult task, considering the numerous factors affecting the decision-making process. In order to help in the decision-making process, this study presents the contemporary maintenance strategies in a systematic manner. In a previous study (Kothamasu et al., 2006), these strategies were classified into repair and prevent classes only. With the developments of autonomous maintenance and design out maintenance (DOM), it was fair to include continuous improvement class. It will help managers and practitioners to identify, according to organization policy, appropriate maintenance strategy alternatives for the asset. A benchmark set of state-of-the-art maintenance strategies are laid out with their applications. The industrial case studies discussed in this study summarizes the optimal maintenance strategies for respective industries. Also, most critical criteria are identified from the existing studies for various industries that can help maintenance practitioners in acknowledging the critical factors and making appropriate decisions. Evaluation parameters for the maintenance strategy selection (MSS) generally conflict with each other, and considering the difficulty of quantifying the qualitative measures, it is a challenging task to determine the optimal trade-off. In order to overcome these challenges, popular MCDM approaches, demonstrating effective results across different industries are discussed with their limitations and applications. Decision-makers can refer this study to identify best suitable decision-making technique for the MSS problem in the industry of their choice. Maintenance managers and engineers can refer the case studies illustrated in Tables 1 and 2 to analyse the MSS techniques proposed by previous studies with industry-specific applications.

Social implications

This study is an attempt to provide a reference point for research scholars interested in the field of maintenance management and/or development of maintenance strategy framework. This study provides a critical state-of-the-art review of efforts made in the field of MSS. The prominent maintenance strategies being implemented in contemporary industries are discussed with respective case studies. Interested researchers and academicians can familiarize themselves with these strategies and their distinct features in this study. In order to guide future studies and provide a reference point for academicians, MSS critical criteria used in extant literature are identified and classified into a comprehensive benchmark framework. Moreover, the industrial case studies are discussed with the most critical criteria of MSS for different industries and which strategy is most suitable for the respective industries based on these criteria. Table 1 presents different MCDM techniques and their hybrid applications for solving MSS problem that can help researchers in identifying research gaps. Future research can be directed at addressing the limitation of MCDM approach employed in existing studies and comparing the differences in results obtained by the proposed approach. Different industrial case studies with considered maintenance strategy alternatives are presented in Table 2, which can help researchers in identifying the industries that have not been studied yet. Moreover, not all of the existing studies are carried out by considering all the presented benchmark strategies, which can be addressed in future studies by interested researchers. More detailed discussion on research gaps is presented in the following section.

Originality/value

From the analysis of the extant literature, the authors could observe that the decision-making process adopted in numerous studies was limited to the classical maintenance strategies and not inclusive of aggressive maintenance strategy alternatives. To overcome these limitations and help maintenance managers in the decision-making, this study depicts the contemporary maintenance strategies, critical evaluation criteria and MCDM frameworks (employed to solve the MSS problem with industrial case studies) in a structured manner.

A stochastic fuzzy multi-criteria group decision-making for sustainable vendor selection in Indian petroleum refining sector

Purpose

This paper aims to select key criteria for sustainable vendor assessment and spare-parts supplies in the Indian petroleum refining sector using stochastic fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (SFTOPSIS).

Design/methodology/approach

The criteria for sustainable vendor evaluation and selection are identified from the review of the literature and further; it is finalized using the Delphi method. Eight supply chain (SC) experts from the Indian petro refining sector were identified as having more than five years of experience and agreed to participate in this study (known as decision-makers (DM)). Five vendors supplying spare-parts are shortlisted from the market with the discussion and consent of procurement experts from petroleum refineries. Subsequently, criteria and vendors are rated based on relative importance in linguistic terms from the group of eight DMs. As ratings involve uncertainties in the decision-making, the SFTOPSIS method is applied to determine criteria weight and vendor ranking at a distinct significance level (α). The ranking of the vendors is obtained for sustainable supply of spare-parts in the Indian petro refining sector using the SFTOPSIS method.

Findings

The ranking of sustainable vendors is obtained through the integrated application of the fuzzy and stochastic approach to capture the uncertainties in the ratings of DMs. The sensitivity analysis is carried out at distinct confidence limits of a normal distribution to obtain a robust ranking of the vendors. In this paper, a case application of SFTOPSIS in the Indian petro refining sector is presented in which key criteria and the vendor ranking are found to be changing with confidence limit for sustainable vendor evaluation.

Practical implications

The fuzziness and randomness in relative ratings collects from a group of DMs are taken in the proposed methodology. The distinct approaches are compared with changing significance-level under stochastic, fuzzy and deterministic TOPSIS to acquire robustness in the ranking. The proposed SFTOPSIS model can be useful to practitioners from the petroleum sector.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper contributes to an application of the SFTOPSIS method that is the extension of FTOPSIS in the petro refining sector of a developing country. The sensitivity analysis with distinct significance-level shows the uncertainties in the collected ratings from the DMs that supports robustness in the ranking. It might be helpful for SC professionals from the petro refining sector, who assess the rank of the vendors at different confidence limits for sustainable supply of spare-parts. Further research in the petroleum industry from emerging economies needs to be undertaken to broaden its scope and applicability.

Barriers to adoption of blockchain technology in green supply chain management

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to the adoption of blockchain technology in green supply chain management (GSCM) and further analyze the cause and effect relationship to prioritize the barriers for making strategic decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines 15 potential barriers related to the adoption of blockchain in GSCM which is identified from the literature review and finalized after subsequent discussions with industry professionals. Integrated Fuzzy-Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory approach is used to analyze cause and effect relationships and prioritize the barriers. Fuzzy set theory is used to handle the uncertainty and vagueness associated with the personnel biases and data deficiency problems. Three small to medium enterprises’ (SMEs’) are considered for gathering data and further analyzing the crucial barriers that are impeding the adoption of blockchain technology in GSCM.

Findings

The findings reveal that “lack of management vision” and “cultural differences among supply chain partners” are the most influencing barriers, whereas; “collaboration challenges” and “hesitation and workforce obsolescence” are the most influential barriers in the adoption of blockchain in GSCM.

Research limitations/implications

The study is developed based on 15 selected barriers which were further tested using data from three SMEs’ in the emerging economy of India. The adoption of blockchain technology in GSCM is at a nascent stage and more research studies are necessary to extend the knowledge base.

Practical implications

Managers need to eliminate the barriers and extend the blockchain technology application in GSCM. Managers need to develop the mission and vision of the company by doing proper alignment of blockchain technology with GSCM goals. Second, managers need to make strong collaborations and remove the hesitation and workforce obsolescence barrier by providing the right education and pieces of training.

Originality/value

Blockchain technology in GSCM is in a nascent stage. This study extends the knowledge base by identifying and further prioritizing the leading blockchain barriers that need to be overcome for effectively adopting blockchain in GSCM.

Multi-site planning and scheduling: state-of-the-art review and future research directions

Purpose

This paper aims to deal with integrated planning and scheduling problem in multi-site manufacturing environment and provides a comprehensive review of literature. Classification schemes and various aspects of planning and scheduling problem in multi-site manufacturing are highlighted.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured review methodology is adopted to classify the relevant literature. Taxonomy for classification of the problem is presented, followed by review of modelling approaches, solution strategies and challenges faced in multi-site integrated planning and scheduling problem.

Findings

The paper is concluded with interesting research findings and a short view on directions related to modelling approach, solution strategy and technique for further developments in the area of multi-site integrated planning and scheduling.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study would be helpful for future researchers and practitioners to provide a knowledge base and to further work in this area.

Originality/value

This study attempts to consolidate the diverse literature available and highlight the various aspects of planning and scheduling in multi-site manufacturing.