Exploring resilience in the context of sustainable supply chain management: Towards a capability based perspective

In today’s world, supply chains are becoming more complex and more vulnerable due to increased interdependency of multiple threats. This paper investigates the vulnerability sources in context of sustainable supply chain in order to minimize the impact of uncertain events. The capability-based perspective is discussed in this paper to understand the strategies to improve the resilience of the supply chain. Paper argues that organisations must think beyond their boundaries to accumulate or integrate network resources and develop critical collaborative capabilities across the supply chain to successfully encounter future disruptions.

Object oriented supply chain simulation in Flexsim

12. Vlajic, J., Bjelic. N., Vidovic, M., (2006), “Object oriented supply chain simulation in Flexsim”, Proceedings of The microCAD 2006 International Scientific Conference, Miskolc, Hungary, pp.197-203;

Developing management capability within a horizontal supply chain in performance measurement deployment and evolution: A Dynamic Capabilities and Goal Theory perspective

Complex collaboration in rapidly changing business environments create challenges for management capability in Utility Horizontal Supply Chains (UHSCs) involving the deploying and evolving of performance measures. The aim of the study is twofold. First, there is a need to explore how management capability can be developed and used to deploy and evolve Performance Measurement (PM), both across a UHSC and within its constituent organisations, drawing upon a theoretical nexus of Dynamic Capability (DC) theory and complementary Goal Theory. Second, to make a contribution to knowledge by empirically building theory using these constructs to show the management motivations and behaviours within PM-based DCs. The methodology uses an interpretive theory building, multiple case based approach (n=3) as part of a USHC. The data collection methods include, interviews (n=54), focus groups (n=10), document analysis and participant observation (reflective learning logs) over a five-year period giving longitudinal data. The empirical findings lead to the development of a conceptual framework showing that management capabilities in driving PM deployment and evolution can be represented as multilevel renewal and incremental Dynamic Capabilities, which can be further understood in terms of motivation and behaviour by Goal-Theoretic constructs. In addition three interrelated cross cutting themes of management capabilities in consensus building, goal setting and resource change were identified. These management capabilities require carefully planned development and nurturing within the UHSC. 

The impact of an integral student engagement approach on teaching Operations and Supply Chain Management

In this study we investigate the influence of the implementation of multidimensional engagement on students’ academic, social and emotional outcomes in the teaching of Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) modules. Next to the academic and behavioural engagement dimensions, which are traditionally used to engage students in OSCM courses, we also incorporate a cognitive dimension to enhance integral student engagement. Up to know, integral student engagement is not reported in the OSCM literature. Cognitive engagement is based on implementation of summative self- and peer-assessment of weekly assignments. Our investigation is based on action research, conducted in an OSCM module over two consecutive years. We found that, in general, multidimensional engagement results in higher levels of academic performance, development of relationships with academic staff and their peers and emotional satisfaction. These findings are discussed in relation to several contextual factors: nature of the study material, gender, and the home location of students.

Environmental and social supply chain management sustainability practices: construct development and measurement

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and operationalise the concept of supply chain management sustainability practices. Based on a multi-stage procedure involving a literature review, expert Q-sort and pre-test process, pilot test and survey of 156 supply chain directors and managers in Ireland, we develop a multidimensional conceptualisation and measure of social and environmental supply chain management sustainability practices. The research findings show theoretically sound constructs based on four underlying sustainable supply chain management practices: monitoring, implementing systems, new product and process development and strategy redefinition. A two-factor model is then identified as the most reliable: comprising process-based and market-based practices.

Going above and beyond: how sustainability culture and entrepreneurial orientation drive social sustainability supply chain practice adoption

Purpose
– This paper aims to examine what drives the adoption of different social sustainability supply chain practices. Research has shown that certain factors drive the adoption of environmental sustainability practices but few focus on social supply chain practices, delineate which practices are adopted or what drives their adoption.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors examine the facilitative role of sustainability culture to explain the adoption of social sustainability supply chain practices: basic practices, consisting of monitoring and management systems and advanced practices, which are new product and process development and strategic redefinition. The authors then explore the role played by a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation in shaping and reinforcing the adoption of social sustainability supply chain practices. A survey of 156 supply chain managers in multiple industries in Ireland was conducted to test the relationship between the variables.

Findings
– The findings show that sustainability culture is positively related to all the practices, and entrepreneurial orientation impacts and moderates social sustainability culture in advanced social sustainability supply chain adoption.

Research limitations/implications
– As with any survey, this is a single point in time with a single respondent. Implications for managers include finding the right culture in the organisation to implement social sustainability supply chain management practices that go beyond monitoring to behavioural changes in the supply chain with implications beyond the dyad of buyer and supplier to lower tier suppliers and the community surrounding the supply chain.

Practical implications
– The implications for managers include developing and fostering cultural attributes in the organisation to implement social sustainability supply chain management practices that go beyond monitoring suppliers to behavioural changes in the supply chain with implications beyond the dyad of buyer and supplier to lower tier suppliers and the community surrounding the supply chain.

Originality/value
– This is the first time, to the authors’ knowledge, that cultural and entrepreneurial variables have been tested for social sustainability supply chain practices, giving them new insights into how and why social sustainability supply chain practices are adopted.

Understanding aerospace composite components' supply chain carbon emissions

This paper examines a large structural component and its supply chain. The component is representative of that used in the production of civil transport aircraft and is manufactured from carbon fibre epoxy resin prepreg, using traditional hand layup and autoclave cure. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to predict the component’s production carbon emissions. The results determine the distribution of carbon emissions within the supply chain, identifying the dominant production processes as carbon fibre manufacture and composite part manufacture. The elevated temperature processes of material and part creation, and the associated electricity usage, have a significant impact on the overall production emissions footprint. The paper also demonstrates the calculation of emissions footprint sensitivity to the geographic location and associated energy sources of the supply chain. The results verify that the proposed methodology is capable of quantitatively linking component and supply chain specifics to manufacturing processes and thus identifying the design drivers for carbon emissions in the manufacturing life of the component.

Progressing from internal to supply chain level environmental strategies: The influence of internal support processes

The need for companies to consider the environmental impact of their operations and supply chains has been highlighted in the literature. However, few studies appear to consider how companies’ progress from proactive environmental strategies implemented at the internal, operations level to proactive environmental strategies implemented at the supply chain level. This study assesses the implementation process through the lens of the natural resource-based view and dynamic capabilities perspective. First, the link between the internal strategy ‘pollution prevention’ and the supply chain strategy ‘process stewardship’ is assessed. Second, the mediating influence of the internal support processes ‘integration’ and ‘learning’ on the implementation process is considered. Data collected from a sample of 1200 UK-based food manufacturing companies is analysed using multiple regression analysis. The findings suggest that the progression to environmental efforts at the supply chain level begins with internally-based environmental efforts and that the integration of these efforts and experience gained from them are important supporting factors in this progression.