Den växande e-livsmedelshandelns Supply Chains har studerats genom hållbarhetsglasögon där syftet var att ”[…] ge en fördjupad förståelse över hur svenska elivsmedelsaktörerarbetar med frågor rörande Sustainable Supply Chain Management”. Syftet fullgjordes genom en kvalitativ studie av tre organisationer, i vilka totalt 9 beslutsfattare intervjuades enligt ett semi-strukturerat intervjuförfarande. De data som samlades rörande e-livsmedelsaktörernas arbete med SSCM har i sin tur analyserats med hänvisning till en i förväg fastställd teoretisk referensram. Vår studie avslöjar att två av de svenska e-livsmedelsaktörerna är exemplariska och framstående med att införliva hållbarhet i sin Supply Chain. De engagerar sig aktivt i de initiativ för Sustainable Supply Chain Management som i litteraturen identifierades som nödvändiga för en verkligt hållbar Supply Chain. De har en allomfattande och övergripande strategi för att minimera den sociala risken, reducera resursutnyttjande och förorenande biprodukter i hela Supply Chain samt för att förbättra organisatoriskt inbäddade ohållbara vanor. Det tredje företaget saknar emellertid kapacitet och marknadsinflytande att engagera sig i SSCM. Studien åskådliggör även att en klimatneutral e-livsmedelsdistribution osannolikt förverkligas inom en snar framtid, såvida inte marknaden interveneras och företagen tvingas internalisera kostnaderna för utsläpp.

Relationship management plays a critical role in sustainable supply chain management (SCM). The literature focuses on the operational and strategic levels of inter-organisational relationships in supply chains, where little is known about the psychological aspect of these relationships. Adopting social identity theory as the key theoretical lens, this research investigates inter-organisational relationships in the context of sustainability implementation in supply chains. Two research questions are asked: RQ1 How do focal organisations engage their supply chain stakeholders in sustainable SCM using social identity thinking? RQ2 What are the specific identity issues relating to inter-organisational relationships in a sustainability context? This research adopts an exploratory case approach and combines multiple data sources: semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and secondary data analysis. Three case studies are conducted in three international organisations and their suppliers in a global setting. The research findings reveal that organisations face the challenge of managing multiple identities during their sustainability implementation in supply chains. Subject to their operational context and supply chain characteristics, organisations may have different approaches to sustainability implementation. Sustainability identity is associated with internal stakeholders’ motivation and proactivity when contacting external stakeholders, as well as external stakeholders’ commitment to cooperation and information sharing in sustainable supply. Analysis of the 41 interviews reveals that both the internal and external stakeholders play an important role in identity formation through various identity assessment and comparison activities. The key identity issues observed during sustainable supply practices include identity conflicts, inconsistencies, and disagreements among the stakeholders. The current SCM literature focuses on supply chains as one uniform identity. A major contribution of this research is that it addresses the complexity of identity issues in supply chains, especially in the context of sustainability implementation. It also contributes to theory by defining a typology of focal organisations’ identity regulation approaches.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) is an evolving discipline, and incorporates the environmental and social performance dimensions of sustainability with the traditional measure of economic performance; current SSCM research indicates a skew towards economic performance and its interaction with environmental performance, while social performance is underrepresented (Pagell and Wu, 2009, Schaefer, 2004, Sharma and Ruud, 2003). The UK clothing industry represents a relevant research focus due to its supply chain complexity, and scale and scope of its environmental and social impacts; this thesis further recognises the tendency for academic research to focus on Large Enterprises (LE) (Curran and Blackburn, 2001) and investigates how SSCM is implemented in UK SME clothing supply chains to understand how and why they address economic, environmental and social performance and the potential contribution to developing the SSCM concept. An inductive case study methodology is employed and the research focuses on 4 UK clothing SMEs with primary data collection a series of semi-structured interviews, supported by observation, company documentation and archival data. Three theoretical lenses are applied and the findings indicate that SMEs manage their supply chains for sustainability in ways that strongly align with their specific characteristics and apply a greater emphasis on long-term, trust-based and mutually beneficial supplier relationships. A rich view of SSCM practice in SMEs is developed, which reflects the more intangible and human components of sustainability and supply chain relationships, and how these can be harnessed to achieve firm specific commitments. This thesis fulfils an identified need to study how sustainability is addressed in SME supply chains within a single industry; SSCM research to date has focused on large organisations and multiple industry perspectives. It contributes to knowledge in both the SSCM and SME research fields by identifying key gaps within the combined literature, critiquing sustainability models and developing a conceptual framework from the findings, which aims to embed social performance and offer a more integrated approach to SSCM in this context.

A major challenge for supply chain managers is how to manage sourcing relationships to ensure reliable and predictable actions of existing suppliers. The extant research into sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has suggested the transactional (e.g. monitoring and auditing) and collaboration (e.g. supplier development) as the main two approaches by which buyers can sustain an acceptable level of suppliers' internal social performance. A successful implementation of such approaches, and hence improving suppliers' social performance, often requires a level of cooperation that can be difficult to establish, particularly on the part of suppliers. Despite the recent proliferation of SSCM research, little efforts have been devoted to exploring the factors that increase the effectiveness of the two approaches. This research aims to examine the individual and combined effect of socially sustainable transactional practices (SSTPs) and socially sustainable collaboration practices (SSCPs) on supplier's internal social performance and buyer's operational performance. The study also sets out to examine the moderating effects of social capital dimensions (i.e. relational, cognitive and structural) on the relationships among SSTPs, SSCPs and supplier's internal social performance. A mail survey was administered to 1,250 stratified randomly selected large manufacturing companies operating in the UK. An analysis of 119 responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation modelling (PLS-SEM) revealed that SSTPs are ineffective in driving supplier's internal social performance, whilst SSCPs are more effective. Moreover, although the interaction effect of SSTPs and SSCPs is non-significant, the data suggested that the simultaneous implementation can be detrimental to supplier's internal social performance. Furthermore, social capital dimensions were found to play different roles on the implementation of SSTPs and SSCPs. Relational capital plays a unique role by increasing the effectiveness of both SSTPs and SSCPs, while cognitive capital is critical for SSCPs, and structural capital is vital for SSTPs. This study contributes to SSCM literature by exclusively focusing on the social dimension of sustainability, examining the joint implementation of SSTPs and SSCPs and featuring the centrality of social capital in the implementation of SSCM practices. The study sets a foundation for new research avenues in the SSCM context and provides a set of managerial implications that support informed decision-making by supply chain managers.

Corporate Social Responsibility increases in importance, especially in the context of Supply-Chain Management. This is anchored in the rising competitiveness between entire supply-chains, as a competitive shift from individual companies to supply-chains as entities is taking place. Hence, the entire supply-chain becomes more critical in the creation of a competitive advantage. Corporate Social Responsibility has the potential to create legitimacy in the eyes of stakeholders and thus, also may contribute to the creation of this competitive advantage for entire supply-chains. Therefore, changing societal demands and stakeholder pressure stimulate the necessity for supply-chains to integrate Corporate Social Responsibility and thus, the three dimensions of the Triple-Bottom-Line (People, Planet, Profit) approach (as opposed to the traditional economic paradigm) into their operations.   With regards to this necessity it becomes worthwhile to explore how individual actors within supply-chains perceive pressure and whether the shift from inter-firm competition to inter-supply-chain competition is accompanied by a similar shift in stakeholder pressure (based on the Triple-Bottom-Line) from individual companies to entire supply-chains. A set of four interrelated theories, namely ‘business as open systems’, ‘social contract theory’, ‘stakeholder theory’ and ‘legitimacy theory’, is used to approach this topic. Then, the perceived pressure is investigated by means of a series of qualitative interviews with representatives of seven companies within the clothing industry, located at different positions of supply-chains. These positions include Suppliers of Raw Material, Manufacturer, Logistics and Retailers. Findings show that primary stakeholders, especially employees and customers, are perceived to be the most influential sources of CSR-related pressure. This pressure includes a wide range of demands, covering all three dimensions of the Triple-Bottom-Line. The assumption that supply-chains as entities perceive stakeholder pressure is not yet supported by these findings. What can be identified is a noticeable ‘trickle-up’ effect, meaning that pressure flows upstream from retailers to suppliers of raw materials. The shift in stakeholder pressure onto chains as entities is not identified due to the sample available to the authors. Further research should investigate this shift by means of examining single supply-chains instead of various companies from different chains.

There is an increasing importance of sustainability in the development of companies' business strategies. Due to its impact on the environment, this is particularly essential for companies of the transport and logistics sector. The paper explores several factors that influence the environmental behaviour of transport and logistics companies in Austria. It discusses the importance of the economic impact on environmental management decision in detail and analyses the sector's specific characteristics in terms of environmental behaviour. A case-based approach involving multiple field studies with face-to-face expert interviews and secondary data analysis was used to evaluate environmental performance and specific practices. Due to various factors like a lack of end-user contact and high levels of competition, the transport and logistics sector does not show much environmentally friendly behaviour. We can confirm that the economic factor is crucial for companies' decisions on the implementation of environmental practices. Using selected cases, we will demonstrate how environmental measures contribute to overall business performance. Furthermore, suggestions are given as to how the government can further support transport and logistics companies in this regard. Because there is little evidence of tangible environmental practices in the sector of transport and logistics and their impact on the business performance, this study is both exploratory and explanatory in its nature. (authors' abstract)

In today's highly competitive global marketplace, organisations are under pressure to find new ways to minimize risk and maximize profits. Profits can increase by reducing the cost of inputs or increasing price of the outputs. Hence, procurement contributes by reducing the cost of inputs by sourcing materials at lower costs. Consequently, this creates a challenge to the buyer as supply risk issues are more likely to occur with lower cost sources that might include new suppliers or unreliable sources. Unfortunately, logistics planners, too, drive new initiatives intended to be cost effective such as "Just-in-Time" (JIT) manufacturing. This adds an additional challenge to the buyer of ensuring uninterrupted supply while the system has actually eroded the supply buffer that would have enabled achieving the goal of low cost supply at lower risk. Hence, supply managers have to deal with the ever-increasing challenges in pursuit of a balance between supply risk and lower cost of supplies while ensuring sustainable supplies. For these reasons, this study aims to develop an implementation plan for the supply risk management. The plan developed from a case study undertaken at Safripol, a large manufacturing chemical company located in Sasolburg, South Africa. The complete study of the implementation plan, from the literature to empirical studies, were conducted by various means, including a study of journals and procurement textbooks, analysis of the supply data of Safripol, an experiment of a proposed plan, and a survey. The literature study initially discusses various approaches suggested by other writers and finally concludes with a proposition of a seven-step process. The process starts with (1) human resource allocation, (2) supply base categorisation, (3) vulnerability assessment, (4) evaluation of the implication, (5) cost/benefit analysis, (6) risk treatment, and it finally ends with the strategic alignment (7). These steps address the major issues that are critical to successful implementation of supply risk management, particularly in large manufacturing companies like Safripol. However, the empirical study went further to investigate the application of the seven-step process. This involved commissioning of a multi-disciplinary team to review the process. The team applied the seven-step process in conducting a full assessment and evaluations of supply risks for four selected suppliers of specific material. The team composed of Safripol employees who are involved in the supply chain of the specific material reviewed. In addition, the analyses of the steps were captured, and stored in a tool developed in Excel worksheets. That enabled the process to be systematic, repeatable and easier to apply. Populated worksheets resulted in a formal knowledge resource database that will enable Safripol to manage supply risk plans and execute action plans in case of supply interruptions. Finally, the study indicated that the seven-step process is practical and applicable to Safripol. In addition, the study found that the process adds value in managing supply risks. Thus, the study achieved its goal of developing an implementation plan for supply risk management. However, the study concludes by providing future fields of study and recommendations in an effort to contribute further to development of supply risk management. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

In today's highly competitive global marketplace, organisations are under pressure to find new ways to minimize risk and maximize profits. Profits can increase by reducing the cost of inputs or increasing price of the outputs. Hence, procurement contributes by reducing the cost of inputs by sourcing materials at lower costs. Consequently, this creates a challenge to the buyer as supply risk issues are more likely to occur with lower cost sources that might include new suppliers or unreliable sources. Unfortunately, logistics planners, too, drive new initiatives intended to be cost effective such as "Just-in-Time" (JIT) manufacturing. This adds an additional challenge to the buyer of ensuring uninterrupted supply while the system has actually eroded the supply buffer that would have enabled achieving the goal of low cost supply at lower risk. Hence, supply managers have to deal with the ever-increasing challenges in pursuit of a balance between supply risk and lower cost of supplies while ensuring sustainable supplies. For these reasons, this study aims to develop an implementation plan for the supply risk management. The plan developed from a case study undertaken at Safripol, a large manufacturing chemical company located in Sasolburg, South Africa. The complete study of the implementation plan, from the literature to empirical studies, were conducted by various means, including a study of journals and procurement textbooks, analysis of the supply data of Safripol, an experiment of a proposed plan, and a survey. The literature study initially discusses various approaches suggested by other writers and finally concludes with a proposition of a seven-step process. The process starts with (1) human resource allocation, (2) supply base categorisation, (3) vulnerability assessment, (4) evaluation of the implication, (5) cost/benefit analysis, (6) risk treatment, and it finally ends with the strategic alignment (7). These steps address the major issues that are critical to successful implementation of supply risk management, particularly in large manufacturing companies like Safripol. However, the empirical study went further to investigate the application of the seven-step process. This involved commissioning of a multi-disciplinary team to review the process. The team applied the seven-step process in conducting a full assessment and evaluations of supply risks for four selected suppliers of specific material. The team composed of Safripol employees who are involved in the supply chain of the specific material reviewed. In addition, the analyses of the steps were captured, and stored in a tool developed in Excel worksheets. That enabled the process to be systematic, repeatable and easier to apply. Populated worksheets resulted in a formal knowledge resource database that will enable Safripol to manage supply risk plans and execute action plans in case of supply interruptions. Finally, the study indicated that the seven-step process is practical and applicable to Safripol. In addition, the study found that the process adds value in managing supply risks. Thus, the study achieved its goal of developing an implementation plan for supply risk management. However, the study concludes by providing future fields of study and recommendations in an effort to contribute further to development of supply risk management. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

This thesis is a critical evaluation of the theory and practice of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM). It seeks to understand why SSCM theory has so little to say about environmental sustainability and to explore how SSCM practice is contributing towards the transition towards sustainable development. I conjecture that SSCM scholars have not engaged sufficiently with the broader sustainability literature and other constructions of sustainability, which has led to a lack of theory development within SSCM. The sustainability paradigms framework that forms the core of the thesis was developed in order to broaden the discussion around sustainability within SSCM. Specifically, it embraces the contested nature of the concept of sustainability and uses multiple sustainability paradigms to construct future directions for theory development. In order to put the concept of environmental sustainability at the centre of SSCM theory, the concept of ‘environmental effectiveness’ was developed which seeks to differentiate between environmentally sustainable strategies and those that merely seek to achieve reductions in unsustainability. In order to evaluate the practice of SSCM, a case study was conducted. The concept of ‘environmental effectiveness’ is operationalized through the use of non-perceptual measures related to carbon emissions and evaluates the extent to which SSCM practices contribute towards climate stabilization, a key sustainability objective. It is found that those SSCM practices that have been shown to improve ‘environmental performance’ within the extant SSCM literature did not deliver ‘environmentally effective performance’ within the case study. This raises the possibility that the literature has mistaken reductions in unsustainability for sustainability proper and that we may need to go back to basics. The findings are discussed with reference to the sustainability paradigms framework and multiple opportunities for theory development within SSCM are explored.

Background: Sustainable Supply Chain Performance Measurement (SSCPM) and management are pivotal processes for any organisation to ensure the attainment of strategic intent. Large enterprises have been successful with the implementation of SSCPM. One of the reasons is that their motives and attitudes are consistent with SSCPM that yield sustainable returns. First, large companies usually have shareholders who are not the management of these companies. This means the management of the company is held accountable for adopting practices that create sustainable shareholder value. As such, management's attitudes to issues such as SSCPM tend to be positive because of the implications on the bottom-line of the firm. Consequently, management's behaviour is one of quick and comprehensive adoption of any practices that support the creation of sustainable shareholder value, and that includes SSCPM. Second, large companies tend to be in the spotlight when it comes to anything that can go wrong. Finally, these companies are also under pressure from their global suppliers and customers, who may want SSCPMs to be embedded in their operations as a condition for doing business with them. We can therefore conclude that there are three aspects associated with the adoption of SSCPM by large companies, namely motivation, attitude, and behaviour. What is not clear is whether the same aspects of motivation, attitude and behaviours operate in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This study focuses on three types of SMEs, namely necessity, opportunity, and legacy, as they relate to motives. Given the differences in ownership, management, and scope of operations between large companies and SMEs, do motives, attitudes and behavioural variables operate within SMEs in the context of the adoption of SSCPM? We do not seem to have enough research to answer this question. Therefore, this study seeks to understand how entrepreneurial motivation, attitude, and behaviour influence SSCPM in manufacturing SMEs. Moreover, SMEs, particularly in developing contexts, are still lagging behind with sustainability integration in their Supply Chain Management (SCM). While much is said about SMEs, there is less concern for integrated systems, SCM practices and their future. There is a dearth of research on how entrepreneurial motives, attitudes and behaviour influence these performance measurements by SMEs. Methodology: The researcher's purpose in this study was to observe reality as it existed to maintain an objectivity which is devoid of value judgements. This objectivity resonates with the researcher's philosophical view which lends itself to a functionalist paradigm. Quantitative data were collected through a survey of manufacturing SMEs on entrepreneurial motives, attitudes, and behaviour towards SSCPM. The survey was directly administered to approximately 566 manufacturing SMEs, of which 211 completed questionnaires were received. The data were analysed through Partial Least Square-structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results: Opportunity-motivated entrepreneurs depict a positive attitude towards the adoption and implementation of SSCPM in their SCM. These SMEs are formed and run by professionals and experienced individuals who desire to grow their businesses. Legacy-motivated entrepreneurs do not show any attitudinal disposition towards SSCPM. As they are familyowned and run businesses that span many generations, legacy-entrepreneurs are likely to adopt the inherited culture in their practices. Necessity-entrepreneurs have a positive attitude towards SSCPM with a predominant focus on economic sustainability. They are mostly pushed into business by the need to survive and this makes them focus mostly on that which enables them to generate revenue while avoiding anything that entails having to invest in other areas. For instance, necessity-motivated entrepreneurs have a negative attitude towards environmental and social sustainability. The only time they begin to embrace it is when there are other forces around such as institutional pressures or resources that will directly affect their attitude towards SSCPM. The results reveal that institutional isomorphic patterns and resources impact in varying degrees on the SMEs' adoption and implementation of SSCPM. Government policies or coercive isomorphic pressures are generally weak about enforcing SSCPM at SMEs. For instance, limited resources hinder SMEs' willingness and ability to adopt and implement SSCPM practices in line with government policies. Limited resources therefore make the impact of government policies on the adoption and implementation of SSCPM at SMEs ineffective. The results showed that normative isomorphic pressures were major enablers of the adoption and implementation of SSCPM at SMEs. These normative pressures were mostly inflicted by large corporate customers who demanded that SMEs complied with sustainable sourcing and production. Mimetic isomorphic pressures come into play because of the need for all SMEs to attain economic sustainability. Resources are a major enabler for the adoption of environmental and social SSCPM while both the institution and resources shape the attitude of SMEs in a significant way towards sustainable developments. Lack of resources leads to a negative attitude to sustainability endeavours. Theoretical contribution: The study has contributed to sustainability literature, the interface among entrepreneurial motives, attitudes, and behaviour linkages with SSCPM. To the best of the researcher's knowledge this perspective has not been explored in either SCM or Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM). Many frameworks in SCM focus on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) from a measurement perspective. The framework created in this study interfaces SSCM with entrepreneurial motives, attitudes and behaviour in the adoption of SSCPM at manufacturing SMEs. It further places the application of theory (Institutional and Resource Based View Theories) in a new empirical situation; more importantly, confirming the inability of coercive pressures to be placed on the adoption of environmental and social sustainability while re-enforcing the impact of normative pressures on the uptake of SSCPM. The SMEs' entrepreneurial attitude towards environmental and social sustainability is predominantly negative without institutional isomorphic pressures and the direct impact of resources on their attitude towards SSCPM. The analysis methodology adopted in this study reveals the shortcomings of Cronbach Alpha, which is rarely, if not always, silent in the social sciences. Cronbach Alpha does not only measure internal reliability, but it is also a test of length. If Cronbach is used to test internal consistency where the items are few, the tau-equivalence is immediately violated and that decreases reliability. However, if the number of items in a scale are more, reliability increases. Researchers in the social sciences, particularly SCM researchers, ought to know about this revelation. Practical Implications: These results will assist governments to find strategies to support entrepreneurs that are intrinsically motivated towards adopting sustainable integration practices. Governments may also embark on a customer awareness programme to enforce the taking up of sustainability practices in organisations while also exerting pressure on entrepreneurs who exhibit a negative attitude towards SSCPM. This strategy will go a long way towards adopting sustainable integration practices. Normative pressures from large customers have been identified as major players in enforcing SSCM at manufacturing SMEs. Big corporations may partner with SME suppliers to assist and guide them through compliance and taking the necessary steps to achieve sustainability integration. Collaboration among SMEs may help mitigate resource constraints to adopting sustainability practices as this may enable collaborative efforts in assisting themselves to reach their SSCM goals. Practitioners may also provide training and development programmes on SSCM for manufacturing SMEs. These training programmes should be conducted at no cost (through government funding) with manufacturing SMEs to achieve a wider impact on sustainability advancement. SMEs are central to economic growth, hence providing support, mentoring, and coaching on SSCPM which may go a long way towards strengthening the sector. Government may fund special projects that address SDG 12 and bring about collaboration between international and local buyers to guide the process in these SMEs. This research provides a platform for SME development and the enhancement of the community. SMEs may engage with community activists and NGOs on how to create sustainable relationships that last longer than expected. Development communities ranging from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank and African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), among others, may form partnerships with developing countries' governments specifically to address SSCM at manufacturing SMEs. For instance, AGOA may extend primary access to United States' (US) markets by adding sustainability support on export apparel to manufacturing firms in listed countries. The World Bank could direct resource support with clear accountability measures to developing countries on manufacturing SSCM-integration, while USAID may have ambassadors/directors in various countries to oversee its dedicated support for sustainable production in the developing contexts.