It is believed that the critical next step from examinations of operations and the environment is the study of sustainability and supply chains (Linton, Klassen, and Jayaraman (2007)). Environmental quality and preservation as well as meeting the stress of emission reductions is rapidly becoming an important issue for public policy (Wilkinson, Hill, and Gollan (2001)). However, Lambertini and Mantovani (2007) note the disregard, unrelated to regulatory requirements, of research practitioners to the potential benefits of appropriate competition policy measures and consumer pressures (Srivastara (2007)). In addition, a firm’s success, notably, in terms of financial and/or environmental practices, has been tied, in part, to the strength of its ability to coordinate and integrate activities along the entire supply chain (Spekman, Kamauff Jr., and Myhr (1998)), and to effectively implement multicriteria decisionmaking tools to aid in their strategic decisions. I present five essays in this dissertation. For each model I utilize the theory of variational inequalities, derive the formulation, present qualitative properties, and provide numerical examples. The first essay develops the multitiered sustainable supply chain network model with multicriteria decision-making. In the second essay I construct a modeling and computational framework that allows for the determination of optimal carbon taxes applied to electric power plants in the context of electric power supply chain (generation/distribution/consumption) networks. The third essay considers electric power supply chain networks and develops a model of tradable pollution permits in the case of multiple pollutants and spatially distinct receptor points. In the fourth essay, I quantify and assess, from a system-optimized sustainable supply chain network perspective, the environmental effects resulting when a horizontal supply chain integration occurs. In the fifth and final essay, I extend the work of Nagurney (2009) to the multiproduct supply chain network domain to quantify the impacts. This dissertation is heavily based on the following papers: Nagurney, Liu, and Woolley (2006), Nagurney, Liu, and Woolley (2007), Woolley, Nagurney, and Stranlund (2009), Nagurney and Woolley (2009) and Nagurney, Woolley, and Qiang (2009).

Yes / Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the empirical reality of environmental scanning practices in sustainable supply chain management contexts. In particular it tests and extends a conceptual framework proposed by Fabbe-Costes et al. (2011). Design and methodology: The empirical data for this research were obtained from 45 semi-structured interviews with key informants, combined with a discussion of the main results with a focus group of supply chain experts. These data are compared with the literature and brought to bear on the framework. Findings - The research finds both breadth and depth in the scope of sustainability scanning practices of the respondents and provides evidence of multi-level scanning, with all respondents describing scanning activity at the societal level. It further demonstrates the adoption of multiple and diverse scanning targets at all levels in the conceptual framework. The articulation and ranking of scanning targets for sustainable SCM at all levels informs the development of priorities for practice. The paper also makes some observations about the boundaries of the scanning process. Practical implications: The results provide managers with guidance about what to scan in sustainable supply chain contexts. The validated framework can serve as a practical tool to assist managers with the organization and prioritization of their environmental scanning activities. Originality/Value: The paper is among the first to address the role of environmental scanning in sustainable supply chain contexts. It highlights the need for a multi-level framework for such scanning activities and opens up a debate about their implementation.

Yes / The purpose of this paper is to offer a consolidative approach in exploring the potential contribution of digital technologies in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) for the sustainable performance of food supply chain business, through the circular economy concepts. As a single case study, this qualitative, interpretivist research was based on one of the largest food producers in the United Kingdom. The research utilises semi-structured interviews and applies thematic analysis to offer rich insights into SSCM challenges and their relationship with the business performance, through ten in-depth interviews. Findings derived from thematic analysis of the interview transcripts suggest four main critical success factors underpinning SSCM practices and businesses performance – i.e. business continuity, waste reduction, performance measurement approach, and organisational learning, which could use the help of digital technologies to improve. This led to seven propositions to be addressed in the future research. This research offers real, practical insights into SSCM challenges, within the context of food supply chain and explores the potential of digital technologies in overcoming them. Accordingly, the primary contribution of this work is grounded in the identification of critical success factors in SSCM for Food Supply Chains (FSC). Hence, this work contributes further to the literature on SSCM, as well as circular economy, by providing a study of a business in the context of the highly pertinent and valuable food industry.

The purpose of this thesis was to analyze how the length of the supply chain and theinterorganizational relation between the suppliers within a construction project affects theoutcome of social sustainability with a focus on workplace safety and accidents. A qualitativestudy was conducted through semi-structured interviews with nine respondents from differentparts of the supply chain. An analytical model was created based on the theoretical framework ofinterorganizational relation factors (communication, collaboration, coordination and cooperation,organizational culture, and knowledge sharing) and sustainable supply chain management tounderstand how the length and the relationships affect safety on construction projects. The thesisidentified that the multiple tiers of subcontractors, increases the complexity of implementing aneffective interorganizational relation and sustainable supply chain management. Therefore, thelength of the supply chain and the interorganizational relations influence the degree of safety.Other findings included how the changing workforce, with increased foreign workers, is a newchallenge for the industry, and the long supply chain makes the safety work more difficult. Thefindings could be of interest to actors in the construction industry since it adds aninterorganizational perspective to the long supply chain's influence on workplace safety

Introduktion- Den miljömässiga varianten av Supply chain management, även kallad Green supply chain management, har som mål att minimera eller eliminera negativ miljöpåverkan. Onödiga transporter innebär negativ miljöpåverkan. Trots transporters påverkan på miljön, finns lite forskning om samband mellan transporter och Green supply chain management. Syftet med studien är därför att utforma en strategi för att uppnå Green supply chain management och minska på onödiga transporter med fokus på osäkerhet, variation och transparens.   Metod- För att möjliggöra ett besvarande av syfte har en fallstudie bedrivits med hjälp av litteratur och ett fallföretag.   Resultat, analys, diskussion och slutsats - Fallföretaget påverkas negativt av osäkerhet, variation och har även brist på transparens i försörjningskedjan. Onödiga transporter genom återkallningar skapas på grund av kvalitetsbristerskapar hinder för en effektiv supply chain management strategi. Ett systematiskt tillvägagångssätt genom PDCA kan hjälpa fallföretaget att skapa en stabil grund och uppnå Green supply chain management. Det är viktigt att Plan-Do-Check-Act bedrivs med god kommunikation för att skapa transparens, hindra osäkerhet och variation. Green supply chain management kan uppnås genom en kombination av ISO 9001, ISO 14001 och Lean. Dessa delar ska bedrivas med Plan-Do-Check-Act för att minska på onödiga transporter. / Introduction- The environmental variant of Supply Chain Management, also known as the Green supply chain management, aims to minimize or eliminate negative environmental impacts.  Unnecessary transports are a negative environmental aspect and means negative environmental impact. Although transports affect the environment, there is little research on the relationship between transport and Green supply chain management. The purpose of the study is therefore to design a strategy for achieving Green supply chain management and reduce unnecessary transport with a focus on uncertainty, variability and transparency. Method- To enable the answering of purpose, a case study conducted with the help of literature and a case company. Results- The case company is negatively affected by uncertainty, variety, and also by a lack of transparency in the supply chain. Unnecessary transportations through recalls are created because of quality defects. This creates obstacles for a supply chain management strategy to be more effective. A systematic approach by Plan-Do-Check-Act can help the case company to create a stable basis and achieve green supply chain management. It is necessary to conduct Plan-Do-Check-Act with good communication in order to create transparency, prevent uncertainty and variation. Green supply chain management can be achieved through a combination of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Lean. These parts should be conducted with PDCA, which can reduce unnecessary transportation.

It has been argued for the past years that one of today’s main important factors for gaining competitive advantage is to implement CSR activities. There have been many studies showing the many benefits CSR have, not only to the organizations but also to society and the environment. However, CSR does not only concern the organization itself but also ensuring that the social and environmental behaviour is accomplished throughout the whole supply chain. Larger firms have the ability to implement and focus on several tasks at once, while small and medium-sized enterprises are struggling with limited resources and cannot afford any mistakes. This study is focusing on how SMEs with limited resources implement CSR within the supply chain and what difficulties they experience, since CSR is often seen as a complex and resource based issue. A case study was conducted at a SME in a B2B context and the study is based on a qualitative approach, with empirical data gathered from five in-depth interviews. After the empirical data was analysed it was concluded that by decreasing the supplier base is a way of gaining stronger contact and trust, also centralizing the supplier base in order to decrease transportation and emissions. SMEs with limited resources can outsource duties such as checkups and audits to external companies in order to assure quality and environmental criteria’s. Also, being an SME with limited resources indicates that the employees have to take on multiple roles in order to adapt to all customer and supplier demands, which was shown to be a complexity since obligations such as making a profitable procurement, were often prioritized before CSR. It was also found that the internal CSR communication was a major contributor to the lack of knowledge as well as interest in the subject, CSR is not seen as an obligation if not having anyone responsible for the CSR activities. Lastly, both CSR and digitalization were found to be two crucial keystones for organizational survival on the market.

Cette thèse traite de la problématique de la performance durable d’une chaîne logistiques. Le travail de recherche se décline en trois phases : la première phase porte sur l’étude des approches existantes pour la mesure la performance durable des chaînes logistiques. L’approche proposée permet alors à une entreprise, de déterminer plus facilement les critères spécifiques de mesure de la durabilité. Cette approche comporte huit critères de durabilité à savoir : valeur financière, valeur non-financière, matière première, ressources naturelles, énergie, santé humaine et sécurité, développement des ressources humaines et l’éthique. Ces critères ont été développés à partir du concept des « Human needs » et le concept de «Triple Bottom » avec la prise en compte des aspects règlementaires, normatifs et lignes directrices.Nous avons développé un modèle de mesure de la performance durable des chaines logistiques. Ce modèle est un cadre amélioré du « value Chain model » (Porter, 2008) et de l’approche processus (Chan and Qi, 2003) permettant l’implémentation de l’approche développée. Cette proposition permet à l’entreprise de mesurer la performance durable de ses processus et de ses activités aussi bien en interne que sur le niveau chaine logistique. Pour implémenter et tester l’approche développée, nous avons sélectionné le cas concret du problème d’évaluation de la performance durable d’un fournisseur.La deuxième phase de ce travail est le développement de l’outil de mesure de la performance durable basé sur la méthode FAHP (Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process) avec une application au cas de l’évaluation des fournisseurs. Il ne s’agit pas de sélectionner le meilleur fournisseur mais d’aider l’entreprise à mettre en place un plan d’action basé sur les résultats obtenus. Pour construire ce modèle, nous avons proposé un cadre de choix entre trois méthodes possibles : la méthode « Extent Analysis Method »(Méthode I), la méthode de normalisation (Méthode II) et la méthode arithmétique des t-norme (Méthode III) pour déterminer les poids flous. La méthode I est plus simple mais elle obtient la plus grande propagation floue comparée aux deux autres méthodes. Les résultats de mesure des performances du fournisseur permettent d’orienter les actions d’amélioration à travers l’utilisation des facteurs de normalisation proposés dans le modèle formel de mesure.La troisième et dernière phase de ce travail fut l’implémentation du système de mesure et les méthodes FAHP dans une étude de cas au sein d’une industrie d’électronique en Thaïlande. La société étudiée visait à évaluer la performance durable de ses fournisseurs en vue d’améliorer leurs performances. Le modèle de mesure de la performance durable comportait dix indicateurs et vingt-cinq mesures de durabilité sur les trois dimensions (économique, environnementale et sociale). Nous avons constaté que les poids de la dimension économique, environnementale et sociale étaient respectivement de 50.87%, 34.86%, et 15.14% respectivement. Cela signifie que les performances économiques étaient les plus importantes et que les performances sociales étaient les moins importantes dans l’évaluation des fournisseurs. La société étudiée travaille avec plus de deux cents fournisseurs. A cause de ce grand nombre de fournisseur, une approche de mesure absolue a été adoptée pour l’évaluation des performances de chaque fournisseur. Cependant, nous avons sélectionné cinq fournisseurs pour l’implémentation et la validation de notre modèle. Les résultats de cette étude de cas ont montré que les méthodes FAHP proposées sont adaptées au contexte industriel et sont moins compliquées que la méthode lambda-max par exemple. / This thesis aims to clarify a sustainability implementation into supply chain and to develop a tool for measuring sustainability performance in supply chain and improving the sustainability performance for electronic industry in Thailand. This research has divided into three phases; the first phase is to clarify a sustainability measurement framework in supply chain. This framework allows decision makers identifying the sustainability measures based on their interesting area in sustainability criteria. There are eight categories of sustainability criteria in this framework which are financial, non-financial, raw material, natural resources, energy, human health and safety, human resources development, and ethical issues. The sustainability criteria in this framework have developed based on the concept of human needs and the triple bottom line concept. It have been justified by analyze with standard, guide line, and regulation involving sustainable development perspective. Moreover, this proposed framework enhances an engagement level of elements in supply chain as an important perspective to identifying the sustainability measures. After developing the conceptual framework for measuring sustainability performance, this thesis has proposed an approach to construct the performance measurement model. This work enhances the valuable of adopting the value chain model (Porter, 2008) and the process based approach (Chan and Qi, 2003) for constructing the sustainability measures model. This leads to an implementation of the proposed framework allowing decision makers to measures sustainability performance in any process or activity in the company and its supply chain. In order to implementing the proposed conceptual framework and the model construction method in practical situation, this thesis has selected the supplier performance evaluation problem for measuring sustainability performance.The second phase of this work is the development of the tool for measuring sustainability performance by focusing on supplier evaluation problem. The measurement tool is developed based on multi-criteria decision method. This model is not used for making a decision such as selecting the best supplier but it is a multicriteria decision aiding which help manager to establish supplier improvement program based on the results. The measurement tool is developed based on a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) approach. This thesis has proposed three FAHP methods by modified the extent analysis method (Method-I), modified the normalization approach (Method-II), and employed the weakest t-norm arithmetic (Method-III) for determining the fuzzy priority weight. These methods are easy to adopt in real-life problem in industry. The method-I is less complexity than method-II and method-III respectively but the method-I also obtains the larger fuzzy spread than method-II and method-III respectively. It is depends on the decision makers to select the proposed FAHP among these three methods for implementing in their situations. The results from supplier’s performance help manager for setting the direction to improve supplier’s sustainability by using the normalization rating from measurement model.The third phase of this thesis is an implementation of the proposed framework and proposed FAHP in the case study company in Thai electronics industry. The case study company aims to evaluate sustainability performance of their suppliers in order to manage and improve supplier’s performance. The sustainability performance measurement model consists of 10 indicators and 25 sustainability measures based on three dimensions (economic, environmental, and social). It is found that the importance weight of economic, environmental, and social dimension are 50.87%, 34.86%, and 15.14% respectively. It means that an economic performance is still the most important and the social performance is the less important of supplier’s evaluation....

Problem – Companies are increasingly focusing on sustainability issues in response to internal and external pressure. Research on sustainable performance of focal companies is vast; however there is a lack of guidelines for managing sustainability in extended supply chains. Scholars claim a need for additional research on intra- and inter-organizational diffusion of best sustainable practices. Besides, the outcomes of sustainable sourcing practices are still uncertain. The gap between potential benefits of sustainable sourcing and actual performance is attributed to lack of capabilities, instruments, and efficient processes. Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore existing sustainable sourcing practices which are used by leading multinational companies. Based on the obtained knowledge we aim to develop a framework that will suite as a guideline for enforcing sustainable sourcing practices. Method – The research has been conducted through the method of grounded theory, enabling the researchers to constructively interpret data from documentary primary data and semi-structured interviews. This approach was utilized in order to explore what are the most common practices of managing sustainable sourcing applied by the companies awarded as Industry leaders by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Conclusion We found that a commonly accepted approach towards managing and enforcing sustainable sourcing is absent both in theoretical discourse and practice. However, the most frequently mentioned tools and approaches were defined. They include the adoption of suppliers’ code of conduct, establishment of dedicated sustainability departments, procurement personnel training, suppliers’ capability building, risk assessment and categorization of suppliers, IT platforms for information sharing, supplier self-assessment, audit, joint projects with suppliers, meetings and conferences, and suppliers’ scorecards. Finally, we developed a Sustainable Sourcing Enforcement framework which could serve as a guideline to enforce supplier’s commitment to act sustainably. The framework consists of five chronologically connected pillars: Objectives alignment, Commitment creation, Supplier selection, Ongoing development and Work with stakeholders.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (School of Business and Finance) / As organizations face stiff pressure from various stakeholders, management has had to move beyond the idea of shareholder wealth maximization and incorporate the environmental and social concerns from the various stakeholders. The study identifies how Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) practices enable the firm to manage the social, environmental and economic Triple Bottom Line (TBL) for four key stakeholder groups - customers, suppliers, regulators and the community. The study adopted a case study design, focused on Safaricom, arguably Africa's most innovative cellular firm which has championed the M-pesa money transfer platform. The objectives were, first, to establish key attributes namely; power, legitimacy and urgency of selected stakeholders of Safaricom and the key determinants of their salience, second, to determine stakeholder expectations and how they hold Safaricom accountable; third, to identify the extent of Safaricom's influence and control over the selected stakeholders; and finally, to establish how and to what extent the firm manages stakeholder exposure through their SSCM practices and TBL measures. Data from semi-structured interviews with Safaricom management and the four key selected stakeholder groups, together with company and public documents, were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Stakeholder groups were selected to represent examples of low, moderate or high levels of salience and exposure. While all are considered important, the case reveals how Safaricom management prioritizes and addresses stakeholder needs according to their attributes. As each stakeholder group is heterogeneous, the case reveals how the firm manages each distinctively and adopts diverse SSCM practices, which are aligned with the firm's TBL measures. Moreover, stakeholder exposure has a moderating effect on the relationship between the firm's SSCM practices and the TBL measures.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:52:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6152.pdf: 3354145 bytes, checksum: 79e1a8f933f561877e3ab568d8156e1c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-31 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / This research aims to present and analyze the practices that can be established by focus companies with their suppliers, distributors and consumers, so that sustainability is embedded in their supply chains. Moreover, as a way to better understand the dynamics of sustainability, the research also analyzes the barriers faced by organizations when adopting this type of practice. From the information obtained by the technique of systematic literature review, we developed a questionnaire for the empirical stage of this research - a survey with organizations known for adopting sustainable practices. Among the results, it is emphasized that the practices aimed at environmental issues are further explored, both in literature and empirically. Regarding the practices with suppliers, those that require a lesser degree of involvement between companies - less collaboration - and had a more assessment nature stood out. Considering the chain downstream, practices among distributors are still poorly known, both in literature and empirically; and practices that stood out with consumers referred to the sharing of information, and labeling of products. Considering the barriers, the more relevant indicated by respondents was the cost. From the results obtained, proposals were outlined, both theoretical and practical, about the incorporation of sustainable practices throughout the supply chain, and how to overcome potential barriers. It is believed that these proposals can be a starting point for further academic research, and still be used by managers interested in the sustainable management of their organizations. / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo apresentar e analisar as práticas que podem ser estabelecidas pelas empresas foco junto a seus fornecedores, distribuidores e consumidores, para que a sustentabilidade seja incorporada em suas cadeias de suprimentos. Além disso, como uma forma de se compreender melhor a dinâmica da sustentabilidade, a pesquisa também analisa as barreiras enfrentadas pelas organizações quando da adoção desse tipo de prática. A partir das informações obtidas por meio da técnica de revisão sistemática da literatura, desenvolveuse um questionário para a etapa empírica do trabalho - uma survey junto a organizações que reconhecidamente adotam práticas sustentáveis. Dentre os resultados obtidos, destaca-se que as práticas voltadas a questões ambientais são mais exploradas, tanto na literatura quanto na prática. Com relação às práticas junto aos fornecedores, as que mais se destacam são aquelas que precisam de um menor grau de envolvimento entre as empresas menor colaboração e que possuem um cunho mais avaliativo. Considerando a cadeia a jusante, as ações junto aos distribuidores ainda são pouco difundidas, tanto na literatura quanto na prática; e as práticas de destaque junto aos consumidores referiram-se ao compartilhamento de informações, e à rotulagem de produtos. Considerando ainda as barreiras, a de maior relevância indicada pelos respondentes foi o custo. Finalmente, a partir dos resultados obtidos, foram delineadas propostas, tanto teóricas quanto práticas, relativas à incorporação de práticas sustentáveis ao longo das cadeias de suprimento, e à superação das possíveis barreiras. Acredita-se que as mesmas possam ser ponto de partida para novas pesquisas acadêmicas, e ainda ser utilizadas por gestores interessados na gestão sustentável de suas organizações.