Joseph Sarkis

A strategic decision framework for green supply chain management

Abstract The number of organizations contemplating the integration of environmental practices into their strategic plans and daily operations is continuously increasing. Numerous initiatives have provided incentives for organizations to become more environmentally benign. Some of these regulation driven programs are mandatory, but increasingly numerous voluntary environmental programs are also introduced by organizations. Organizations view many of these environmental programs, which may include technological and organizational development projects, as possible alternatives for gaining or maintaining a competitive advantage. One environmental program area that continues to gain in importance is one that focuses on the external relationships among organizations. To help evaluate alternatives that will effect this relationship we present a strategic decision framework that will aid managerial decision-making. This decision framework is based on literature and practice in the area of environmentally conscious business practices. The focus of this paper will be on the components and elements of green supply chain management and how they serve as a foundation for the decision framework. We shall explore the applicability of a dynamic non-linear multiattribute decision model, defined as the analytical network process, for decision making within the green supply chain. Issues facing the modeling approach are also discussed.

Performance measurement for green supply chain management

Purpose – To introduce and provide an overview of the various issues related to environmental (green) supply chain management performance measurement.Design/methodology/approach – The work relies on experiences, case studies and other literature related to performance measurement in environmental supply chains. It seeks to integrate works in supply chain management, environmental management, and performance management into one framework. A systems framework forms the discussion outline with a focus on controls/pressures, inputs, tools, and outputs as major categories for evaluation and review.Findings – Provides an integrative framework for study, design and evaluation of green supply chain management performance tools. The findings also identify a number of issues that need to still be addressed.Research limitations/implications – We have only one design of the issues in which numerous categorizations could be provided. There is limited research in this area and new and current models/developments can pr...

Green supply chain management in China: pressures, practices and performance

Purpose – Green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as a key approach for enterprises seeking to become environmentally sustainable. This paper aims to evaluate and describe GSCM drivers, practices and performance among various Chinese manufacturing organizations.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a literature review, four propositions are put forward. An empirical study using survey research was completed. The survey questionnaire was designed with 54 items using literature and industry expert input. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to derive groupings of GSCM pressures, practice and performance from the survey data which included 314 responses. A categorical and descriptive nature of the results is then presented with an evaluation and comparative analysis with previous research findings.Findings – Chinese enterprises have increased their environmental awareness due to regulatory, competitive, and marketing pressures and drivers. However, this awareness has not been translated int...

The moderating effects of institutional pressures on emergent green supply chain practices and performance

While building their reputation as a major manufacturing prowess, Chinese industry has experienced increasing ecological pressures from a variety of institutional players including market, governmental, and competitive sources. In response to these pressures some organizations initiate emergent green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. A moderated hierarchical regression analysis of data provided by 341 Chinese manufacturer respondents was completed to examine the relationships between GSCM practice, environmental and economic performance, incorporating three moderating factors market, regulatory, and competitive institutional pressures. The results reveal that: (1) Chinese manufacturers have experienced increasing environmental pressure to implement GSCM practices; (2) the existence of market (normative) and regulatory (coercive) pressures influences organizations to have improved environmental performance, especially when these pressures cause adoption of eco-design and green purchasing practices; (3) manufacturers facing higher regulatory pressures tend to implement green purchasing and investment recovery; (4) competitive (mimetic) pressure existence significantly improves the economic benefits from adoption of a number of GSCM practices with no deleterious influences on environmental performance; (5) none of the institutional pressures contribute to or lessen possible “win-win” situations for organizations. Implications for operations strategists and organizational sustainability planners from these relationships are also discussed.

Quantitative models for sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions

Sustainability, the consideration of environmental factors and social aspects, in supply chain management (SCM) has become a highly relevant topic for researchers and practitioners. The application of operations research methods and related models, i.e. formal modeling, for closed-loop SCM and reverse logistics has been effectively reviewed in previously published research. This situation is in contrast to the understanding and review of mathematical models that focus on environmental or social factors in forward supply chains (SC), which has seen less investigation. To evaluate developments and directions of this research area, this paper provides a content analysis of 134 carefully identified papers on quantitative, formal models that address sustainability aspects in the forward SC. It was found that a preponderance of the publications and models appeared in a limited set of six journals, and most were analytically based with a focus on multiple criteria decision making. The tools most often used comprise the analytical hierarchy process or its close relative, the analytical network process, as well as life cycle analysis. Conclusions are drawn showing that numerous possibilities and insights can be gained from expanding the types of tools and factors considered in formal modeling efforts.

Analyzing organizational project alternatives for agile manufacturing processes: An analytical network approach

The objective of this paper is to introduce a decision methodology and structure for manufacturing (and organizational) agility improvement. The methodology allows for the evaluation of alternatives (e.g. projects) to help organizations become more agile, with a specific objective of improving the manufacturing business processes. An agile enterprise is one whose processes are designed to respond effectively to unanticipated change. One of the difficulties in designing and analysing business processes, in general, is that they are operational designs that need to incorporate strategic attributes. In order to evaluate alternatives that impact the business processes, a networked hierarchical analysis model based on the various characteristics of agility, is proposed. This evaluation model will be based on the analytic network process methodology for solving complex and systemic decisions. An actual example of a small manufacturing enterprise provides some managerial insights into the methodology.

Evaluating environmentally conscious business practices

Corporate environmental management is becoming more strategically oriented. With increased emphasis on the natural environmental by organizational stakeholders, including governments, stockholders, customers, employees and communities, the need for explicit consideration and incorporation of environmental strategy within corporate strategy has never been more critical to the organization. With such programs as design for the environment, total quality environmental management, life cycle analysis, green supply chain management, and ISO 14000 standards gaining notoriety, the operational and strategic decisions for environmental managers and businesses is becoming more complex. This paper integrates these elements and their attributes into a strategic assessment and decision tool using the systems with feedback or analytical network process (ANP) technique first introduced by Saaty. The ANP technique, which has been sparingly investigated by researchers or applied by practitioners is useful for modeling dynamic strategies systemic influences on managerial decisions.

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS USING THE ANALYTICAL NETWORK PROCESS

This paper explores and illustrates an analytical framework to assess an organizations logistics strategy. The optimum logistical system is evaluated based on three primary levels: the organizational/supply chain relationship involved, the principles of logistics required, and the attributes of these principles. The principles of logistics are defined and developed as strategies for achieving coordination and integration of the logistics network and supply chain. The analytic network process, a systemic analytical model, will be utilized to evaluate logistics strategies for an organization that seeks to be adaptive to dynamic competitive environments.

Environmental proactivism and firm performance: evidence from security analyst earnings forecasts

There is an ongoing debate over the impact of corporate pro-environment actions and strategies (reflected, for example, in pollution prevention and emission reductions, product re-design, materials stewardship) on corporate financial performance in US corporations today. A review of the existing literature in this area yields no consistent pattern of relationships between corporate environmental proactivism and financial performance when historical corporate accounting performance and stock market measures of performance are used. We revisit this relationship using a novel measure of firm performance: security analyst earnings forecasts. Specifically, we demonstrate a significant, negative relationship between environmental proactivism (using Toxic Release Inventory data) and industry analyst 1- and 5-year earnings-per-share performance forecasts for a sample of 523 US firms in 1992. We discuss the implications of these findings and provide suggestions for future research.

Manufacturing’s role in corporate environmental sustainability ‐ Concerns for the new millennium

The natural environment and the manufacturing function are becoming inextricably linked. As the new millennium approaches and progresses, profitability, productivity and environmental consciousness are increasingly viewed as integral goals of manufacturing organizations. The issues facing manufacturing organizations, in general, and the manufacturing function in particular, are discussed in this paper. Some of the current practices and future requirements for an environmentally sustainable manufacturing enterprise are included in this discussion. Even though the focus is on manufacturing strategy and operations, issues relevant to the overall organization and other functions are also included. In the final analysis, this field and topic is relatively novel to most organizations, ample room exists for both practitioners and researchers for making progress in the next millennium.