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The modern supply chain is characterised by an ill-defined and porous perimeter, allowing entry points for potential adversaries to intercept sensitive information and disrupt operations. Such supp...

PurposeThis study provides a reflective overview on the role of traditional and emergent digitalization and information technologies for leveraging environmental supply chain sustainability – while reflecting on potential trade-offs and conflicts of digitalization and greening.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use relevant literature and literature from Industrial Management and Data Systems (IMDS) research published in this journal over the past 50 years. They also use their knowledge and over 30 years of research experience in the field to provide professional scholarly reflections and perspective.FindingsThe authors provide a focused and succinct evaluation for research directions. A pressures, practices and performance framework sets the stage for pertinent research questions and theoretical needs to investigate the nexus of digitalization and green supply chain management. The authors provide two frameworks with exemplary practices and research for traditional and emergent digitalization and information technology. Their reflection concludes with a summary and steps forward.Social implicationsThe authors show how research and practice can be used to affect supply chain greening with digitalization and information technology. They observe that care should be taken given that these technologies can paradoxically simultaneously offer solutions to environmental degradation and potentially be a source of environmental degradation across the supply chain.Originality/valueThis work provides a summary and unique perspective that links traditional and emergent digitalization technology to green and environmental sustainability work. The area has not seen a clear summary and path forward and shows how IMDS literature has contributed to the field for decades.

PurposeProduct portfolio management is a strategic concern. Product portfolio management includes decisions associated with adding new products, maintaining existing products and deleting or phasing out problematic products. This paper first introduces a framework to identify risks of product deletion along supply chain activities. It utilizes failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to identify, analyse and evaluate product deletion risks on supply chains and proposes managerial implications for risk management in dynamic business scenarios. It is meant to build upon and address a gap in the product deletion and supply chain linkage literature.Design/methodology/approachFMEA is utilized in this study to structure and manage potential risks in product deletion decision-making on supply chains. FMEA is based on an analysis of severity, occurrence and detectability of failure modes. FMEA provides methods to help identify managerial preventive solutions to avoid and mitigate risk consequences of such decisions.FindingsTen top product deletion risks are identified in this study; discussions of their negative impact on supply chain performance, and possible managerial recommendations are followed for risk control, monitor and elimination.Practical implicationsFindings help managers to predict, avoid and mitigate risk consequences of product deletion decisions; especially those related to the supply chain. A framework to structure various risks of product deletion in the supply chain can be useful to both practitioners and researchers.Originality/valueThis study advances product portfolio management through enhanced understanding of product deletion decision-making in organizations; and especially contributes to a broader investigation of such decisions in supply chain management. It also structures the factors that play a role in identifying risks.

Reverse supply chains are receiving increased attention for business and sustainability opportunities. As few organizations are adept at both forward and reverse supply chains, subcontracting various activities is imperative. Vendor selection that best achieves combined expertise for reverse supply chains, while quickly forming virtual enterprises to seize market opportunities, is an emerging issue. We formulate a novel 0-1 integer nonlinear optimization model, subsequently linearized to enable efficient computational performance, to select vendors that minimize the maximum formation time for creating agile virtual reverse supply chains. We then generate a portfolio of diverse, high-quality vendor assignments by adapting a recent algorithmic technique, thereby allowing industrial managers to address intangible factors into their final decisions. Computational experiments on simulated data demonstrate the model’s efficiency for generating sets of high-quality and diverse solutions in reasonable timeframes.

Blockchain – also known as distributed ledger – technology is set to revolutionise data and business process management and transactions. Blockchain adoption, pioneered initially as a financial tec...

Third-party reverse logistics provider (3PRLP) selection plays an important role in the operation and implemention of reverse logistics or reverse supply chains. Economic and cost based partner relationships are no longer acceptable for 3PRLPs or for organizations that seek to introduce sustainable supply chain management. Recent emphasis on sustainability has made 3PRLP evaluation and selection more complex. In order to advance this area of research and to help further incorporate sustainability into 3PRLPs selection modeling, a novel multi-stage, multi-method, multi-criteria approach is developed. Methodologically, this is the first time that neighborhood rough set (NRS) theory is integrated with TOPSIS and VIKOR techniques. Neighborhood rough set, as a data management and soft computation tool, can help reduce the number of 3PRLP to be evaluated and ranked using TOPSIS combined with VIKOR's compromise conception decision tools. A conceptual application is developed using business, environmental, and social factors within the context of reverse logistics management decisions. A sensitivity analysis evaluating various neighborhood rough set parameters is also introduced to investigate robustness of solutions using the multi-stage methodology. Methodological implications and future research and application directions conclude the paper.

Blockchain is an emergent technology that has attracted practitioner attention in the supply chain domain. Multiple motivators lead companies to incorporate blockchain technology into their supply chain. However, a number of barriers and challenges may impede the successful adoption of blockchains. The purpose of this paper is to explore how a variety of motivators and barriers are perceived by different companies from different industries. This paper summarizes survey data gathered from 173 respondents associated with the association of supply chain management, formerly APICS. Summary statistics on blockchain adoption by various types of companies are provided to help practitioners benchmark current practice. The paper presents preliminary findings on these dimensions with some insights provided.

This work makes the case for the integration of the circular economy (CE) and large-scale data (LD), also known as big data. The paper is one of the first to integrate conceptual and practical trends regarding: (a) the ReSOLVE based models of the circular economy; (b) key stakeholders roles in pursuing a more sustainable society; and (c) the volume, velocity, variety, and veracity (4V's) of large-scale data (LD) management. This study's contributions include: (1) introducing a new integrative framework to enhance the understanding of the CE-LD nexus; (2) a relational matrix which illustrates the complexity of large-scale data and stakeholders management; and (3) a research agenda, with clear research propositions and future research direction. The proposed CE-LD integrative framework provides socio-technical insights for academics, practitioners, managers, and policy decision-makers.

Technological and market cycles pressure organizations to introduce new products. To make room for the new products, product deletion (PD) decisions are inevitable. PD implementation, however, is beyond the reactive elimination of mature or low-profit products. As a competitive and proactive managerial tool, PD requires incorporation of supply chain financial and non-financial attributes to not only benefit organizations, but also maintain important partnerships. To successfully apply strategic PD, consideration of a broader set of decision factors is necessary. To update the traditional view, this paper introduces supply chain and competitive factors to product deletion decision-making (PDDM). Given the complex multi-criteria problem, including both qualitative and quantitative factors and the relative uncertainties and interaction between the factors, a Nested-Fuzzy Inference System with Interactions (NFISI) model as part of a multi-stage, multi-method expert system is introduced to aid the decision-making process. The model is verified using a practical case in a major fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. The priority of alternative products for deletion is obtained through the application of the developed model considering the newly introduced factors. The results provide initial, albeit idiosyncratic, insights with a discussion of practical implications. It is demonstrated that considering supply chain factors makes a difference in PDDM outcomes. A brief overview of research opportunities is finally presented to guide researchers in contributing to this under-studied subject.

In developing economies agriculture and farming play crucial roles for economic sustainable development. Farmer credit risk evaluation is an important issue when determining financial support to farmers, improving agricultural supply chain performance, and ensuring profitability of financial institutions. Credit risk evaluation, or creditworthiness, is not a trivial exercise due to various complexities. Honoring complexity is necessary to effectively evaluate and predict farmer creditworthiness. A methodology using fuzzy rough-set theory and fuzzy C-means clustering is used to evaluate and investigate the complex relationships between farmer characteristics, competitive environmental factors, and farmer credit level. The methodology is detailed using actual bank data from 2044 farmers within China. This empirical methodology generates decision rules that provide insight to more complex relationships than can be found through standard econometric multivariate approaches. A rule-based methodological outcome can be used to predict the creditworthiness of farmers and to aid in agricultural loan decision making. Prediction accuracy of the rule-base was 81.16%. A central finding is that education and skills related characteristics are important for determining farmer credit-worthiness. Other implications are presented along with study limitations and future research directions.

Despite Russia’s large ecological footprint, there has been limited examination of environmental sustainability initiatives in Russian corporations. Drawing on research on the importance of employee-level behaviors for the success of corporate sustainability initiatives, we focus on the proenvironmental behaviors (PEBs) of Russian employees. We integrate scholarship on employees’ PEBs and the Russian cultural context to offer theory regarding three potentially important antecedents of employees’ PEBs: top management commitment to sustainability, the immediate manager’s environmental leadership, and the employee’s motivation. Using self-report data from management development program attendees in Russia (N = 165), we examined the links between these factors and employees’ PEBs. We also tested whether top management commitment moderated the impact of immediate managers’ leadership on employees’ PEBs. We found that the immediate manager’s active environmental leadership (i.e., transformational, contingent reward, and active management by exception) was positively related to employees’ PEBs. Managers’ passive-avoidant environmental leadership (i.e., passive management by exception and laissez-faire) was negatively related to PEBs, but only when top management was committed to sustainability. Employees’ motives were linked to PEBs, but the nature of the relationship varied across motives. External motivation was negatively related to PEBs, suggesting that using rewards to motivate PEBs may be detrimental. Motivation that came from a desire to fulfill one’s values or avoid feeling bad about oneself was positively associated with PEBs. Our work provides a foundation for future research on PEBs in Russia, and suggests new directions for research on employees’ PEBs in other settings.

The growth of vendor procurement and supply chain management simultaneously emerged as organizational outsourcing practices increased. Outsourcing, as an important strategic organizational practice, needs to be carefully examined from an organizational performance perspective to ensure satisfactory quality of services and goods from supply chains. This article provides a model for performance assessment of an outsourcer's processes in a supply chain comprised of several internal and external entities. Internal entities are entities in a supply chain that the outsourcer can manage and control. External entities are entities whose processes are not within the management sphere and control of the outsourcer, yet affect an outsourcer's performance. A slacks-based measure is incorporated into a hybrid network data envelopment analysis model to evaluate the outsourcer performance incorporating both entity types. A case study of a service supply chain in the banking industry comprised of a commercial bank, its sub-processes, and an external investment bank is used as an illustrative application of the model. Insights are presented and future research directions are identified.

PurposeThis paper, a pathway, aims to provide research guidance for investigating sustainability in supply chains in a post-COVID-19 environment.Design/methodology/approachPublished literature, personal research experience, insights from virtual open forums and practitioner interviews inform this study.FindingsCOVID-19 pandemic events and responses are unprecedented to modern operations and supply chains. Scholars and practitioners seek to make sense of how this event will make us revisit basic scholarly notions and ontology. Sustainability implications exist. Short-term environmental sustainability gains occur, while long-term effects are still uncertain and require research. Sustainability and resilience are complements and jointly require investigation.Research limitations/implicationsThe COVID-19 crisis is emerging and evolving. It is not clear whether short-term changes and responses will result in a new “normal.” Adjustment to current theories or new theoretical developments may be necessary. This pathway article only starts the conservation – many additional sustainability issues do arise and cannot be covered in one essay.Practical implicationsOrganizations have faced a major shock during this crisis. Environmental sustainability practices can help organizations manage in this and future competitive contexts.Social implicationsBroad economic, operational, social and ecological-environmental sustainability implications are included – although the focus is on environmental sustainability. Emergent organizational, consumer, policy and supply chain behaviors are identified.Originality/valueThe authors take an operations and supply chain environmental sustainability perspective to COVID-19 pandemic implications; with sustainable representing the triple bottom-line dimensions of environmental, social and economic sustainability; with a special focus on environmental sustainability. Substantial open questions for investigation are identified. This paper sets the stage for research requiring rethinking of some previous tenets and ontologies.

A major shift in private and public investment is needed to forge a transition to a circular economy. A recent surge of activity from policy makers, the financial industry, and other stakeholders suggests commitment and progress toward providing resources to facilitate this process. In this forum article, we provide a measured, and in some respects critical and corrective, assessment of these developments. We highlight the riskthat progress toward a circular economy will be curtailed by strategic decisions based on contestable understanding, fuzzy indicators, and inadequate information. Before major industry actors implement international investment standards, launch innovative financing vehicles, and ramp up investment, we call for more effective oversight to prevent the circular economy from becoming yet another compromised and ultimately ineffectual sustainability concept.

As members of the Future Earth Knowledge-Action Network on Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production we have -- as virtually everyone else -- paid close attention to the COVID- 9 pandemic which is one of the most comprehensive and tragic public health crises in a century. As we write this perspective article, the situation is still in its early stages in many regions of the world and is continually evolving. The practice of social distancing has entered daily lifestyles as individuals, governments, communities, industrial firms, and academic institutions come to grips with the challenges of minimizing the los s of human life in the face of an invisible contagion. We have all seen figures on "flattening the curve" to help spread out the impact on medical facilities. The coronavirus outbreak will diffuse, but behavioral actions are needed to mitigate the number of contractions, illnesses, and deaths. Some of the actions of social distancing include self-quarantining, avoiding large gatherings, working from home where possible, sending students back to their residences, providing online education, reducing travel (especially in confined and mass transportation modes), limiting visits to stores, and many other everyday activities. Many of these adjustments are in contradistinction to "normal" routines. At a time when we are being prevailed upon to come together and to support one another in society, we must learn to do so from a distance. But the behavior changes are necessary and some of them may provide useful insight for how we can facilitate transformations toward more sustainable supply and production.

Water embodied in traded commodities is important for water sustainability management. This study provides insight into China's water footprint and virtual water trade using three specific water named Green, Blue and Grey. A multi-region input-output analysis at national and sectoral analysis levels from the years 1995 to 2009 is conducted. The evolution and position of China's virtual water trade across a global supply chain are explored through cluster analysis. The results show that China represented 11.2% of the global water footprint in 1995 and 13.6% in 2009. The green virtual water is the largest of China's exports and imports. In general, China is a net exporter of virtual water during this time period. China mainly imports virtual water from the USA, India and Brazil, and mainly exports virtual water to the USA, Japan and Germany. The agriculture sector and the food sector represent the sectors with both the largest import and export virtual water quantities. China's global virtual water trade network has been relatively stable from 1995 to 2009. China has especially close relationships with the USA, Indonesia, India, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Australia. Trade relations, resource endowment and supply-demand relationships may play key roles in China's global virtual water footprint network rather than geographical location. Finally, policy implications are proposed for China's long term sustainable water management and for global supply chain management in general. Keywords: Water footprint, Global supply chain, Cluster analysis, Virtual water trade, China

Trade plays an important role in redistributing resources and also brings significant environmental impacts to involved countries. This relatively complex research domain of international trade and environmental burden shifts is informed through study of embodied environmental flows of products. Research trends to identify features of international trade embodied flows between 1997 and 2016 are determined through a bibliometric study. Research contribution of countries, authors, institutions and journals are described. Co-citation and network analyses are completed. Results show that there has been significant research interest increase on this topic. Given the interdisciplinary and global nature of this topic, increases in countries, author, and institutional collaborations has occurred. USA, China, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Norway were the top 5 countries with high academic influence, and country as USA and institution as Chinese Academy of Sciences has the largest number of collaborations, respectively. Embodied flows such as carbon emission and water are popular ones associated with international trade in the given period, and the most popular methodological tool is Input/Output Analysis. In addition, hotspots which extracted from keywords are analyzed, additional avenues of research are also discussed in this study.

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has been developed for decades as a solution for multi-level social and environmental improvement. Circular economy (CE) also has many perspectives and generally has been introduced for investigating sustainability at multiple levels. Organizations are informed and encouraged by management theories to build their supply chain strategies at the SSCM-CE nexus, including stakeholder theory, institutional theory, nature resource-based view, amongst others. As the scholarly and practical interests in SSCM and CE increase, there is a need to expand the current conceptual understanding and theoretical boundaries. Theory development for broader issues at the SSCM-CE nexus is limited, leaving managers, policy makers, civil society activists, and other stakeholders with insufficient grounding for important decisions and direction. In this paper, we explore some promising emerging theories which may provide additional conceptual lenses for SSCM and CE, inlcuding organizational learning, social innovation, and social learning. We develop a dynamic sustainable supply chain-circular economy management framework as a conceptual map over which theoretical boundaries from the existing and emergent theories are overlaid. Future research directions are also provided and discussed to conclude this paper.

Neodymium is widely used for magnetic materials in electronic devices, electric vehicles and home appliances. China is facing challenges of increased neodymium demand and a lack of neodymium recycling systems. However, few studies focus on neodymium resource utilization in China—a major consumer of this resource. This study traces and forecasts neodymium flows and stocks in China using dynamic material flow analysis from a life cycle perspective. The results show that China's demand for neodymium at the use stage had increased over 20 times during 2000-2017. By contrast, official neodymium production has only doubled, indicating the existence of illegal mining to meet the increasing neodymium demand. Also, the total net neodymium exports have continuously decreased due to reduced export of primary products and intermediate products. In addition, smuggling of primary products remains an issue and needs to be eliminated. Wind turbines and electric vehicles will become major neodymium consumption sectors greatly increasing future demand requirements. To avoid insufficient recycling and illegal neodymium mining, more appropriate neodymium management policies should be released to balance neodymium supply and demand.

Blockchain technology has been widely touted for building and supporting supply chain management capabilities. The technology has substantial potential to enhance operational effectiveness and profitability. Blockchain platform evaluation and selection still requires investigation. Blockchain platform selection and adoption decision making in a multi-organizational supply chain context is complex. Effective blockchain adoption and operations requires consideration of multiple vendors—service providers—and platforms while satisfying multiple users and stakeholders. This study introduces a managerial decision support method to assist organizations evaluate and select joint blockchain service vendor and platforms for multiple organizational functions and organizations. Using literature and practice, we introduce blockchain service vendor and platform attributes from user, vendor, and platform perspectives. A social network theory lens sets the foundation for an innovative group decision-making method—a DEMATEL-based hierarchical best-worst method—integrating characteristics from this decision environment. The technological and distributed network nature of blockchain technology requires evaluation by decision makers from various levels of a supply chain network. These decision makers will likely have varying blockchain technology knowledge and subjective preferences that need integration. The proposed method helps to operationalize social network relationships to comprehend partial and idiosyncratic expert opinions about blockchain technology. An illustrative example and various scenarios are presented to identify managerial and research implications. Methodological limitations and future research are presented for this emergent managerial and technological concern across supply chains.

Supplier segmentation is an important strategic activity for companies. The main purpose of segmenting suppliers is to more easily manage a large number of suppliers by formulating relationship management strategies for subsets of suppliers, which is more efficient than separate unique strategies for each supplier. Existing supplier segmentation approaches have paid limited attention to environmentally related criteria. Given the increased importance of sustainable and green supply chains, this points a large gap in the literature. Thus, a green supplier segmentation model is proposed in this study. A supplier potential matrix is used to evaluate suppliers with respect to two dimensions, capabilities and willingness, with respect to environmental issues. Given the multicriteria nature of this problem, a novel hybrid multicriteria methodology is used to evaluate the problem. Rough set theory is used to calculate the weight of each criterion for suppliers’ capabilities and suppliers’ willingness. VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) is then used to determine an overall score for each supplier. Finally, fuzzy C-means is used to segment the suppliers while considering the overall score for each supplier. An application of the proposed model for suppliers of a large chemical company is used to evaluate the feasibility of this technique.

The mining and extractive industry’s operations have significant harmful environmental consequences. Mining companies have started adopting green supply chain management (GSCM) practices which include green information technology systems (GITS) to help provide economic benefits while seeking minimal environmental damage. These mining organizations face significant hurdles related to introducing and implementing various GSCM practices which can address some of the environmental burdens. This study addresses this issue by adopting a GSCM practices framework and applying a novel decision support method that integrates grey numbers with DEMATEL and the NK model for evaluating and developing an implementation path model. Using a multiple case field study with input from managers of the Ghanaian gold mining industry, the adopted GSCM practices framework and methodology is applied. The results provide an evaluation and development path model to guide these organizations and managers for GSCM planning and investment decisions. The path results show that these organizations should first develop SSP (Strategic Supplier Partnership) with their suppliers for implementing GITS (Green Information Technology and Systems) and other GSCM practices. These results provide some exploratory insight and guidelines for managers and policy-makers who seek to integrate green initiatives. This study also sets the stage for further investigation of organizational greening in developing countries and the mining industry.

Purpose Based on the theoretical development by House et al. (2004), the purpose of this paper is to investigate the cross-cultural differences of internal auditors’ perceptions on the importance of internal auditor skills. Design/methodology/approach The authors developed a survey based on the competency framework for internal auditing and collected data from the UK (Anglo cultural cluster) and Korea (Confucian cultural cluster). In total, 231 internal auditors participated in the study. Findings The results showed that UK auditors perceived behavioral skills as more important than cognitive skills, while Korean auditors had an opposite perception. Not surprisingly, UK auditors rated each sub-category of behavioral skills higher than Korean auditors; Korean auditors gave higher scores than UK auditors for each sub-category of cognitive skills. Research limitations/implications One limitation of the study is that two different data collection methods were used for the study: online for the UK and paper-based for Korean auditors. Another limitation of the study is that the authors did not analyze the possible impact of each participating auditor’s background knowledge. Practical implications The findings of the study contributes to professional practice by providing culturally adaptive criteria for regulators’ policy-making, organizations’ employee hiring and training, and educators’ curriculum design across various cultural environments. Originality/value The findings of the study can provide some insights on cultural impacts to help academic researchers develop models regarding the internal auditor selection and training in different nations.

The research on production and operations management and its linkage to environmental sustainability has seen growth in recent years. The International Journal of Production Research (IJPR) communi...

Using a manually collected sample of 331 corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports issued by US public companies, we examine the relationship between the CSR performance and the readability of CSR reports. We adopt three indices – Fog, Kincaid, and Flesch – to measure the readability of CSR reports and draw upon two databases – ESG and KLD – to measure CSR performance from both environmental and social perspectives. The results show a significant positive relationship between CSR performance and the readability of CSR reports, indicating that companies with stronger CSR performance are more likely to have CSR reports with higher readability. Further, the association of the readability of CSR reports with social performance is stronger than with environmental performance. This study helps investors more comprehensively evaluate the CSR information disclosed on CSR reports. Our results also point to the importance of regulating the narrative disclosure of CSR information, especially social performance. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Purpose This paper aims to introduce a joint DEMATEL and NK methodology to develop a process model for introducing and implementing relational supply chain practices for low-carbon supply chains. Using this process model as a guide, insights into specific practices and how to implement these relational practices to achieve competitive advantage across organizations are introduced. Design/methodology/approach Low-carbon cooperation practices framework based on the relational view is developed. A methodology based on DEMATEL and the NK model is used to construct a sequential process model for introducing and implementing these relational practices. Empirical data from three manufacturing organizations in China are utilized to validate the model. Findings Initial results provide a sequence of relational practices for guiding those organizations and their suppliers for healthy and low-carbon development. Interdependencies between relational practices are analyzed and evaluated from four aspects. Insights into the broader application of the methodology and initial results from both a research and managerial perspective are presented, especially with consideration of the China, an emerging economy, context. Research limitations/implications The methodology remains relatively abstract in nature, yet the tool can provide very useful interpretations and information for both researchers and practitioners. Practical implications This paper stipulates that in addition to internal operational practices, the relational practices between buyer and supplier may be equally important to achieve a low-carbon outcome, especially in supply chain setting. This paper also shows that not only the relational practice itself but also the implementation sequence of the relational practices can relate to performance. According to the authors’ initial results, organizations in this study should first develop product development cooperation, then exchange carbon knowledge and implement effective governance and last build a trust relationship with its suppliers for low-carbon cooperation. Originality/value This is one of the few approaches that directly evaluates and identifies the interdependencies among relational practices and to construct a process model for introducing and implementing low-carbon supply chain cooperation. It is also the first time that the NK model has been integrated with DEMATEL. Focusing on Chinese supply chain carbon emissions concerns is also a unique perspective.

China has faced environmental concerns due to its increased economic growth. Corporations are under various pressures to address environmental issues and may be critical to social change in China. Competitive advantage from building green markets and green consumers can occur as social mores and norms evolve. Sustainable consumption can also be managed through green marketing and green consumerism efforts. This paper reviews the emergent research on green marketing and consumerism in China. A total 52 peer reviewed journal publications are identified and reviewed from a variety of journals ranging from technological to marketing based journals. A conceptual framework has been used to identify gaps and future research directions based on marketing strategy, industrial sector, international comparisons, and green consumerism, all of which play a role in society and its sustainability. This work is the first to analyze green marketing and consumerism in China.

This paper aims to examine the past and present research on ‘green ports and maritime logistics’ in order to identify established research streams and fertile research areas with potential for future investigations. Using rigorous bibliometric and network analysis tools, the paper completes a systemic mapping of the existing literature and identifies the key investigators, collaboration patterns, research clusters and interrelationships, and the “seminal research areas” that have provided the field with the foundational knowledge, concepts, theories, tools, and techniques. Major articles within each seminal research area are also identified. This will allow new researchers to quickly build understanding in a particular sub-field by reading these major articles. The findings obtained from the evolution of seminal research areas over time are important from both research and practice perspectives and can help the field grow in many dimensions.

Individual ownership of passenger cars has raised significant environmental concern due to carbon dioxide emissions from their usage. In this study, by establishing a bottom-up accounting framework with country-level resolution, a set of scenarios reflecting the possible trajectories of carbon dioxide emissions from global passenger cars through 2050 are presented. The analysis indicates that carbon dioxide emissions from global passenger cars were 2810 megatons in 2013, accounting for about 8.7% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Under Business-As-Usual scenario, global car sales will more than double by 2050. It is expected that total carbon dioxide emissions will peak in 2020 at 2923 Mt and then decrease to 2297 Mt by 2050. Carbon dioxide emissions from more developed countries will decrease significantly over time. Meanwhile, less developed countries will show great growth. The gap of per capita carbon dioxide emissions between more developed countries and less developed countries will likely shrink rapidly. The Business-As-Usual scenario does not comply with the Representative Concentration Pathway 2.6 scenario, which is used as a benchmark of sustainability. Only when major mitigation measures are implemented to their full potentials can the sustainability goals be met. It is recommended that policy instruments should be further strengthened with a focus on less developed countries.

Organizations are facing various evolving pressures to green their practices. These pressures range from obligatory forces to voluntary measures. Environmental pressures traditionally influenced organizations to seek reactive and internal practices. The adopted environmental management (EM) practices have evolved to be more proactive and external as the focus has shifted to supply chains. This paper aims to further understand the driving mechanisms for EM practices under various external pressures. To meet this research goal, this study extends the theory of dynamic incentives of environmental policies and institutional theory to develop environmental pressures. Using an empirical study of 422 Chinese manufacturers covering all 31 provinces and provincial cities, an exploratory factor analysis reveals four EM practices factors and four pressures (drivers) factors. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis show that coercive pressures positively relate to more reactive, internal EM practices. Less coercive pressures positively relate to more proactive, external, and green supply chain management practices. The empirical findings provide further support that voluntary regulatory measures can help motivate companies in extending their EM efforts to supply chains. The work also provides insights into how organizations may respond to evolving regulatory regimes, dynamic incentives of environmental regulatory policy, and various institutional pressures.

Green supplier development focuses on helping organizations integrate activities to improve the natural environmental performance of their supply chains. These green-supplier-development programs require substantial resources and investments by a buyer company. Investigation into investment management in this context has only begun. This paper introduces a methodology to help manage investment in green-supplier-development and business-supplier-development practices. Managing these practices and their outcomes requires managing of a large sets of data. We propose a combination of rough set theoretic and fuzzy clustering means (FCM) approaches; first to simplify, and then sharpen the focus on the complex environment of evaluation of the investment decisions. The combined methodology, based on performance measures of supplier practices and agreed-upon investment objectives, identifies a set of guidelines that can help make decisions about sound investments in the supplier practices more effectively and judiciously. Various steps involved in the methodology are illustrated through using an example developed to highlight the salient steps and issues of the methodology. We show how the results may be interpreted to obtain many insights useful from both practical and research perspectives. Although the impetus to developing this methodology came from sustainability considerations, the methodology is general enough to be applicable in other areas where management and evaluation of investments is based on large data sets.

The fourth industrial revolution, also labelled Industry 4.0, was beget with emergent and disruptive intelligence and information technologies. These new technologies are enabling ever-higher levels of production efficiencies. They also have the potential to dramatically influence social and environmental sustainable development. Organizations need to consider Industry 4.0 technologies contribution to sustainability. Sufficient guidance, in this respect, is lacking in the scholarly or practitioner literature. In this study, we further examine Industry 4.0 technologies in terms of application and sustainability implications. We introduce a measures framework for sustainability based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; incorporating various economic, environmental and social attributes. We also develop a hybrid multi-situation decision method integrating hesitant fuzzy set, cumulative prospect theory and VIKOR. This method can effectively evaluate Industry 4.0 technologies based on their sustainable performance and application. We apply the method using secondary case information from a report of the World Economic Forum. The results show that mobile technology has the greatest impact on sustainability in all industries, and nanotechnology, mobile technology, simulation and drones have the highest impact on sustainability in the automotive, electronics, food and beverage, and textile, apparel and footwear industries, respectively. Our recommendation is to take advantage of Industry 4.0 technology adoption to improve sustainability impact but each technology needs to be carefully evaluated as specific technology will variably influence industry and sustainability dimensions. Investment in such technologies should consider appropriate priority investment and championing.

Emergy accounting has existed for decades. Emergy evaluates the donor side contribution of nature at region or country, macro-level analyses. It has been rarely applied and considered for organizational or supply chain management. In this study we provide an introduction and background on how emergy accounting analysis can be adjusted and applied at the supply chain level. Supplier selection is the example supply chain application for which actual emergy measures are used. The purpose of this study is to introduce the concept as a valuable tool for investigation by operations and supply chain management scholars and practitioners. The application provides some initial insight. This work at the nexus of sustainable supply chains and performance measurement is an initial study with significant future opportunities. These opportunities include effectively internalizing environmental and resource externalities for more thoughtful business models and evaluations. Implications and future research directions are summarized for this important, yet understudied field. It contributes by expanding the supplier performance measurement field.

Myopic financial perspectives dominate product deletion decisions when such decisions require a balance of short-term and long-term considerations. This paper extends the limited studies of product deletion to explore supply chain operational, competitive and sustainability criteria within a broader organizational and inter-organizational context. The analysis uses inputs from a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company where the product deletion decisions are imperative. The fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) is applied to construct a network of effectual interrelationships among product deletion decision criteria based on which the most influential criteria are identified. The DEMATEL method is then extended to explore the sequential effect of the decision criteria on product deletion decisions. The study shows that product revitalization probability increases if there is a focus on improving the product condition in terms of prominent criteria. On this basis, the findings suggest that competitive criteria play a significant role in product deletion decision-making. Some supply chain operational and sustainability criteria also make a difference, especially when considering their sequential effect on financial performance. This study is concluded by offering directions for more dynamic and deeper research into modeling and managing product deletion in organizations. Applications of the presented tool are worthwhile research topics to pursue in other managerial fields.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a clinical condition in which the lungs suffer severe irreversible, large-scale damage causing a grievous form of hypoxemic respiratory failure. Acute respiratory distress syndrome is one of the most evasive diagnosis confronted in the Intensive care unit (ICU) as the name, definition and diagnostic standards have adapted over the past four decades. An ARDS diagnosis is established by physiological criteria and continues to be a diagnosis of exclusion, which makes it crucial that medical professionals expand their knowledge base to effectively diagnose ARDS. Patients admitted with ARDS have high mortality rates ranging from 40 to 60 percent. High-level quality supportive care continues to be the sole option for ARDS treatment. Even with improved supportive care, however, ARDS prognosis is still poor. Extended prone positioning (PP) has been shown to increase alveolar recruitment end expiratory lung volume, thereby improving oxygenation and survival. Unfortunately, few studies have examined the association of mortality and prone positioning in ARDS. A systematic review was conducted to examine the following research question: Does prone positioning compared to supine positioning in patients with ARDS decrease mortality rates? This systematic review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). A literature review was performed and data were collected from each study. A cross study analysis was performed and PP was found to reduce mortality rate in patients who were severely hypoxic. The reviewed studies demonstrated that incorporating early and longer periods of PP may improve mortality in ARDS patients, but further research is needed.

Traditional capital investment appraisal models are, in many cases, biased against environmental projects. What is required is a multi-attribute approach that includes an assessment of the environmental benefits. The financial appraisal profile (FAP) model seeks to address this issue. By making the correct investment decision in the first place and by involving senior managers in the appraisal process, the organization is better placed to achieve project success. Adopting the FAP model with the inclusion of an environmental assessment in the form the “environmental score index” will help focus top management on an increasingly important corporate strategy issue. An illustrative case study is used to outline the important aspects of this new approach. The FAP approach, which is presented in this chapter, will help to fill a gap in the environmental investment literature, where there is a paucity of comprehensive, structured, and transparent methodologies that can prove acceptable to management decision makers from a variety of functions and viewpoints.

As supply chain risk management has transitioned from an emerging topic to a growing research area, there is a need to classify different types of research and examine the general trends of this research area. This helps identify fertile research streams with great potential for further examination. This paper presents a systematic review of the quantitative and analytical models (i.e. mathematical, optimization and simulation modeling efforts) for managing supply chain risks. We use bibliometric and network analysis tools to generate insights that have not been captured in the previous reviews on the topic. In particular, we complete a systemic mapping of the literature that identifies the key research clusters/topics, interrelationships, and generative research areas that have provided the field with the foundational knowledge, concepts, theories, tools, and techniques. Some of our findings include (1) quantitative analysis of supply chain risk is expanding rapidly; (2) European journals are the more popular research outlets for the dissemination of the knowledge developed by researchers in United States and Asia; and (3) sustainability risk analysis is an emerging and fast evolving research topic.

In evaluating and selecting sustainable suppliers, we take a triple-bottom-line (profit, people and planet) approach and consider business operations as well as environmental impacts and social responsibilities of the suppliers. Different metrics are introduced to measure performance in these three areas. To examine the influences of different organizational and supply chain operating philosophies, the objectives in selection of suppliers are designed so that some of them favor profit or the business operations, others the planet or the environment and the remaining focusing on people or social responsibility. A novel methodological approach based on a Bayesian framework and Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) simulation is developed to rank and select suppliers using specific selection objectives. This technique is also effective when smaller or missing data sets exist, which is an especially prevalent characteristic for newer and complex measures such as in a sustainability decision environment. Results obtained from the MCMC simulation provide a wealth of information about supplier performance, which form the basis for additional statistical analyses. The model allows the decision maker to execute various scenarios by changing importance weights attached to the triple-bottom-line areas. We present results for some of those scenarios with managerial and research implications and future research directions identified.

This article presents a tactical supply chain planning model that can be used to investigate tradeoffs between cost and environmental degradation including carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste generation. The proposed model also incorporates other aspects of real world supply chains such as multiple transport lot sizing and flexible holding capacity of warehouses. A solution methodology, the Nested Integrated Cross-Entropy (NICE) method, is developed to solve the proposed mixed-integer nonlinear mathematical model. The application of the model and solution method is investigated in an actual case problem. Analysis of the numerical results focuses on investigating the relationship between lean practices and green outcomes. We find that (1) not all lean interventions at the tactical supply chain planning level result in green benefits, and (2) a flexible supply chain is the greenest and most efficient alternative when compared to strictly lean and centralized situations.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to threefold. The first purpose is to review and critically analyze corporate sustainability development (CSD) research in China. Second, the paper extracts a unified theoretical framework among CSD drivers, CSD practices, and corporate performance in China. Finally, it seeks to identify links between CSD and industrial management and data systems (IMDS) topics. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive and structured review of the research literature investigating CSD in China was completed. Categorizations and classifications of the literature were summarized. A critical analysis of the literature resulted in a generic theoretical framework that can be used for evaluation of the literature and further investigation. Findings – The literature review found over 189 papers on CSD in China published from 1997 to 2013. The framework developed focussed on relationships among drivers, practices, and performance within a CSD in China context. The framework provides useful insights into the implementation of CSD practices. The integration of the three dimensions of sustainability and decision-making methodology are still rare. Specific features of CSD are also reviewed with a linkage to IMDS research around information technology, business process modeling, and supply chain management. Originality/value – This is one of the first works to provide a comprehensive focus on CSD in China. The theoretical framework was developed for CSD in China to clarify the relationships between the drivers, the corporation’s characteristics, CSD practices, and corporation performance and will prove useful for future research development and investigation. The linkage to IMDS topics is novel and will help further research related to CSD in China for this journal.

Introduction Robert Sroufe, Duquesne University, USA, and Joseph Sarkis, Clark University, USA Part I: EMS planning and design 1. EPI Design: Integrating corporate strategies into the development process of an environmental performance evaluation system Enrico Cagno, Lorenzo Tardini and Paolo Trucco, Politecnico di Milano, Italy 2. A comparison of environmental management system components and practices Gwen Christini, Montgomery Watson Harza, USA, and Deanna H. Matthews and Chris Hendrickson, Carnegie Mellon University, USA 3. EMS and sustainable development: A model and comparative studies of integration Ulku Oktem, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, Phil Lewis, Rohm and Haas Corporation, USA, Deborah Donovan, Sunoco, USA, James R. Hagan, GlaxoSmithKline, UK, and Thomas Pace, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co., USA 4. Designing a sustainability management system at BMW Group: The Designworks/USA case study Kellie A. McElhaney and Michael W. Toffel, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Natalie Hill, Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, USA 5. Core values and environmental management: A strong inference approach John D. Hanson, Steven A. Melnyk and Roger J. Calantone, The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University, USA Part II: Implementation and operation 6. A product-based environmental management system Kathleen Donnelly, Arjen Salemink, Frederick Blechinger, Albrecht Schuh and Theresa Boehm, Lucent Technologies, Inc. 7. Environmental reporting on the internet: From a technical tool to a strategic necessity Ralf Isenmann, University of Bremen, Germany, and Christoph Bey, ESCEM School of Business and Management Tours-Poitiers, France 8. Web-based environmental management systems for SMEs Adeline Maijala, Lassi Linnanen and Tuula Pohjola, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland 9. Integrating sustainability practices into power generation operations Teresa DeBono, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, USA 10. The environmental management system of the Environmental Services Department of Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos, Calliopi Raftopoulou, Charalampos N. Kavouras and Panagiotis Karamanos, Environmental Services Department, Athens International Airport, Greece Part III: Environmental management system evaluation 11. Factors influencing the implementation of environmental management systems, practices and performance Olaf Weber, Department of Environmental Sciences and GOE, Zurich, Switzerland 12. Environmental management systems in the US and Thailand: A case comparison Deborah Rigling Gallagher, Duke University, USA, Richard N.L. Andrews, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, Achara Chandrachai, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Kaewta Rohitratana, Thammasat University, Thailand 13. Change management: Sustainable development via an augmented EMS Martin Callinan, University of Melbourne, Australia 14. Environmental management systems and environmental performance Jonas Ammenberg, Link

Trade needs to be evaluated by more comprehensive indicators that complement market-based economic value. The Emergy Accounting (EMA) method proved to be a valuable tool to help address trade complexity by means of environmental quality-oriented indicators. EMA is used in this paper to evaluate the environmental and resource flows involved in China-United States (USA) trade in the years 1993, 2000 and 2008. Results show that China emergy exports (i.e. exports of raw and less processed resources) exceed the imports from USA. Although the money received by China from exports is higher than the money paid for imports, the real imbalance relies in the huge amount of resources that outflow from China, hardly compensated by the value of imports in terms of support to Chinese economy. The conclusion is that trade accounting methods should include holistic valuations beyond the financial costs of traded goods. Policy implications of these results are discussed.

China's extraordinary economic growth, industrialization and urbanization coupled with inadequate investment in basic water supply and treatment infrastructures, have resulted in increasing industrial water pollution. However, due to imbalanced development, industrial wastewater emissions present significant regional disparity. Industrial wastewater management disparity requires more in-depth study on both spatial and temporal patterns across different regions for identification of appropriate and effective mitigation policies while considering practical and localized realities. This paper addresses this issue and contributes to new knowledge by analyzing the spatial-temporal characteristics and driving forces of industrial wastewater emission variations in China's 31 provinces during the years 1995–2010. Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method, the results show that economic factors are the main driving factors of industrial wastewater emission changes in all provinces during the study period. It is also found that technology improvement considerably offsets emission increases. Using these research findings, both general and specific measures for controlling industrial wastewater emissions are offered so that the overall industrial water efficiency can be improved, in China and potentially elsewhere.

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a framework which can assist focal companies in the development of sustainable supply chains. Sustainable development from an industrial perspective has extended beyond organisational boundaries to incorporate a supply chain approach. Design/methodology/approach – The literature related to sustainable supply chain management is reviewed by incorporating concepts from four organisational theories, including the resource-based, institutional, stakeholder and social network perspectives, to illustrate key drivers and enablers of sustainability initiatives in the supply chain. A conceptual multidimensional framework is then developed that can be used for the initial assessment of supply chain sustainability. Findings – Development and assessment of sustainability in supply chains are being increasingly incorporated as part of supply chain management today. This paper presents a multidimensional framework which can serve as a tool for research scholars and supply chain practitioners in identifying and assessing various economic, environmental and social performance indicators. Research limitations/implications – The framework and approach presented are conceptual, and require additional and broader validation. Additional theories, at differing levels, such as individual behaviour theory, should be utilised to further enhance and evaluate the framework. Developing and integrating analytical models for prescriptive and practical supply chain solutions can enhance the applicability of the framework. Practical implications – The framework adopts a multidimensional approach to assessing and designing sustainable supply chains, as it not only incorporates economic and environmental dimensions but also provides a practical approach to quantifying and embedding the social dimension into decision-making. The framework helps industry practitioners in initial exploration of trade-offs among economic, environmental and social performance of supply chains, which, in turn, could assist them in creating a business case for sustainability. Originality/value – The paper is one of few studies that incorporates some of the key aspects of all three dimensions of sustainability in a single overarching framework for supply chains and offers significant theoretical contribution and implications for sustainable supply chain management.

This paper provides and illustrates a generic framework for deep learning in a Sustainability-based course for higher education instruction. The use of Sustainability Consulting Projects is detailed with potential application to similar programs as part of their Sustainable Education curriculum. Using four disparate institutions of higher learning across the eastern coast of the United States we can complete an exploratory analysis of the framework. This analysis will provide us opportunity to identify and characterize community sustainability projects and their contribution to higher order, integrative and reflective learning. This deep learning framework and model will be helpful to curriculum developers and instructors who wish to introduce these types of projects into their courses and curriculum. These processes and tools may be integrated into current Sustainability Management courses or used as the basis for development of specific courses focused specifically on this topic; e.g., Sustainability Consulting or as a capstone course. Lessons learned and framework design and implementation provide opportunities for further research and development of these courses.

Although business process management (BPM) is an important organizational practice for improving operational competitiveness of organizations, research has shown that as many as 60–80% of BPM initiatives are unsuccessful. This study provides a methodology to evaluate BPM implementation critical success factors (CSFs) that can aid project managers make proper BPM investment strategies. Through a review of the literature, eight CSFs for the successful implementation of BPM are identified. To help advance research on the implementation of BPM, this paper uses multi-site field study data with a novel grey-based DEMATEL (the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory) approach to visualize the structure of complicated causal relationships between these CSFs and obtain the influence level of these factors. The field study data uses three Chinese manufacturers as the setting. The four most important factors found in the field study, from amongst the identified CSFs, include Strategic alignment, Top management support, Project management and a Collaborative environment. We also found a number of direct and indirect relationships amongst the CSF factors. Insights into the application of the technique and results from both a research and managerial perspective are presented. Aggregate analysis for the methodology and future research directions are also introduced in the final section.

Individuals, organizations, communities, and nations are all under pressures to determine how humans can survive as our environment continues to degrade. How we currently live, in both developed and emerging economies, consumes more resources than nature can provide. Howwe utilize these resources is also altering our environment in directions, that some fear, are irreversible. Global climate change; water, mineral, energy, and land resource scarcities; biodiversity decline; acid rain; hazardous and toxic substance poisoning; and many other environmental ills will influence how we live and survive in both the shortand long-term. These concerns require us to reconsider how we produce, consume, and use products, services, and technology. Sustainability requires considering both the needs of this generation and future generations. In this special issue we begin with setting this environmental sustainability foundation for the remainder of the papers by including a fundamental issues article by Rajendra Kumar Pachauri (2013), Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, the Nobel Peace Prize winning organization). Within organizations, businesses have encountered pressures to alter their institutional perspectives. New norms will require organizations and individuals to reevaluate activities and functions so that future generations can survive and, with hope, thrive. The sustainability of organizations and their greening will be necessary to help address environmental burdens, but it will not be easy. Green growth, the decoupling of economic growth from environmental burden and even providing a synergistic win-win relationship between economic growth and environmental improvement, is a nascent policy mantra (Vazquez-Brust and Sarkis 2012). Within commerce and the organization, greening supply chains, operations, strategy, human resources, marketing, and technology are all current efforts to help industry manage these environmental and social pressures. Some of these fields have been investigating these greening issues for decades and have developed a relatively mature research agenda. Information systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) management have had sporadic developments and research investigation in greening and sustainability. The participation of IS and IT researchers and their voice in this literature has been lacking. Noting this gap, in the past few years, Green IS and IT have become more prominent practical concerns with concerted research effort (Jenkin et al. 2011). Green IS refers to improving the flow and management of information, while Green IT refers more to the hardware and other infrastructure that can be better managed and designed from an environmental perspective (Sarkis and Zhu 2008). Evidence of this greening prominence has included calls for research and investigation on this topic in the top IS and IT journals and by major IS and IT professional societies. Special