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Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2022) | Viewed by 24511

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Guo Li

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Guest Editor

School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: operations management; green supply chain and logistics management; big-data-driven decision management

Prof. Dr. Sachin Mangla

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Assistant Guest Editor

Plymouth Business School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Interests: green/sustainable supply chain management; circular economy; operations management and excellence; sustainable cities and society; optimization and simulation

Prof. Dr. Jiasen Sun

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Assistant Guest Editor

School of Business, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215021, China
Interests: green supply chain and logistics management; data-driven decision management; efficiency and productivity analysis

Dr. Huamin Wu

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Assistant Guest Editor

School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: sustainable supply chain management; operations management

Prof. Xiaohang Yue

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Assistant Guest Editor

Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201 USA
Interests: supply chain management; manufacturing system design; business analytics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasingly serious contradictions of environmental pollution, resource shortage, and economic development, the implementation of a sustainable development model has become a global consensus. With advance of information and digital technologies, the sustainable supply chain and logistics management are useful for industries not only to address operational and logistics issues, but also to integrate environmental and social sustainable development issues.

In view of the importance of the sustainable supply chain and logistics management in promoting the low-carbon economy and sustainable social development, different countries have formulated relevant policies, such as low-carbon subsidy policies, use of renewable energy resources, circular economy initiatives, and carbon tax regulations. The sustainable supply chain and logistics management have also attracted the attention of a large number of scholars in the past decade, and the related studies mainly focus on performance evaluation of sustainable and green supply chains, supplier evaluations, and supply chain decision making and optimization model without considering the role of digital technologies sufficiently.

In the current digital age, there are still many issues in the field of sustainable supply chain and logistics management that need to be explored in depth. For example, new emerging technologies (e.g., big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, sensors, and blockchain technology) have been applied to supply chain and logistics management recently. This makes practitioners and scholars need to consider a series of issues emerging through the use of new technologies to the sustainable supply chain and logistics.

The specific research questions addressed by this Special Issue call are as follows: (1) Will the new technology help toward the adoption of the sustainable supply chain? (2) How can we select the most suitable sustainable and green logistics suppliers/vendors and partners? (3) How can we measure the innovation level of sustainable supply chain and logistics? (4) How can we improve the performance of the sustainable supply chain and logistics management in the digital age? (5) How can we assess the technological level of sustainable supply chain and logistics?

Following the high standards of the Sustainability journal, the purpose of this Special Issue is to seek original and high-quality manuscripts that have not been published and are not under review at other journals or peer-reviewed conferences. We welcome analytical, quantitative empirical, and multi-methodological original research addressing Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age.

Other topics include but are not limited to the following:

Drivers and barriers to sustainable green supply chain and logistics management in the digital age;
Sustainable green supply chain and logistics management incentives and pricing models;
The influence path of sustainable and green supply chain management on enterprise performance;
Technological innovations on sustainable green supply chain and logistics;
The impact of emerging technologies on sustainable green supply chains;
Decisions and optimization model of sustainable green supply chain management;
Performance improvement of sustainable green supply chain and logistics management in the digital age;
Measurement of the technological level of green supply chains and logistics;
Selection of sustainable logistics suppliers in the digital age;
Role of different stakeholders in sustainable supply chain and logistics management;
Sustainable land use and energy efficiency in the digital age;
Sustainable government in finance and environmental protection in developing countries;
Logistics efficiency and low carbon development in the digital age.

Prof. Dr. Guo Li
Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Sachin Kumar Mangla
Prof. Dr. Jiasen Sun
Dr. Huamin Wu
Prof. Dr. Xiaohang Yue
Assistant Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Sustainable green supply chain
Performance
measurement
Barriers and drivers
Digital age
Incentives
Enterprise performance
Technological innovations
Partnership
Optimization model
Technological level

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 961 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Digital Transformation on Supply Chain Procurement for Creating Competitive Advantage: An Empirical Study

by Mahmoud Abdulhadi Alabdali and Mohammad Asif Salam

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12269; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141912269 - 27 Sep 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6330

Abstract

This study examined the impact of digital transformation (DT) on supply chain procurement (SCP) for the creation of competitive advantage (CAD). This study adopted a quantitative approach using a survey administered to 221 supply chain (SC) professionals through the professional networking website LinkedIn. The conceptual model was evaluated with the partial least squares-based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS. The findings showed that DT has significant positive impacts on SCP and CAD, and that SCP has a significant positive impact on CAD. Supply chain procurement plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between DT and CAD. The findings are useful for decision-makers investing in digitally modernising their SC processes. The study recommends starting the DT of an SC with procurement, as procurement is a complex process involving a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. The results show that digital procurement may be an SC game changer in a competitive market. The study provides initial guidelines for a transition from traditional to smart procurement (procurement 4.0). Despite the prevalence of studies on SCP, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how DT of procurement functions can lead to sustainable CAD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age)

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14 pages, 1733 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing Economic Sustainability with Credit Payment Services in a Dual-Channel Supply Chain

by Xinqian Huang, Liang Xu, Jun Liu and Ying Huang

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8295; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14148295 - 06 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1266

Abstract

In the digital age, data-driven credit payment services play a significant role in constructing sustainable supply chains, which can stimulate consumption by reducing consumers’ cash pressure, thereby promoting a sustainable economic development. Our study investigates a dual-channel supply chain consisting of a supplier and a retailer, wherein the supplier ex-ante decides whether to implement the credit payment policy in the consumer market, and then the retailer determines whether to provide credit payment services in the reselling channel. We uncover that the supplier’s preference toward credit payment policy is not unidirectional. Specifically, the supplier establishes credit payment policy in the consumer market unless the discount of cash opportunity cost is lower than the price discount of credit payment services. Moreover, we find that, under credit payment policy of the supplier, the retailer opts to provide credit payment services when the discount of cash opportunity cost is higher than the price discount of credit payment services. Interestingly, our results demonstrate that, compared with non-credit payment policy, credit payment policy may restrict the development of economics sustainability, which undermines the whole supply chain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age)

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19 pages, 932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Supply Chain Concentration Affect the Performance of Corporate Environmental Responsibility? The Moderating Effect of Technology Uncertainty

by Tingli Liu and Hongqiao Gao

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 781; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14020781 - 11 Jan 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1858

Abstract

With the development of society and the improvement of environmental consciousness, the performance of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) has elicited increasing attention in recent years. In previous studies, the exploration of the antecedents of CER is far less evident than the exploration of its results, and only few studies have investigated what determines CER engagement from the perspective of supply chain concentration (SCC). Using data from 2413 firms in China from 2013 to 2019, our study uses the fixed effect model and performs multiple robustness tests to examine the impact of SCC on the fulfillment of CER, its transmission mechanism, and the moderating role of technology uncertainty (TU). Empirical results show that SCC has a pivotal negative impact on CER performance, wherein both supplier concentration (SUP) and customer concentration (CUS) are detrimental to CER performance. Further mechanism analysis shows that such negative effect can be explained by the adverse effect of SCC on the operating cash flow (OCF), in which OCF has a partial mediating effect. Moreover, the negative impact of SCC on CER performance is more significant when the uncertainty of firms’ technological environment is stronger. Our study opens the transmission “black box” between SCC and CER performance and incorporates the behaviors of firms, inter-firm relationships, and environmental factors into the same research framework, and provides a theoretical guidance for management practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age)

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18 pages, 816 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of On-the-Job Consumption on the Sustainable Development of Enterprises

by Ping Wang, Hua Bu and Huaping Sun

Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13478; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132313478 - 06 Dec 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1933

Abstract

Under certain circumstances, on-the-job consumption is conducive to improving the resilience of the supply chain and the sustainable development ability of enterprises. Using China’s A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2019 as sample data in conjunction with the deconstructive analysis of on-the-job consumption, we used the multiple linear regression model of econometrics to deeply analyze the impact of on-the-job consumption on the sustainable development of enterprises, test the regulatory effect of innovation efficiency, and explore the governance effect of internal control and anti-corruption. Research shows that reasonable and excessive on-the-job consumption have positive and inhibitory effects, respectively, on the sustainable development of enterprises and the relationship between innovation efficiency and the sustainable development of enterprises. Compared to private enterprises, the positive effect of reasonable on-the-job consumption is smaller in state-owned enterprises, while the negative effect of excessive on-the-job consumption is larger in state-owned enterprises. Further research suggests that internal control can weaken the inhibitory effect of excessive on-the-job consumption on the positive relationship between the innovation efficiency and the sustainable development of enterprises, and the weakening effect is even greater after the implementation of anti-corruption policies. Anti-corruption policies and internal control can form a complementary force, effectively restrain the agency effect of excessive on-the-job consumption, and promote the sustainable development of enterprises. This research not only expands the research perspective of on-the-job consumption but also adds new theoretical explanations and empirical evidence for how to achieve the sustainable development of enterprises. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age)

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18 pages, 684 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploration on the Mechanism of the Impact of Green Supply Chain Management on Enterprise Sustainable Development Performance

by Jing Li and Da Yan

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9906; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13179906 - 03 Sep 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2376

Abstract

Green supply chain management (GSCM) is an important management means for enterprises to achieve sustainable development and green transformation. However, the intrinsic mechanism by which GSCM impacts the sustainable development performance (SDP) of enterprises remains a theoretical “black box”. Based on the Porter’s hypothesis, this study constructs a moderated mediation model from the theoretical perspective of green innovation and signal transmission to explore this intrinsic mechanism. Then, this study analyzes data from China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2020 to conduct an empirical analysis to test the model. The results show that GSCM has a significantly positive effect on SDP. The mediating effect of green innovation and the moderating effect of green subsidies are significant. The results remain valid after a series of endogeneity and robustness tests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age)

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17 pages, 804 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Performance Analysis of Power Supply Chain System from the Perspective of Technology and Management

by Feihua Huang, Yue Du, Debao Hu and Bin Zhang

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5972; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13115972 - 26 May 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1919

Abstract

The power industry is an important strategic industry that has effectively advanced the rapid development of China’s economy. However, this rapid development has created significant environmental problems and does not support the sustainable development of the ecological environment and economy. This study evaluated and analyzed the sustainable performance of China’s inter-provincial power supply chain systems (PSCSs), and developed policy recommendations for further developing China’s power industry based on the research results. For PSCSs with internal subsystems, this study first developed a non-radial two-stage model, and proposed steps to solve the model; then, this study applied the proposed model to empirically analyze China’s inter-provincial PSCSs. The empirical analysis yielded the following key research findings. Firstly, for the study period, China’s power industry had a low overall performance, and PSCS performance varied significantly across different regions. Secondly, the average meta-frontier efficiency (ME) of PSCSs in high-income regions was the highest; the average ME of PSCSs in middle-income regions was the lowest. This is consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Thirdly, this study found that the PSCSs had effective management and technical systems in Qinghai and Guangdong. The PSCSs in other regions need improvements to mitigate either inadequate management, inadequate technology, or both. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age)

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Review

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29 pages, 8705 KiB

Open AccessReview

Analyzing Barriers of Circular Food Supply Chains and Proposing Industry 4.0 Solutions

by Nesrin Ada, Yigit Kazancoglu, Muruvvet Deniz Sezer, Cigdem Ede-Senturk, Idil Ozer and Mangey Ram

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6812; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13126812 - 16 Jun 2021

Cited by 68 | Viewed by 7482

Abstract

The concept of the circular economy (CE) has gained importance worldwide recently since it offers a wider perspective in terms of promoting sustainable production and consumption with limited resources. However, few studies have investigated the barriers to CE in circular food supply chains. Accordingly, this paper presents a systematic literature review of 136 papers from 2010 to 2020 from WOS and Scopus databases regarding these barriers to understand CE implementation in food supply chains. The barriers are classified under seven categories: “cultural”, “business and business finance”, “regulatory and governmental”, “technological”, “managerial”, “supply-chain management”, “knowledge and skills”. The findings show the need to identify barriers preventing the transition to CE. The findings also indicate that these challenges to CE can be overcome through Industry 4.0, which includes a variety of technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud technologies, machine learning, and blockchain. Specifically, machine learning can offer support by making workflows more efficient through the forecasting and analytical capabilities of food supply chains. Blockchain and big data analytics can provide the necessary support to establish legal systems and improve environmental regulations since transparency is a crucial issue for taxation and incentives systems. Thus, CE can be promoted via adequate laws, policies, and innovative technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Management in a Digital Age)

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