Exploring supply chain sustainability research in Latin America (original) (raw)

Practices of Sustainability in Supply Chains: Experiences in South America

This paper deals with practices and evidences of sustainability in supply chains. Research conducted by Thun and Müller (2010) in the German automotive industry, shows that the concept of sustainable management of the supply chain is still incipient, being still under development. We adopt a qualitative approach over two case studies carried out in South America. Information in this paper was gathered by literature review, interviews with experts in Brazil and also from works being conducted in Brazilian universities and research institutes. Within this context, the research presented includes case studies carried out in South America, specifically in Brazil: Supply chain of empty packings of pesticides and; Biofuels Supply chains. Besides contributing for the preservation of the atmosphere for future generations, the management of the supply chain for packings of pesticide develops an important socioeconomic function in Brazil. It generates more than 2.500 direct jobs along the whole chain (associations of distributors, cooperatives, collection points, carriers, recycling companies and services providers). Finally, it is clear that the competitiveness and sustainability of the supply chain of biofuels depend on the adoption of integrated logistics practices, without which the current failures prevents the consolidation of governmental defined goals.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IN SUPPLY CHAINS: A FRAMEWORK AND A LATIN AMERICA ILLUS- TRATIVE CASE

Morais, 2017

Social issues are under-represented in sustainability, considering historical predominance of economic and environmental issues. This also applies to Sustainable Supply Chain Management. Even with its definition clarified regarding Triple Bottom Line, research still advances disproportionately in environmental and economic dimensions , facing the social dimension. This research aims to analyze how social sustainability is addressed in focal firms and managed into its supply chain. The study explores the concepts of social issues and governance mechanisms, presenting elements discussed in the literature. A framework for managing social sustainability in supply chains is presented, followed by a case to illustrate the discussed concepts in a Latin American context.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management: a Literature review on Brazilian publications

Journal of Operations and Supply Chain Management, 2015

Based on the progress in the international research on sustainability and supply chains, this paper aims to analyze how the concept of Sustainable Supply Chain Management has been explored in papers published in major Brazilian journals and conference proceedings, especially regarding the research areas of operations management and sustainability. Recognizing the theme as incipient in Brazil, there are few published studies, mainly in relation to journals, with a total of 44 papers focused specifically on the topic. The literature review indicates that the understanding of the topic includes recurrent discussions with environmental or economic dimensions. However, a comprehensive definition of the concept, i.e., including social issues, is lacking. Therefore, this creates a research gap and an opportunity for Brazilian researchers to contribute to the gradually developing field.

Sustainability and Supply Chain Management: Publications in Brazil

The number of research papers linking sustainability with supply chain management is increasing around the world. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the publications in Brazil are considering the relationship between sustainability and supply chain management. The methodology applied consists in five major steps: (1) selection of databases and journals, (2) selection of the papers, (3) reading of papers' abstracts to select only papers that are related to business and sustainability, (4) qualitative and quantitative analysis of the selected papersábstracts to define the main dimension of sustainability and sustainability aspect, and finally, (5) an evaluation of experts´esponses to a questionnaire in the field of sustainability and supply chain in Brazil. The literature review was conducted in 120 Brazilian academic journals in which 124 papers were identified as being published in relation to sustainability, business management and companies, from 2008 until 2013. When...

Scanning Insights on Sustainability And Supply Chain Management in Brazil

Journal of Operations and Supply Chain Management, 2017

This paper aims to analyse how the publications in Brazil are considering the relationship between sustainability and supply chain management. For this end, a literature review was carried out in 120 Brazilian academic journals in which 124 papers were identified, from 2008 until 2013. When considering the Triple Bottom Line approach, the results show that sustainability research in Brazil is focusing on the environmental dimension and SCM research is focusing on the economic dimension. Additional inputs are provided by integrating the governance dimension in the analysis to underline which actions and policies are discussed in Brazil at a corporate level. To support the results a consultation of experts in the field of sustainability in Brazil was fulfilled, and three case examples are presented to explain some of the research results. The findings on publications in Brazil contrast with international studies, particularly on the topic of social performance and management in supply chains. One of the main conclusions is that there are large opportunities to increase publications about sustainability and SCM in the country and that Brazil presents some specificities in the field that researchers and managers shall consider.

Sustainable supply chain management in developing countries: An analysis of the literature

Journal of Cleaner Production

The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of the academic literature addressing Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) practices in developing countries. A systematic literature review method was adopted; selected papers were reviewed from 2000 to 2016 that matched our inclusion criteria. Common themes across the literature were identified covering four factors regarding the adoption of SSCM: drivers, barriers, mechanisms and outcomes. A conceptual model integrating these factors and based on institutional theory was advanced to explain the adoption of sustainability practices along supply chains in developing countries. The paper concludes by identifying gaps in the literature that require further research on this topic, particularly for the context of developing countries. To the best of our knowledge this is the first paper reviewing the existing research on SSCM in developing countries that includes both social and environmental dimensions.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review

Effect of the sustainable supply chain on business performance - The maquiladora experience

IEEE Access

Mexican maquiladoras have a complex supply chain because they import raw materials from other countries and export their final products. This paper reports a structural equation model with three independent variables associated with supply chain sustainability (Inbound sustainability, Internal sustainability, and Outbound sustainability) and two variables related to external entities integration (Supplier integration and Customer integration). Those variables are related to three dependent variables as sustainability indicators (Business performance, Social performance, and Environmental performance). Variables are linked by ten hypotheses validated using the partial least squares technique integrated into WarpPLS v.7® software, and information comes from 187 responses to a questionnaire applied to managers and engineers laboring at the Mexican maquiladora industry. Findings indicate that, given the nature of this industry, Supplier integration does not moderate the relationship between Inbound sustainability and Internal sustainability. In addition, Customer integration does not moderate the relationship between Internal sustainability and Outbound sustainability. However, the supply chain sustainability is related to the company's Business performance, which is influenced by Social performance and Environmental performance.

EMPHASIZING SOCIAL ISSUES TOWARD SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN: A BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVE

Independent Journal of Management & Production, 2015

From sustainability perspective, the supply chain management strategy can use different indicators related to Triple Bottom Line to improve its practices. Some studies on the topic have focused only environmental issues; however in some cases the social issues should be considered as a core of the sustainable strategies.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Analyzing the Past to Determine a Research Agenda

Logistics

The incorporation of sustainable aspects in the supply chain management (SCM) has become an important topic for researchers and professionals; however, it is a field that yet lacks a systemic understanding. The objective of this article is to conduct an analysis on the international literature about the SCM sustainability topic, by employing a systematic review protocol, covering the period from 2011 to 2016. The content analysis technique was performed, following the procedures of categorical thematic analysis proposed by Bardin (1977), which considers the creation of categories a posteriori, based in the direction senses related to the content analyzed. Besides to present the main characteristics of the articles related to distribution of publications per year, most studied sectors, main methods and approaches used main countries and journals of publications, we categorize the results at the systemic approach level of the sustainable development dimensions. We found that some dime...

Exploring supply chain sustainability research in Latin America (original) (raw)

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