International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

Busse, Christian; Mollenkopf, Diane A.

2017 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-03-2017-0130

Timmer, Stephane; Kaufmann, Lutz

2017 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2016-0026

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate legal effects on social sustainability practices at buying firms. The US Dodd-Frank Act has forced listed companies to determine the degree to which their products contain conflict minerals (CM). The research question this study seeks to answer is the following: which factors influence a company’s ability to determine the provenance of its inputs?Design/methodology/approachThe study examines secondary data in the form of CM reports of 50 US listed firms for two consecutive years using a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) approach.FindingsThis study identifies different configurations of stakeholder salience and firm resources that lead individual companies to achieve high levels of traceability. Findings show that firms’ CM governance mechanisms are a key determinant in the firms’ capacity to meet regulatory traceability requirements. Further, the authors find that both the presence and absence of specific stakeholder pressures and firm resources can lead to traceability. Findings also suggest that firms can achieve traceability without any pressure from stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsThe study investigates the practices of individual firms that are subject to the Dodd-Frank Act, rather than adopting a supply chain-wide perspective. Further, proxies had to be used to measure several constructs because of reliance on firms’ reporting, which implies that the study did not account for certain behavioral factors that influence traceability.Practical implicationsThis study provides managers of both resource-rich and less resource-rich firms with possible pathways for achieving CM traceability.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the field of sustainability by providing exploratory insights into the antecedents of traceability and deriving theoretical propositions to guide further research. The authors apply fsQCA to investigate secondary data over multiple years, thus using a novel configurational methodology.

Normann, Ulla; Ellegaard, Chris; Møller, Morten Munkgaard

2017 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2016-0028

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, it attempts to determine whether suppliers perceive distributive justice (equity) when their key customers implement sustainable sourcing initiatives based on assessment governance, composed of codes of conduct and auditing; second, it generates insights into specific costs, rewards, and investments and how these together result in perceived equity.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design was adopted for this study. A total of 30 executives from textile manufacturing suppliers in China, India, and Bangladesh were interviewed to determine their perceptions of distributive justice in relation to their key customers’ sustainable sourcing initiatives.FindingsMost of the interviewees perceived that their customers’ assessment of governance initiatives was unfair. Four types of suppliers are identified based on their varying perceptions of the equity equation.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings introduce distributive justice as an important mediating variable between assessment-based governance and compliance. They also provide insights into the various types of perceived costs, rewards, and investments related to sustainable sourcing, and how they form varieties of the equity equation. The findings rely on a limited number of respondents and should, therefore, be researched further.Practical implicationsAssessment based on codes of conduct and auditing is the most prevalent sustainable sourcing governance approach, but suppliers may perceive this as an injustice leading to non-compliance. Buying companies are therefore advised to consider supplier perceptions of costs, rewards, and investments and adapt their sustainable sourcing initiatives accordingly.Social implicationsIncreased consideration of distributive justice in sustainable sourcing should increase the likelihood of supplier compliance, improving conditions for employees in global textile plants.Originality/valueExtant research has studied the connection between assessment-based sustainability governance and compliance or overall performance. This paper contributes by suggesting that distributive justice might be a mediating variable helping to explain this connection.

Canzaniello, Angelo; Hartmann, Evi; Fifka, Matthias S.

2017 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2016-0034

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how intra-industry strategic alliances (SAs) seek to assess supplier risk related to sustainability, what motivation drives single members to form or join such an SA, and how such a joint endeavor affects supplier risk management.Design/methodology/approachAn embedded single case study with multiple units of analysis was conducted. The main data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key respondents from seven leading chemical companies, three of which were founding members of the SA, while four were new members.FindingsThis paper shows that forming/joining an SA concerning sustainability-related supplier risk assessment, results in the reduction of task uncertainty and equivocality as well as the increase of information processing capacities. Based on the implemented sharing routines, a higher overall efficiency can be achieved. Moreover, the members benefit from an enhanced identification of varying stakeholder expectations, a facilitated capability building and a more comprehensive supplier risk assessment. In particular, the joint endeavors result in assessment processes of higher robustness, which provide outcomes of higher quality.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to investigate companies’ efforts toward improving their supplier risk management in the area of sustainability by establishing/joining an intra-industry SA. By providing insights into the motivation to form or join such a collaborative platform and illustrating the effects that arise from the SA’s work from an organizational information processing perspective, it provides a contribution to both academics and managerial practice.

Varsei, Mohsen; Christ, Katherine; Burritt, Roger

2017 International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

doi: 10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2016-0012

PurposeGiven that currently around ten billion litres of wine are transported long distances to overseas consumers per year, the purpose of this paper is to provide a foundation for understanding the trade-offs between cost, water usage and carbon emissions in decisions about the location of wine bottling plants in a global supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case-based analytical modelling study and employs actual data from one of Australia’s major wine companies. A descriptive analytical model is developed for assessing wine supply chain scenarios using three indicators of economic and environmental impacts – supply chain cost, risk-weighted water usage and carbon emissions.FindingsThe research highlights trade-offs required when considering optimal supply chain design, and finds possibilities for reshaping a global wine supply chain in order to improve the selected economic and environmental impacts.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper lies in its analytical focus on examining the interplay between supply chain cost, risk-weighted water usage and carbon emissions in a global supply chain, which has not previously been addressed.