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20 pages, 962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Information Behaviour of Food Consumers: A Systematic Literature Review and a Future Research Agenda

by Alberto Michele Felicetti, Antonio Palmiro Volpentesta, Roberto Linzalone and Salvatore Ammirato

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3758; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043758 - 18 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3068

Food communication is the main way for businesses to inform customers and guide purchasing behaviour. However, the value consumers perceive from such information remains unclear, and a complete understanding of the food information behaviour is still missing. For this reason, this paper outlines [...] Read more.

Food communication is the main way for businesses to inform customers and guide purchasing behaviour. However, the value consumers perceive from such information remains unclear, and a complete understanding of the food information behaviour is still missing. For this reason, this paper outlines the results of a systematic literature review to identify, evaluate and synthesize the scientific food information behaviour domain according to the perceived value for consumers. The analysis shows that the current scientific literature is essentially centred on studying consumers and their behaviour in the food consumption process. Still, it lacks studies about the impact of the information on the overall perceived value of consumer food experience. The emergence and diffusion of personalized information services make this kind of study particularly suitable. In light of the fast pace of widespread technological evolution in the food sector, this issue represents a topic to be addressed in the following years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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18 pages, 796 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Management Accounting Implementation Challenges and Supply Chain Management in Emerging Economies’ Manufacturing Sector

by Silas Mukwarami, Chekani Nkwaira and Huibrecht Margaretha van der Poll

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1061; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021061 - 6 Jan 2023

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6298

Abstract

Environmental management accounting (EMA) implementation challenges within supply chain management systems (SCMSs) and environmental awareness in emerging economies should be addressed for sustainable development. Therefore, this study explores EMA implementation challenges in the supply chain in manufacturing to propose a framework to guide [...] Read more.

Environmental management accounting (EMA) implementation challenges within supply chain management systems (SCMSs) and environmental awareness in emerging economies should be addressed for sustainable development. Therefore, this study explores EMA implementation challenges in the supply chain in manufacturing to propose a framework to guide manufacturing companies to achieve a cleaner production chain. After conducting an extensive literature review on literature related to EMA in developing countries, challenges characterising EMA implementation have been identified. These include incoherent government policies and regulations; unavailability of resources; technological incapability; inadequate training and expertise; allocation of environmental costs; and environmental reporting. Hence, it is suggested that manufacturing companies must understand the financial and environmental benefits of achieving cleaner production through implementing EMA. Managers can make more environmentally friendly decisions based on their supply chain using the developed framework. Regulators may need key regulatory framework reforms and policies to monitor and assess environmental compliance throughout the supply chain. Longitudinal and quantitative data from manufacturing companies in developing countries are suggested to validate the existence of EMA implementation challenges. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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22 pages, 842 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mathematical Model for the Generalized VRP Model

by Anita Agárdi, László Kovács and Tamás Bányai

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11639; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811639 - 16 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3041

Abstract

The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is a highly investigated logistics problem. VRP can model in-plant and out-plant material handling or a whole supply chain. The first Vehicle Routing Problem article was published in 1959 by Dantzig and Ramser, and many varieties of VRP [...] Read more.

The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is a highly investigated logistics problem. VRP can model in-plant and out-plant material handling or a whole supply chain. The first Vehicle Routing Problem article was published in 1959 by Dantzig and Ramser, and many varieties of VRP have appeared since then. Transport systems are becoming more and more customized these days, so it is necessary to develop a general system that covers many transport tasks. Based on the literature, several components of VRP have appeared, but the development of an integrated system with all components has not yet been completed by the researchers. An integrated system can be useful because it is easy to configure; many transportation tasks can be easily modeled with its help. Our purpose is to present a generalized VRP model and show, in the form of case studies, how many transport tasks the system can model by including (omitting) each component. In this article, a generalized system is introduced, which covers the main VRP types that have appeared over the years. In the introduction, the basic Vehicle Routing Problem is presented, where the most important Vehicle Routing Problem components published so far are also detailed. The paper also gives the mathematical model of the generalization of the Vehicle Routing Problem and some case studies of the model are presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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14 pages, 3303 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synchromodal Transportation Analysis of the One-Belt-One-Road Initiative Based on a Bi-Objective Mathematical Model

by Taiba Zahid, Fouzia Gillani, Usman Ghafoor and Muhammad Raheel Bhutta

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3201; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063201 - 9 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2779

Abstract

Synchromodality is the key to finding sustainable solutions for logistics, especially across larger networks. The era of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought special attention to the disruptions in demand and supply across the world and has accentuated the need for sustainable transportation networks [...] Read more.

Synchromodality is the key to finding sustainable solutions for logistics, especially across larger networks. The era of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought special attention to the disruptions in demand and supply across the world and has accentuated the need for sustainable transportation networks to handle such anomalies in supply chains. The proposed research develops a mathematical model for an intermodal transportation network and investigates the model on one of the largest and most widely discussed supply chain projects of the One-Belt-One-Road (OBOR) initiative. The proposed bi-objective model focuses on time and cost functions with rail, roads, and ships as modes of transportation. A detailed analysis was performed on various mode alternatives and links to evaluate their performance. The study provides an insightful understanding of the network with several suggestions. In contrast to roads and trains, container ships depict a fourfold increase in fuel consumption for an average ship weighing 4500 TEUs with the increase in shipping speed. It was concluded that increasing port capacity and reducing custom clearance time can have a major impact on lead times, and this is directly influenced by a country’s ease of doing business. Moreover, with its several branches, the OBOR initiative can provide a robust supply chain with increased logistical capacity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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21 pages, 3113 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design of Supply Chain Transportation Pooling Strategy for Reducing CO₂ Emissions Using a Simulation-Based Methodology: A Case Study

by Abdessalem Jerbi, Haifa Jribi, Awad M. Aljuaid, Wafik Hachicha and Faouzi Masmoudi

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2331; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042331 - 18 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3024

Abstract

One of the main concepts for improving the sustainability of supply chains is the collaboration between stakeholders by increasing the efficiency of their shared resources. In the literature, there are many research papers related to vertical collaboration in the logistics industry. However, horizontal [...] Read more.

One of the main concepts for improving the sustainability of supply chains is the collaboration between stakeholders by increasing the efficiency of their shared resources. In the literature, there are many research papers related to vertical collaboration in the logistics industry. However, horizontal collaboration has not received the same degree of attention. In fact, horizontal collaboration such as shared freight carrier and freight consolidation can also be considered vital for low-carbon supply chain solutions. In this paper, the problem of the design of supply chain transportation pooling strategies (SCTPS) is studied, which considers both vertical and horizontal collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of these SCTPSs to reduce CO₂ emissions using discrete-event simulation (DES)-based methodology. Using a numerical case study of two manufacturing companies and three customers, five SCTPS are studied including the following: (1) non-pooling strategy; (2) multi-pick strategy; (3) multi-drop strategy; (4) central hub strategy; and (5) combined hub and multi-drop strategy. The main result of the study is that all SCTPSs significantly reduce the CO₂ emissions compared to the non-pooled supply chain. In fact, the reduction in CO₂ emissions can reach 13% compared to the non-pooled strategy. Moreover, the best SCTPS that gives the minimum of CO₂ is the hub strategy, followed by the multi-pick strategy and the multi-drop strategy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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23 pages, 1088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Green Supply Chain Management Efforts of First-Tier Suppliers on Economic and Business Performances in the Electronics Industry

by So Ra Park, Sung Tae Kim and Hong-Hee Lee

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1836; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031836 - 5 Feb 2022

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5855

Abstract

Green supply chain management (GSCM) has a necessary goal of performing a firm’s social and environmental responsibilities, and SMEs employ GSCM practices with constrained resources. SMEs need to determine which areas they need to concentrate their limited resources to result in positively noticeable [...] Read more.

Green supply chain management (GSCM) has a necessary goal of performing a firm’s social and environmental responsibilities, and SMEs employ GSCM practices with constrained resources. SMEs need to determine which areas they need to concentrate their limited resources to result in positively noticeable economic outcomes. This study aims to identify what GSCM practices would influence economic and business profitability for first-tier suppliers in the electronics industry. Specifically, this examines whether internal environmental management (IEM), green purchasing (GP), cooperation with customers (CC), and eco-design (ECO) have a role in enhancing an organization’s economic performance (ECP) and business performance (BP). Survey data from 193 South Korean electronics firms were collected to test the proposed model. The survey responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of the present study showed that IEM, CC, and ECO of the responding SMEs had direct positive influences on ECP. Moreover, economic performance has a statistically significant influence on BP. However, GP did not show a significant relationship with ECP. This study investigated first-tier suppliers within the electronics industry and identified what GSCM practices would be important in improving the performances of SME manufacturing companies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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22 pages, 2302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparative Time-Series Investigation of China and U.S. Manufacturing Industries’ Global Supply-Chain-Linked Economic, Mid and End-Point Environmental Impacts

by Mustafa Saber, Gökhan Eğilmez, Ridvan Gedik and Yong Shin Park

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5819; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115819 - 21 May 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2600

Abstract

Manufacturing activities of China and the U.S. account for a substantial portion of the global manufacturing output and environmental sustainability impacts. The two countries’ economies account for one third of the global economic output. Their supply chains are critically linked with and serve [...] Read more.

Manufacturing activities of China and the U.S. account for a substantial portion of the global manufacturing output and environmental sustainability impacts. The two countries’ economies account for one third of the global economic output. Their supply chains are critically linked with and serve most of the production and service industries across the globe. Recent global trends in manufacturing necessitate a study that comparatively analyzes the two countries’ manufacturing industries from an economic and environmental perspective. In this paper, U.S. and China manufacturing industries were investigated to analyze the economic and mid and endpoint environmental impacts over a 20-year study period. The literature is abundant with single period and single country focused works, and this study contributes to the state-of-art by extending the temporal dimension to 20 years and spatial focus to the global economy (40 countries and rest of the world). In terms of the methodology, Multi-region input-output (MRIO) models were built using the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) as the primary database, global input-output tables, environmental impact and economic output multipliers, and manufacturing industries’ final demand. Twenty MRIO models, each comprised of 40 major economies and the rest of the world (ROW), were built to cover the global trade linkages, which yielded the global supply chain linked cradle-to-gate life cycle inventory (LCI) of economic outputs and environmental impacts. The environmental LCI was extended to midpoint (Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)) and endpoint (human health and ecosystem) impact dimensions by ReCipe framework. Lastly, the relative impact of a unit change in Leontief inverse, final demand and Green House Gas (GHG) emission multipliers on the total economic output and environmental impacts were explored with structural decomposition analysis (SDA). Results indicated that both countries’ manufacturing industries experienced positive economic output growth, in which China was more dominant in recent years. Both countries’ manufacturing industries’ midpoint and endpoint impacts were found to be steeply rising despite the negative growth observed in emissions intensities. The amount of GHG emissions and related midpoint (global warming and ozone depletion) and endpoint (damage to ecosystems and human life) impacts seemed to be quickly worsening in China compared to the USA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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24 pages, 3018 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Deploying Resilience Enablers to Mitigate Risks in Sustainable Fashion Supply Chains

by Chih-Hung Hsu, An-Yuan Chang, Ting-Yi Zhang, Wei-Da Lin and Wan-Ling Liu

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2943; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052943 - 8 Mar 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5527

Abstract

The complex structure of supply chains makes them vulnerable to risk, so enhancing their resilience is an important goal. In particular, fashion supply chain research has identified two important issues that need to be addressed: sustainability and risk. However, investigation of these issues [...] Read more.

The complex structure of supply chains makes them vulnerable to risk, so enhancing their resilience is an important goal. In particular, fashion supply chain research has identified two important issues that need to be addressed: sustainability and risk. However, investigation of these issues is relatively sparse and has primarily been independent with little combinatory research. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a risk mitigation method that can maximize the resilience of sustainable supply chains for fashion companies. The objective of this study is to develop an integrated quality function deployment approach and to mitigate supply chain risk by deploying resilience capabilities and resilience-enhancing features, thus ultimately providing the fashion industry with a useful approach for the development of resilient, sustainable supply chains. Using a fashion company as an example, the practicability of the proposed approach is verified. To strengthen resilience and thus mitigate key risks, it is found that the most urgent tasks are to reallocate the company’s resources, to carry out the real-time monitoring of risk on the spot, to share the risk responsibility, and to establish an incentive system. When these features are strengthened, agility and adaptability can be improved, and finally, the risks of supplier delays, natural disasters, political instability, and problematic supplier materials with the greatest impact can be alleviated. This study provides a new strategy for the fashion industry for the implementation of resilient, sustainable supply chains to mitigate risks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain: Operations Management and Technical Research)

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