TY - JOUR
T1 - Sustainable development in supply chain management
T2 - the role of organizational learning for policy implementation
AU - Oelze, Nelly
AU - Hoejmose, Stefan Ulstrup
AU - Habisch, Andre
AU - Millington, Andrew
PY - 2016/5/1
Y1 - 2016/5/1
N2 - Implementing sustainable policies in supply chains is a significant challenge for businesses. Recent evidence has shown that failure to manage supply chains responsibly can have significant impacts on firms' reputation and financial performance. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework, which focuses on organizational learning, and outline specific channels through which firms can generate learning processes and build appropriate capabilities to successfully implement social and environmental supply chain policies. Drawing on 57 in-depth interviews from a cross-sectional sample of seven UK and nine German companies, we empirically assess our conceptual framework in accordance with a grounded, in-depth case study analysis approach. We find compelling evidence to suggest that organizational learning is an important factor for a successful implementation of sustainable supply chain management. Organizational learning is often established as a result of training, knowledge acquisition, stakeholder engagement and collaboration between intra-organizational and inter-organizational partners, including suppliers and NGOs. Nonetheless, our results also emphasize that firms often have few systematic processes through which organizational learning is developed, and that such learning processes are often ad hoc at best, which in turn has significant implications for the responsible supply chain practices.
AB - Implementing sustainable policies in supply chains is a significant challenge for businesses. Recent evidence has shown that failure to manage supply chains responsibly can have significant impacts on firms' reputation and financial performance. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework, which focuses on organizational learning, and outline specific channels through which firms can generate learning processes and build appropriate capabilities to successfully implement social and environmental supply chain policies. Drawing on 57 in-depth interviews from a cross-sectional sample of seven UK and nine German companies, we empirically assess our conceptual framework in accordance with a grounded, in-depth case study analysis approach. We find compelling evidence to suggest that organizational learning is an important factor for a successful implementation of sustainable supply chain management. Organizational learning is often established as a result of training, knowledge acquisition, stakeholder engagement and collaboration between intra-organizational and inter-organizational partners, including suppliers and NGOs. Nonetheless, our results also emphasize that firms often have few systematic processes through which organizational learning is developed, and that such learning processes are often ad hoc at best, which in turn has significant implications for the responsible supply chain practices.
KW - Organizational learning
KW - Responsible supply chain management
KW - Sustainable development
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84969533994&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bse.1869
U2 - 10.1002/bse.1869
DO - 10.1002/bse.1869
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84969533994
SN - 0964-4733
VL - 25
SP - 241
EP - 260
JO - Business Strategy and the Environment
JF - Business Strategy and the Environment
IS - 4
ER -