An agile new product development-based sustainable supply chain framework to improve environmental quality performance: emerging economies perspective

Abstract

Purpose

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is a new subfield of supply chain management. The purpose of this research is to develop a framework for assessing the impact of agile new product development (ANPD) practices on the environmental SSCM performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The ANPD practices and SSCM environmental performance metrics (SEPMs) are identified through the literature review. The shortlisted ANPD practices are categorized into five major criteria each with an own set of sub-criteria. A four-level conceptual framework is developed. The weights of these ANPD practices are computed using the Pythagorean fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (PFAHP), and the SEPMs are ranked using the Pythagorean fuzzy Combined Compromise Solution (PFCoCoSo).

Findings

The results show that the major criterion “Innovation Aspects” is the most important with a weightage of 0.2368, followed by “Policy Aspects” having 0.2228, “Technology Aspects” with 0.1959, “Organisation Aspects” having 0.1786 and “Executive Aspects” with 0.1658 weightage. The SEPMs “Frequency of NPD” is ranked first with an assessment value (Ki) of 2.5569, followed by “Lead time reduction” and “Number of design iterations” with Ki of 2.4482 and 2.3897, respectively. The research findings show that the ANPD practices like customer need assessment, availability of multidisciplinary team and Industry 4.0 technology usage contribute more to achieving environmental SSCM.

Practical implications

Managers can enhance environmental SSCM performance by adopting the ANPD practices and prioritizing SEPMs. Corporate effectiveness will be increased by the practices that promote SSCM and the use of technological innovations.

Originality/value

This study identified a unique set of 22 performance metrics that quantitatively measure NPD performance as well as environmental SSCM performance by adopting the 31 ANPD practices that were shortlisted. The proposed framework is a novel synthesis of literature from various disciplines such as new product development (NPD), environmental management, SSCM and performance evaluation.

Citation

Palsodkar, M., Yadav, G. and Nagare, M. (2023), "An agile new product development-based sustainable supply chain framework to improve environmental quality performance: emerging economies perspective", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 565-588. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-04-2022-0119