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The key purpose of the current study is investigating the direct impact of information technology (IT) assimilations, flexible IT infrastructure, and supply chain competencies (supply side, demand side) on the supply chain performance of manufacturing firms. Meanwhile, the study has also estimated the mediating role of supply chain agility (SCA). Among 360 selected respondents for the underlying research, only 267 respondents have responded well and returned them back, thereby indicating 74% response rate for the survey. For the inferential analysis, the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling was performed in Smart PLS 3.0. In context to this study, process compliance is the adherence and the execution of supply chain processes, including the processes related to distribution and production of management processes. On the basis of this theoretical background, the demand and supply-side competence are considered as the firms’ internal aspects. As a dynamic capability, the SCA enables firms to influence and respond to the firm’s external environment. Thus, the presence of such competencies allows to react against market developments. The resource-based view theory supports this argument, and states that competencies is an effective resource for developing dynamic capabilities.

This chapter explores some examples of good and not-so-good practices implemented worldwide, especially in Southern Europe, in Creative Tourism activities developed by entrepreneurs. The case studies used in the present chapter are located either in urban territories, small cities or rural areas. The global market introduces some difficulties in achieving good practices, highlighting the need to improve solid partnerships. The support from private and public sectors to institutions and enterprises developing creative tourism activities is analysed. Administrative and economic difficulties are also considered, and some proposals for the future survival of institutions and enterprises. In a global market, the definition of clusters is playing an increasing role in the survival of local and regional economies. In the tourism market, where seasonality is also a significant problem with difficult resolution, creating clusters can also be a great tool to contradict this. However, the success of implementing clusters in the tourism market depends on strong leadership and in-depth monitoring of results planned to be achieved. The present chapter considers clustering in Creative Tourism and the difficulties of implementing it in South Europe. Cultural and organisational issues are highlighted, as well as the need to construct thematic clusters that feature the needs of tourists.

The implementation of circular economy (CE) initiatives has come under the spotlight in recent years with research ranging from business strategy and practices, supply chain implications, and regional or national policy developments. This highlights the multilevel nature of research and importantly the different scales of action required to move toward the CE. This chapter specifically addresses this issue of levels and scales by presenting and analyzing three complementary cases in the agri-food sector. Lessons learnt from this analysis include the need to consider value and impact across multiple levels and how companies and their supply chains can contribute to the scale of action needed.

The opinion that the spiritual controls the physical gave rise to this chapter. The spiritual in this chapter was regarded as the philosophical and organisational theories controlling the practical aspect of construction supply chain management (CSCM). It was discovered that there is a significant omission in adopting theories to explain supply chain management's (SCM) adaptation and modelling in the construction industry. Therefore, this chapter reviews theories such as resource-based view theory (RBV), principal agency theory (PAT), resource dependency theory (RDT), transaction cost economics theory (TCE) and game theory. Each of the theories was analysed to uncover how they support the practice and variables for modelling the construction supply chain (CSC). The existing models of the CSC were also examined in this chapter. It was found that most models were developed drawing on the frameworks of the global supply chain forum (GSCF) and supply chain operations reference model (SCOR). Owing to the shortcoming of GSCF, this book adopted the framework and principles of SCOR for modelling the management of CSC in the era of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Also, most of the existing CSC models, such as the seamless CSCM model, maturity model and others, were developed using the SCOR framework.

Sharing services increasingly extends beyond intraorganizational concentration of service delivery. Organizations have started to promote cooperation across their boundaries to deal with strategic tensions in their value ecosystem, moving beyond traditional outsourcing. This chapter addresses two research questions geared to the challenge of interorganizational shared services (ISS): why would organizations want to get and remain involved in ISS? And: what are the implications of ISS for (inter)organizational value creation?

The conceptual chapter reviews literature pertaining to ISS from public, commercial, and nongovernmental sectors. ISS is understood as a multistakeholder organizational innovation. In order to analyze ISS and conduct empirical research, we developed a taxonomy and research framework.

The chapter shows how ISS can be positioned in value chains, distinguishing vertical, horizontal, and hybrid ISS. It outlines ISS implications for developing business models, structures, and relationships. Success factors and barriers are presented that epitomize the dynamic interplay of organizational autonomy and interorganizational dependence.

The research framework offers conceptual ideas for theoretical and empirical work. Researchers involved in ISS studies may adopt strategic, strategic innovation, and organizational innovation perspectives.

ISS phases are distinguished to focus innovation management — initiation, enactment, and evaluation. Furthermore, insights are provided into processes and interventions aimed at making ISS a success for participating organizations.

Cross-sectoral perspective on ISS; taxonomy of ISS; research framework built on organization and strategic management literature.

Among world’s economies, the circular economy (CE) has become popular especially in the European Union and China, which opens several opportunities for sustainability leaders to gain a first-mover advantage and, consequently, to pursue organizational sustainability and growth. In spite of public policy support, since CE often requires entrepreneurial innovation among complex networks of companies, most companies are still learning how to manage knowledge dynamics at the inter-organization level. The chapter starts by defining the key characteristics of CE and identifying the peculiarities in terms of inter-firm cooperative and competitive relations, which help in delineating contributions from the green supply chain literature. The second section shows – through the discussion of term maps – how multiple- and inter-disciplinary streams of research are increasingly linked by hard (i.e., information communication technologies based) and soft (i.e., relational and organizational) aspects of knowledge management. The third section provides a discussion on key hard and soft factors that characterize four knowledge dynamics, i.e., knowledge creation, knowledge storage, knowledge transfer, and knowledge sharing that can improve the adoption and integration of circular processes within inter-organizational coopetitive strategies. Particular attention is here given to the cross-analysis of outcomes from theoretical papers, case studies, and quantitative empirical researches that contribute to shaping relations between internal and external factors that might play as predictors of a successful implementation of CE principles. Finally, the last section concludes with recommendations for improving organizational and managerial capabilities to manage inter-firm knowledge dynamics while pursuing CE objectives in international business environments. Beside this guidance for practitioners, directions for further research are suggested for each pillar of the emerging conceptual model.

A circular economy perspective embraces a systemic, cradle-to-cradle notion that everything is designed to be reused as long as possible and then recaptured and repurposed when reuse is no longer possible. Designing for a circular economy ecosystem requires a holistic, integrative viewpoint, spanning all aspects of design and development and considering many supply chain actors, far beyond that of traditional supply chains. This edited book adopts a biomimetic lens, highlighting the need for cross-industry flows and need for different actors (beyond producers and consumers) in circular value cycles. Enablers such as incentives and/or legislation are also discussed. While biomimicry provides the structure for organizing this book, individual chapters build on other theoretical lenses and concepts, such as stakeholder theory, etc. The intent is to move beyond a dyadic (buyer–supplier) view, embracing a holistic network or ecosystem view, to consider a cross-industry system perspective, where there is a diversity of actors (covering four actor groups: producers, consumers, scavengers, and decomposers) needed for a working ecosystem. This edited book offers a comprehensive overview of system components and actors, including how the circular economy adds value, the role of producers and consumers, the spectrum of recovery possibilities to return products back to the consumption supply chain, and the essential role of information management.

A crucial aspect of supply chain management (SCM) is the formulation of lean supply chain management (LSCM). In this sense, the key practices are extended towards the LSCM settings as alternative strategies and several frameworks were developed to help companies to make choices based on production disruption. Studies in this field have focussed mainly on SCM. Although manufacturing businesses recognise the necessity of effective SCM, but little study has been done on manufacturing LSCM. The behaviour and the potential for significant impacts on sustainable performance (SP) in manufacturing companies can vary with time and variations for approaches of the LSCM key practices. This chapter, therefore, focusses on main practices for LSCM on the basis of evaluations of experts in the Malaysian manufacturing sector in order to achieve SP in manufacturing companies. The aim of this chapter is to identify the key practices in LSCM on SP. Hence, this chapter reviewed 172 articles published from 2015 to 2019, used the methodology for SLR with three main steps: literature review planning, reviewing, and reporting. As a result, there are evidence that the key practices for LSCM used in previous studies are (1) customer relationship management, (2) supplier relationship management, (3) just in time manufacturing, (4) waste reduction, (5) cost reduction, and (6) minimise inventory level. In manufacturing industries, LSCM is more complex. Insights on the causing issues and SP are provided. Finally, this chapter contributes to SCM and literature on sustainability and has managerial implications for companies to improve SP more effectively.

In recent years, both academics and institutions have acknowledged the crucial role multinational enterprises (MNEs) can play in addressing the sustainability challenges, as formalized by the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Nevertheless, because of their extensiveness and their design as country-level targets, SDGs have proven challenging to operationalize at a firm level. This problem opens new and relevant avenues for research in international business (IB). This chapter attempts to frame the topic of extended value chain sustainability in the IB literature. In particular, it addresses a specific topic, that is, how sustainability and resilience-building practices interact in global value chains (GVCs). To do so, the present study develops the case of STMicroelectronics (ST), one of the biggest semiconductor companies worldwide.

This chapter compares and discusses the 10 sustainability-oriented food supply chain innovations described in the previous chapters. Our purpose is to address and reflect on the questions and challenges introduced in the first chapter.

The cases are first analyzed in terms of the extent to which the innovations were motivated and impacted the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability. The various sustainable food supply chain practices adopted are compared. The third section explores the innovation strategies used in the cases, including the type of strategy, the breadth and level of innovativeness of the strategy, the governance approach, and the extent of capability development required. The final section presents our conclusions.

The results suggest that to become truly sustainable, companies need to adopt a broad set of practices that address all three dimensions of sustainability, and develop strategies to make the sustainability-oriented innovation economically viable. The more radical and systemic the innovation, the more difficult it is to generate these outcomes.