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The right supply chain (SC) strategy is widely believed to be able to improve supply chain management (SCM) performance. Ignoring the important concept of alignment means that failures in SCM resulting from a mismatch between two or more crucial factors remain common. Accordingly, Lee proposed an environmental uncertainty framework to devise the right SC strategy. However, the proposed framework has thus far remained conceptual. Therefore, this study seeks to empirically investigate Lee's uncertainty framework and examine how alignment between SC strategy and environmental uncertainty impacts perceived SCM performance.

A survey was designed and used to collect 243 usable responses from manufacturers. A profile deviation approach was applied to compute the alignment between SC strategy and environmental uncertainty.

The results of the study verify that the alignment between SC strategy and environmental uncertainty is positively associated with SCM performance.

The data were collected from a cross‐sectional survey and represented a snapshot of practice. Replication from a longitudinal perspective would better reflect long‐term impacts of alignment on SCM performance.

Different SC strategies are appropriate for distinct environmental uncertainties. It is not enough to simply form an SC strategy for improving SCM performance without considering the alignment between SC strategies and environmental uncertainties.

The study empirically examines Lee's uncertainty framework, which has received considerable attention in relation to SCM, but has not previously been clearly verified. The study also develops the a priori theoretical profiles for SC strategies by using an integrated perspective that incorporates both manufacturing and information system capabilities.

Decoupling of pressures ranging from regulatory compliance and stakeholders expectations to business competitiveness and sustainability, companies need to align their environmental strategies with a broader consideration of these influences. This paper aims at developing a dynamic alignment model to enhance the environmental performance that considers the influential pressures based on a multi-criteria decision-making process.

Authors have proposed a dynamic model for the alignment of the environmental performance based on a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach combining the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). This model considers contemporary strategic dynamism of the environmental performance and provides a methodology to assist companies prioritizing the environmental aspects based on the influential pressures and deciding on the enhancement pathways.

The proposed model based on a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making process allows prioritizing the environmental aspects considering the allocated weights to the alignment-triggered pressures and draw the way to develop different pathways to improve the alignment.

The proposed dynamic alignment model presents an instrument for the continuous alignment of the environmental performance and an effective management of changes and contributes to minimize gaps and divergences.

In this paper, the environmental performance has been approached through the contemporary strategic dynamism with the deployment of the multi-criteria decision-making techniques to yield an alignment framework for the environmental decision that combines the internal and external approaches for an effective and sustainable improvement of the environmental performance.

Firms need to develop absorptive capacities to effectively source and exploit knowledge relevant to environmental behaviour for their own innovation activity. Business-to-business interactions can represent a significant route through which knowledge and resources about environmental innovations are transferred along the supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to explore how firms exploit business partnerships in order to build capacity for environmental innovation. In order to do so, it investigates two elements of B2B interactions – partner alignment and compatibility – and their influence on absorptive capacity-building.

This paper is based on a qualitative interview study of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) operating in the environmental goods and services sector and their clients involved in adopting environmental innovations. Matched pairs of engineering consulting firms and their clients – tourism accommodation establishments – were selected as a sampling frame in order to study the influence of partner alignment and compatibility on the exchange of environmentally relevant knowledge and competencies.

The findings show that the synergistic attributes of business partners influence absorptive capacity-building and give rise to different patterns of interaction of KIBS with their client. The B2B interactions investigated are characterised by alignment along multiple objectives about the relevance of environmental behaviour. Furthermore, the compatibility of the partners’ competences is a key determinant of environmental innovation outcome.

The study highlights the role of managers in identifying and selecting those business partnerships that accrue greater potential benefit for accessing resources and competencies for eco-innovation.

The study contributes to the literature on absorptive capacity and innovation by demonstrating how B2B interactions – in this study, the interaction of KIBS with their clients – influence the capacity of firms to adopt environmental innovations which is an area of study that deserves further attention.

This study aims to test a model in which the effect of strategic information technology (IT)-business alignment on organizational agility is examined by the moderating influence of environmental uncertainty.

This research utilizes a matched-pair survey data collected from 300 IT and business executives working in various privately owned Indian financial enterprises, and structural equation modeling is used to examine the alignment–agility linkage.

The analysis demonstrates the positive effect of alignment on agility (studied as business process and market responsive agilities), and alignment is more effective on business process agility than market responsive agility. However, the moderation analysis reveals that in a highly uncertain environment, alignment has more effect on market responsive agility but not on business process agility.

Although previous studies (mostly conducted in the context of developed countries) have reported about the positive IT-business alignment and organizational agility linkage, the literature is silent regarding the influence of external contingent factors on this relationship from a developing country perspective. The authors have conceptualized alignment on the basis of strategic alignment maturity model and meticulously examined its relationship with both categories of agility. This research extends the alignment-agility theory and provides empirical support for this unique association from a developing country (i.e. India) perspective, and thereby, greatly contributes to the alignment literature.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the alignment of assessment processes in libraries and develop a conceptual model of aligning library performance assessment for effective reporting of library value and performance to stakeholders.

The paper reviews of library performance assessment literature and current practice research to identify the need and value of aligned performance assessment processes for libraries, the primary contributing alignment factors affecting the library assessment process, and potential benefits of improved alignment of the assessment process for libraries.

Libraries can improve the reporting and value of their assessment processes by improving the alignment of their assessment processes in two ways: internally through the use of consistent and innovative processes, metrics, and culture within the library and externally by embracing the alignment factors of the library's service environment. The library must develop more effective assessment alignment processes by progressively elevating the alignment of the library's assessment processes from internal non‐alignment of assessment to the total alignment of assessment to the library’ service environment and the dynamic environmental factors driving today's libraries.

Increasing the alignment of a library's assessment processes can improve the efficiency of assessment processes, the effectiveness of the results of the assessment processes, and the library stakeholder's appreciation and understanding of the results of the assessment processes.

Provides a conceptual model applicable to all types of libraries to increase the alignment of assessment and the library's ability to report value and impact.

This paper aims to investigate the current value chain activities grounded on Porter’s value chain theory and to examine the drivers of strategic environmentalism that influence sustainable value chain adoption. This study further constructs a prescriptive model to reveal the extent to which information communication technology (ICT)-based industries are adopting sustainable value chain practices.

Data were collected using questionnaire from selected ISO 14000/14001-certified ICT-based firms in Malaysia and analyzed using partial least square-structural equation modeling.

Results reveal that the primary activities positively influence sustainable value chain. Moreover, results indicate that support activities significantly influence sustainable value chain adoption in ICT-based firms. Results further show that strategic environmentalism drivers have an impact on sustainable value chain adoption.

Data were collected from ICT-based industries in Malaysia only. Additionally, this research extends the body of knowledge and offers theoretical implications for ICT-based industries in Malaysia and other emerging economies in adopting sustainable value chain activities.

Practically, this study assists ICT-based industries to change their current paradigm from the traditional operations to a more holistic approach toward supporting practitioners to simultaneously achieve social responsibility, environmental and economic growth.

This study offers social implications for ICT-based industries to implement cleaner operations by decreasing CO₂ emission, lessening energy usage, diminishing cost incurred and minimizing usage of natural resources, thereby increasing product recovery and recycle-ability of IT hardware.

This study is one of the first to address the issue related to sustainable value chain in ICT-based industry by providing a roadmap on how practitioners can implement sustainable initiatives or more significantly, how to infuse these initiatives in their current chain, while concurrently enhancing competitiveness. Furthermore, this paper examines the current activities implemented by practitioners toward sustainable value chain adoption and explores the correlation of the drivers of strategic environmentalism with regard to sustainable value chain.

Lean manufacturing has been demonstrated to increase operations and economic performance, but its alignment with environmental and social sustainability is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to understand how cross-functional executive involvement and worker involvement, in the formulation and implementation of the operations strategy, support the strategic alignment of lean manufacturing and sustainability.

An inductive case study methodology was employed. Such theoretical elaboration is appropriate when extending existing theory (i.e. operations strategy theory and sustainability development theory). Evidence was drawn from ten cross-industry case studies. Within and cross-case analyses were performed.

The results demonstrate that cross-functional executive involvement and worker involvement positively affect the strategic alignment of the lean manufacturing statement and bundles (just-in-time, total quality management, total preventive maintenance, and human resources management) with environmental and social goals and practices. Specifically, the study reveals the impact of cross-functional executive involvement on the formulation of lean manufacturing aligned with environmental and social sustainability. Worker involvement positively affects the actual implementation of lean manufacturing aligned with environmental and social sustainability.

This research provides guidance to practitioners regarding how different organizational models lead to different levels of lean manufacturing and sustainability strategic alignment and performance.

This research contributes to the operations strategy literature and the sustainability development literature, providing evidence regarding the mechanisms supporting the strategic alignment of lean manufacturing and social and environmental sustainability.

This study aims to test a model in which the effect of strategic information technology (IT)-business alignment capability (hereafter referred to as “strategic alignment”) on organizational performance is examined via the mediating role of organizational agility [studied as operational adjustment agility (OAA) and market capitalizing agility (MCA)] along with the moderating influence of environmental uncertainty.

The research uses survey data accumulated from 220 managers (IT and bank managers) working in the regional rural banks of Odisha, India. A structural equation modelling approach is used to investigate the strategic alignment-performance relationship.

The findings demonstrate the positive effect of strategic alignment on agility (studied as OAA and MCA). This paper finds the positive effects of strategic alignment and both OAA and MCA on organizational performance. The moderation analysis reveals that in an uncertain environment, strategic alignment has more impact on MCA than OAA. However, the test of mediation exhibits OAA as a more significant mediator promoting the strategic alignment-performance linkage, than MCA. This was further validated from the moderated-mediation analysis.

Although previous research studies (mostly conducted in the context of developed countries) have reported about the positive strategic alignment-agility-performance linkages, yet the literature is silent regarding the influence of external contingent factors on these relationships from a rural banking perspective in a developing country setting (such as India). The research extends the strategic alignment-agility-performance theories and provides empirical support for these unique associations in the context of rural banking in India and thereby, greatly contributes to the existing strategic alignment literature.

Empirical evidences support the benefits of environmental innovation to improve performance. However, previous research has not considered the role of resource alignment in green supply chain management. To fill the research gap, this paper aims to identify resource alignment as a potential moderating mechanism and to examine the relationships between environmental innovation strategy, resource alignment and green innovation performance.

The empirical study uses a questionnaire approach designed to collect data. Regression analysis is used for hypotheses testing.

The findings indicate that environmental innovation strategy and resource alignment between partners are positively related to green innovation performance. This study also provides considerable support to the key contingent moderator of resource alignment. The positive effect of environmental innovation strategy on green innovation performance is stronger under the conditions of a higher level of resource alignment between partners.

This study provides empirical support of the ecological modernization theory and integrates partner analysis literature and green management literature. Higher resource alignment may facilitate firms to develop environmental innovation strategy to attain green innovation performance.

Environmental innovation strategy enables firms to integrate ecological issues into their business operation. Managers could learn how to execute environmental incentive programs to promote sustainable development of green new product and green process. Managers need to pay attention to resource alignment that may have moderating influence on the performance outcomes of environmental innovation strategy.

This study highlights the importance of environmental innovation strategy and resource alignment in the process of green management and helps scholars and managers to better understand the moderator of resource alignment in quest of environmental innovation and green management.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and develop a strategic performance model for small and medium enterprises linking with inter-firm networks, strategic alignment and environmental dynamism.

Drawing on the live experiences of 757 respondents, including managing directors/owners and CEOs of different SMEs, the authors proposed a theoretical model representing how firms could attain strategic performance through inter-firm networks with a mediating role of strategic alignment.

The current study demonstrated that SMEs with strong inter-firm networks have the ability to align business activities with strategies and get earlier strategic performance. Strategic performance looks skeptical to ever gain acceptance until strategic alignment is adopted by small and medium enterprises. The findings of this study indicated that environmental dynamism strengthens the relationship between strategic alignment and strategic performance.

This research extended the understanding about the inter-firm networks, strategic alignment and environmental dynamism surrounding strategic performance. This study identified and empirically tested how the inter-firm networks impact on strategic performance through the mediating effect of strategic alignment.