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Firms are increasingly required to make ethical choices when selecting suppliers for their supply chains, and the decisions often rest on individual purchasing managers within the firm. This study builds on the literature on ethical decision-making and the concept of decision frames to investigate the decision-making process of purchasing managers in financially distressed firms. Codes of Conduct (CoC) and how they are enforced (financial rewards and codified procedures for oversight) are studied in terms of their effectiveness in informing and guiding purchasing managers in their supplier selection decisions.

Four sequential experiments were conducted with a total of 648 purchasing managers from manufacturing firms.

The results indicate that purchasing managers in firms facing financial distress are more than four times more likely than purchasing managers in the control groups to select the less ethical supplier in favor of better operational performance. As a potential remedy, it is found that enforcing the firm's CoC help to counteract this tendency and increase ethical supplier selection decisions by 2.1- to 2.6-fold. However, CoC enforcement that invokes multiple conflicting decision frames simultaneously is more likely to impair than promote ethical supplier selection decisions, compared to situations where only one enforcement method is present.

These findings develop an improved understanding of purchasers' decision-making processes and shed light on how to effectively use CoCs to guide these decisions.

People donate to charities with the aim of improving society. Yet, many charities fail to use donations efficiently or have ineffective interventions. The authors explore the strategic operational priorities and processes that enable charities to efficiently implement their interventions and have a positive impact on society.

The authors first review the literature on charities to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of knowledge on charity operations. The authors then employ the lens of paradox theory and perform a qualitative investigation of six case studies to explore various aspects of the operations of charities that are known for being cost-effective.

The authors reveal how the strategic operational decisions of charities, as well as the processes they implement, help them resolve the tensions arising from the cost-effectiveness paradox. The authors show that cost-effective charities make strategic operational decisions that help maintain two diverging priorities: prioritizing the status quo and prioritizing change in how they deliver value. Another set of strategic decisions helps balance these two diverging priorities. The authors then show how these charities create and then maintain cost-effective operations.

The authors address recent calls for research on non-profit organizations in the field of operations management. To authors’ knowledge, it is the first in-depth study of exemplary charity operations. The results can be used by charity executives as a benchmarking tool when they develop and implement their charitable interventions and by government agencies and potential donors when they select charities for their donations. Finally, the results should have implications for other organizations trying to have a positive societal impact.

Sustainability has become a priority for companies due to pressure from multiple stakeholders. In an overly competitive market, shareholders push for economic results, allowing lean manufacturing to establish itself as dominant paradigm in manufacturing. However, concerns grow regarding how lean implementation can allow companies to achieve sustainable development goals, or, if the resources required for a successful lean implementation can result in a detriment of environmental and social performance. This paper intends to help close the knowledge gap regarding the effects of lean manufacturing on sustainable performance from a triple bottom line perspective, and how operational, environmental and social outcomes interact between themselves.

Two models for the interaction between lean and sustainability were proposed. The first is called the “sand-cone” model, which poses that performance improvements derived from lean are cumulative on each one of the sustainability dimensions. The second is called the “trade-offs” approach. In this case, the resources required to improve one dimension of sustainability clash with those required by the others. Data were gathered from a sample of 133 Colombian metalworking companies and processed using structural equations models.

The results support the cumulative “sand-cone”, which follows a sequence of operational-environmental-social improvement in the presence of lean. For the “trade-offs” model, partial evidence suggests that they can occur in detriment of social performance.

The “sand-cone” and “trade-offs” are empirically tested for the first time in the context of sustainability, providing further knowledge into its interaction with lean manufacturing. The models’ results contribute to practitioners by providing a tested path for companies to improve their performance in a cumulative sequence that will provide better long-term results.

This study aims to empirically assess the influence of supply chain capabilities and total quality management on sustainable supply chain performance, factoring in the role of leadership and the moderating impact of institutional pressures.

The researchers designed a self-administered survey, garnering responses from 278 participants. Preliminary analyses addressed nonresponse bias, examining assumptions like homoscedasticity and data normality. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to ensure reliability and construct validity before hypothesis testing. Regression outcomes corroborate all posited assumptions, further strengthening the extant literature.

The research outcomes demonstrate the positive association between supply chain capabilities and TQM and sustainable supply chain performance, particularly under institutional pressure. Data from the cement manufacturing sector further corroborated these findings. This study lends empirical support to the tenets of institutional theory.

The presented model delineates how leadership impacts TQM and supply chain capabilities to amplify sustainable supply chain outcomes. Incorporating institutional pressure as a moderating variable introduces a fresh and enlightening dimension to the discussion.

The advancements in internet technologies and the use of sophisticated digital devices in supply chain operations incessantly generate enormous amounts of data, which is termed as big data (BD). The BD technologies have brought about a paradigm shift in the supply chain decision-making towards profitability and sustainability. The aim of this work is to address the issue of implementation of the big data analytics (BDA) in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) by identifying the relevant factors and developing a structural model for this purpose.

Through a comprehensive literature review and experts’ opinion, the crucial factors are found using the PESTEL framework, which covers political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. The structural model is developed based on the results of the total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) procedure and MICMAC analysis.

The policy support regarding IT, culture of data-based decision-making, inappropriate selection of BDA technologies and the laws related to data security and privacy are found to affect most of the other factors. Also, the company’s vision towards environmental performance and willingness for material and energy optimization are found to be crucial for the environmental and social sustainability of the supply chain.

The study is focused on the manufacturing supply chain in emerging economies. It may be extended to other industry sectors and geographical areas. Also, additional factors may be included to make the model more robust.

The proposed model imparts an understanding of the relative importance and interrelationship of factors. This may be useful to managers to assess their strengths and weaknesses and ascertain their priorities in the context of their organization for developing a suitable investment plan.

The study establishes the importance of BDA for conservation and management of energy and material. This is crucial to develop strategies for enhancing eco-efficiency of the supply chain, which in turn enhances the economic returns for the society.

This study addresses the implementation of BDA in SSCM in the context of emerging economies. It uses the PESTEL framework for identifying the factors, which is a comprehensive framework for strategic planning and decision-making. This study makes use of the TISM methodology for model development and deliberates on the social and environmental implications too, apart from theoretical and managerial implications.

This study investigates paradox-responding strategies and enabling mechanisms in humanitarian temporary supply networks (TSNs). Given the high stakes involved in life-saving supply networks, understanding how diverse, often under-resourced, organisations jointly tackle paradoxical tensions under time pressure is crucial.

A qualitative single case study approach is adopted and a TSN deployed to meet shelter needs following the 2015 Nepal earthquake is selected as the case. The authors use diverse secondary data sources to establish how the TSN responded to paradoxical tensions.

Results show that paradox-responding in humanitarian TSNs is ongoing, dynamic and a collective effort. Most strategies entail tackling the paradoxical tensions at the same time, using the same TSN structure, but there are differences in the treatment of the paradoxical elements. Additionally, the authors find that the execution of the responding strategies is enabled by the appropriate types of network-level mechanisms which can vary in novelty, complexity, depth and reach.

This study provides rich explanations of paradox-responding and develops insights into collective action within TSNs. However, further research is needed to extend and refine insights given the single-case setting design.

This study develops a framework of paradox-responding strategies and a corresponding mix of enabling mechanisms that can guide decision-makers in the humanitarian sector when deploying TSNs.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates paradox-responding strategies in humanitarian TSNs in particular and enabling mechanisms in general.

This study aims to comprehend the role of leagility and resilience in developing sustainable global supply chains, mitigating short-term disruptions and long-term economic impacts from various disasters, in the context of Australian civil infrastructure projects.

The study employs systematic review approach to establish that addressing project success dimensions (i.e. leagility, resilience and sustainability) requires an integrated and extended supply chain approach, encompassing traditional supply chain strategic model elements (i.e. cost/capital, quality and service goals) and supply chain eco-system (i.e. organisations, societies, economies and nature).

The study underscores the need to enhance supply chain leagility and resilience to achieve sustainability. This can be achieved by developing skills needed to plan across project phases and time frames, aligning with short and long-term organisational goals, assuming smart risks in the face of uncertainty.

This study extends the traditional supply chain strategic model by introducing new priorities to minimise the consequences of disruptions and to effectively respond to them. The integration of leanness, agility and resilience ensures a sustainable supply chain even in the times of uncertainty, disruption and volatility.

This research provides an opportunity for practitioners and policymakers to rethink and redesign the conventional supply chain model of cost, capital, quality and service objectives. It introduces pioneering concepts by acknowledging and incorporating emerging priorities, especially in Australian civil infrastructure projects. The study integrates leagility and resilience into the existing strategic framework, adding crucial dimensions for sustainable supply chains in infrastructure companies.

The purpose of this paper is to show the benefits of bridging the gap between supply chain management (SCM) and political philosophy to challenge the underlying assumptions about SCM concepts and open doors to novel theory building.

A thought experiment is conducted to illustrate how the two philosophers Niccolò Machiavelli and Jürgen Habermas would tackle sustainability issues in coffee supply chains from a research perspective. The thought experiment is carried out using data from 30 semi-structured interviews with actors from the coffee industry. Supplementing the thought experiment with empirical insights allows for a deeper understanding of supply chain dynamics and how these are impacted by the application of the philosophical viewpoints.

The research stresses the importance of SCM scholars being aware of the underlying assumptions of their research, as these have a remarkable impact on theory building. A combination of empirical insights and philosophical understandings makes it possible to reflect on the underlying concepts of SCM, providing suggestions for reimagining SCM.

The contribution of the research is twofold. First, the paper presents an original view on SCM, as the thought experiment is introduced as an approach to better understand SCM concepts. By challenging the underlying assumptions with political philosophy, researchers will be better equipped to address grand challenges in the twenty-first century. Second, this is exemplified by the case study of the coffee supply chain, which provides the reader with insight into the dynamics of supply chains with prevalent power differences.

We studied the relationship between job engagement and systematic problem solving (SPS) among shop-floor employees and how lean production (LP) and Internet of Things (IoT) systems moderate this relationship.

We collected data from a sample of 440 shop floor workers in 101 manufacturing work units across 33 plants. Because our data is nested, we employed a series of multilevel regression models to test the hypotheses. The application of IoT systems within work units was evaluated by our research team through direct observations from on-site visits.

Our findings indicate a positive association between job engagement and SPS. Additionally, we found that the adoption of lean bundles positively moderates this relationship, while, surprisingly, the adoption of IoT systems negatively moderates this relationship. Interestingly, we found that, when the adoption of IoT systems is complemented by a lean management system, workers tend to experience a higher effect on the SPS of their engagement.

One limitation of this research is the reliance on the self-reported data collected from both workers (job engagement, SPS and control variables) and supervisors (lean bundles). Furthermore, our study was conducted in a specific country, Italy, which might have limitations on the generalizability of the results since cross-cultural differences in job engagement and SPS have been documented.

Our findings highlight that employees’ strong engagement in SPS behaviors is shaped by the managerial and technological systems implemented on the shop floor. Specifically, we point out that implementing IoT systems without the appropriate managerial practices can pose challenges to fostering employee engagement and SPS.

This paper provides new insights on how lean and new technologies contribute to the development of learning-to-learn capabilities at the individual level by empirically analyzing the moderating effects of IoT systems and LP on the relationship between job engagement and SPS.

Evolved from Toyota’s shop floor in Japan, lean bundles are universally accepted for boosting manufacturing performance. However, extant literature shows mixed findings on the effectiveness of lean bundles in non-Japanese settings. This meta-analysis is aimed at understanding the influence of national culture (NC) differences on the lean bundles-performance relationships.

A total of 224 effects from 12,569 observations across 48 empirical studies from 14 countries are meta-analyzed. Also, weighted least squares (WLS) meta-regression using NC scores from the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study are conducted to test the moderating effect of NC dimensions.

The meta-analysis reveals a positive association between the lean bundles and firm performance; though, the strength of the association varies across the individual lean bundles. The meta-regression results show that lean practices are more effective in countries that value high future orientation, high collectivism, low-performance orientation and high assertiveness.

The results contribute to the literature on the role of local cultural influence on strategies and decisions related to the implementation of continuous improvement (CI) programs in cross-cultural settings.