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The aim of this paper is to analyze which sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) arguments are addressed in the base of the pyramid (BoP)-related research. BoP projects address how companies contribute to fulfilling the needs of the poorest populations; increasingly, academics are applying theory to explain these projects. The need for integrating the BoP population into value-adding activities is widely acknowledged, but this is not yet reflected in supply chain management (SCM)-related concepts. The links to SSCM are frequently mentioned but in a scattered manner.

The paper presents a structured literature review of BoP papers published between 2000 and 2014 in peer-reviewed, English-speaking journals available on Web of Science. A content analysis of BoP papers is conducted based on SSCM constructs from the framework presented by Beske and Seuring (2014).

The frequencies of SSCM constructs identified in the BoP papers indicate the prevalence of SSCM arguments in the BoP discourse. Technological integration emerges as the core SSCM practice frequently identified and is contingent with a number of other practices. Further, SSCM practices including long-term relationship development, partner development, joint development, enhanced communication, learning, stakeholder management and innovation have regularly been referred to and are considered important by respective BoP scholars. The contingency analysis shows significant correlations among various pairs of categories and allows us to point to major lines of related arguments.

The paper offers insights into the potential links between the SSCM and BoP research streams and sets ground for further theoretical exploration of the subject. Limitations are the uptake of one particular conceptual framework, the selection of BoP papers for the review process and the interpretation of the frequency and contingency analysis. The paper offers a foundation for developing a research stream where BoP-related issues are integrated into research on (S)SCM.

SCM has many practical applications, which help to establish and improve supply chain design and operations. This would benefit BoP projects and should improve their practical outcomes. The relevance of technological integration seems straightforward, but needs a lot of effort to be implemented in each single project.

BoP-related research has gained increasing attention in recent years and should help drive the global sustainable development agenda further in the respective geographic locations. Establishing capable supply chains that deliver sustainable outcomes will be at the core of such projects. This paper highlights fundamental practices for firms targeting BoP markets with an effort to alleviate poverty.

The paper applies SSCM theory to analyze BoP issues and thereby interlinks the two research streams. Until now, research amalgamating the two concepts has been disconnected. Therefore, by providing an overview of existing publications, more focus for future studies is created, which is valuable and necessary for advancing both fields. Additionally, assessing BoP-type projects in low-income countries will allow the SSCM agenda to look beyond what is so far typically researched.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the academic literature on sustainability performance measurement for sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) published over the past 20 years. The development and current state of instruments, concepts and systems to measure and manage sustainability performance are examined and research gaps are identified.

A systematic literature review is conducted spanning two decades of publications in peer-reviewed academic journals. The publications are analyzed with regard to frequency and bibliometrical metrics and research content.

The research examines the development of the field over 20 years, which has witnessed a steep rise in related publications only for the past five years, indicating a late interest in the area compared to other sustainability topics. Social performance measures entered the discussion particularly late, whereas economic and environmental measurement almost exclusively dominated the field for the first few years.

The authors identify research gaps and discuss future directions for research. The analysis shows how the research area develops from a topic dealt with by a small group of interested researchers into a broader research field acknowledged in the scientific community.

Findings underline the importance of measuring performance for sustainability management of supply chains. The review identifies what measurement and management tools are discussed in the literature over time.

This is the first literature review on sustainability performance measurement for SSCM summarizing the development over the time span of 20 years.

The aim of this paper is to identify key categories of Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and related practices that are required to fulfill the demands of sustainability and, therefore, contributing to sustainability performance. As part of this, the authors will identify different approaches in practice implementation in SSCM and supply chain management (SCM). SSCM has become a topic of great interest and is linked to the assumption that a more sustainable performance for businesses would be achieved on its implementation. Such performance has to be achieved with respect to all three dimensions of sustainability.

The paper is conceptual in nature. The authors draw from literature on SSCM and examine frameworks and critical accounts on the topic. This allows identifying key aspects of SSCM and pointing out differences and overlaps with SCM.

The authors identify five key categories which are of high importance for the sustainable management of supply chains: orientation toward SCM and sustainability, continuity, collaboration, risk management and proactivity. In a second step, the authors describe distinctive practices which allow organizations to follow the goals formulated in the five key categories. Finally, they highlight issues preventing companies that follow a rather “conventional” approach to SCM to reach the level where it can be called SSCM, i.e. how to reach sustainability performance in SCM.

The work presented is conceptual in nature. It would be required to operationalize respective categories and, therefore, test them in empirical research.

The categories and practices identified within the framework can be used for guiding managers toward the implementation of SSCM. This is the case when management takes performance implication into account without solely considering rather simplistic indicators. At the same time, differentiating a company based on the implementation of sustainability practices has become more difficult, due to the proliferation of sustainability in a wider field.

Social aspects are integrated into the framework on the same level as environmental and economic aspects, emphasizing the triple bottom line orientation.

While all practices applied in SSCM have originally been identified and described by researchers for the case of “conventional” SCM, their particular interrelation and joint implementation makes up SSCM and ensures a contribution to sustainability performance.

Most sustainable supply chains are situated in dynamic environments, which leads to the assumption that management of such chains requires the application of dynamic management theories, such as the dynamic capabilities (DC) concept. In spite of this, DCs have only scarcely been taken up in (sustainable) supply chain management (SSCM) research. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to discuss the complementarities of DCs and SSCM research; and second, to develop a framework which integrates DCs in SSCM practices.

The paper is conceptual in nature and grounded in SSCM and DC theory. Relevant literature from the SCM, SSCM and DC context has been scrutinized. In total, three models from SSCM and DC literature, together with related inputs from other literature sources, have been conjoined.

DC and SSCM are linked through similar environmental and organizational conditions, making the application of DC concepts in the field of SSCM a logical choice. The framework embeds specific DCs into SSCM practices.

The presented framework is a step towards building an analytical basis for future empirical research in this area. Discussion on the nature of DCs is still going on, as well as on how to measure supply chain performance. The framework can only give indications and help in the theory building process. Furthermore, the underlying frameworks used for the development of the framework presented here have been derived through different methodologies and not all of them have, as yet, been (fully) empirically tested.

Investment in DCs and implementation of SSCM practices improves the agility of the overall supply chain and can lead to higher performance against the three dimensions of sustainability.

The paper is the first explicit framework linking SSCM and DC theory. The framework shows that the DC concept can be and indeed should be applied to SSCM research and practice. Furthermore, explicit DCs are put forward. It is a step towards building an analytical basis for future empirical research in this area.

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.

This study aims to explain the value of using critical realist case research in supply chain management (SCM). While positivist case research focuses on generalizable law-like rules, and interpretivist research explores social meaning, critical realist case research seeks to make objective explanations that are bound by the case context. This study demonstrates how a critical realist synthesis of causal reasoning and contextual complexity allows for stronger theorizing in SCM.

This study highlights the possibilities of conducting critical realist case research in SCM by investigating philosophical perspectives in existing literature.

Based on existing literature, this study identifies which parts of contemporary SCM research will benefit from the critical realist perspective. This study also contends that supply chain scholars can use critical realist case research to develop new types of contextualized middle-range theories.

This study proposes to complement the qualitative SCM toolbox with critical realist case research to further refine the development of novel theories. This will benefit not only researchers but also managers, as it opens the doors to new and inspiring research.

This study takes an important step toward establishing critical realist case studies as a key methodology in SCM. While other scholars have introduced critical realism as a paradigmatic approach in SCM, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first article that develops a qualitative critical realist case research approach.

While the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on logistics and supply chain management (SCM) is recently much discussed, this is hardly linked to emerging economies and base of the pyramid (BoP) settings. The paper aims as offering a framework linking different conceptual elements to each other for explaining how ICT enables sustainable value creation in emerging economy supply chains (SCs).

The paper builds on conceptual reasoning linking constructs from the different fields to each other.

Using conceptual reasoning linking constructs, six elements are identified: (1) SC flows, (2) BoP challenges and (3) ICT services as starting points, and environmental conditions driving sustainable value creation. The application of ICT within BoP SC operations drives the process of sustainable value creation by enabling new ways of (4) electronic business (e-business) transactions and (5) SSCM behaviors. This leads to (6) sustainable value for businesses using ICT applications and their respective stakeholders.

Empirical testing by collecting field data in emerging economy contexts would be demanded to address the limitation of building on conceptual reasonings.

The framework provides various SC-related measures driving e-business value creation for managers of businesses, charity organizations and policymakers in emerging communities.

Understanding the use of smartphones and other mobile devices for businesses and their supply chains in emerging markets would have wide ranging social implication addressed in the sustainable value creation of the framework offered.

The conceptual framework brings different elements together offering insights into ICT applications in BoP SCs. Linking SCM, ICT and BoP to each other is a novel contribution having wider implications for the future development of emerging economies.

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that affect the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in Saudi Arabia’s logistics services industry. The specific focus is the influence of key variables in multiple domains: technology (complexity and compatibility); organization (top management support, firm size, quality of human capital and integration of supply chain strategy); and environment (information intensity, competitive pressure, trading partner pressure and regulatory pressure).

Data were obtained by distributing a survey instrument to a target sample of 459 Saudi logistics company employees whose positions meant they were well placed to explain the operations and technologies used in their organizations. In total, 459 useable responses were received, which also constituted the final sample for the analysis. The survey was validated using confirmatory factor analysis, and the study hypothesis was tested using binary logistic regression.

Of the firms represented in the data collected, 70% had not adopted RFID technology. Cost issues, technical issues and lack of industry standards were identified as the main factors hindering the decision to adopt RFID. The results of the binary logistic regression show that top management support, quality of human capital, firm size and trading partner pressure are the variables that most influence whether or not a firm adopts RFID technology.

According to the analysis, it is imperative that the industry adopt RFID given that this technology can provide strategic and operational advantages. Based on the findings, small and medium enterprises in the logistics services industry require governmental support in terms of providing funding, training and a supportive regulatory environment. Support of this nature would encourage logistics services companies to adopt new technology and move toward applying the global standards developed in the industry to date. Finally, in order to execute a clear and complete strategy across the supply chain, companies must collaborate with trading partners in implementing RFID.

The body of research on emerging markets does not include any empirical studies focused on the adoption of new technologies and innovation in the supply chain. Although researchers discuss applications of technologies in operational and supply chain processes across multiple industries, most of the published research on RFID technology focuses on European and North American contexts. This study is, therefore, much needed for its fundamental contribution to identifying and understanding the factors that affect RFID adoption decisions in emerging markets.