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The following is an introductory profile of the fastest growing firms over the three-year period of the study listed by corporate reputation ranking order. The business activities in which the firms are engaged are outlined to provide background information for the reader.

The Agri-Food supply chain (AFSC) conventionally suffers from multifaceted transparency, integration, traceability, product quality, and many more. Recently, various digital technologies have emerged, which reflect the potential to address the majority of such concerns. This chapter is an effort toward developing a vision for the future of the agri-food supply chain through digitalization. The technologies prominently covered in the chapter are the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI). Different challenges the agri-food supply chain participants perceived in implementing digital technologies were identified through literature review and primary survey. The significant challenges are trained workforce, funds availability, and clarity on economic gains from digitalisation. In conclusion, few strategies toward the implementation of digital technologies in agri-food supply chains are discussed.

India's agri-food industry is rapidly expanding to keep up with the country's growing population. With the help of the fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), modernization is creating a new revolution in the agri-food sector. Its applications in the food supply chain as a supply chain 4.0 (SC 4.0) have made it convenient to deliver products efficiently from farms to consumers. The various technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics and blockchain, etc., have impacted emerging supply chains. But many challenges are perceived by stakeholders toward the adoption of SC 4.0 technologies in India. The authors identified the challenges of adopting SC 4.0 for the agri-food sector and used the Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) tool to analyze those challenges. Based on literature research, nine major issues were diagnosed and then simulated using expert opinion. Primary data were also gathered with the help of a questionnaire to identify the status of acceptance level of these technologies. This study highlights the importance of government support, availability of sources of funds, customer orientation toward food safety, the commitment of management toward modernization, aware and well trained and motivated employees are a few of the major factors impacting the adoption of SC 4.0 technologies.

The advent of the digital technologies (DTs), coincided with the pandemic and global conflicts, has proven to be an unprecedented and transformative era for supply chain management (SCM). DTs are reshaping the way organizations plan, execute, and optimize their SC operations. Throughout this book, we posit that the adoption of digital supply chain management (DSCM) has become essential for staying competitive and responsive in a rapidly evolving business environment. However, amid technological advancements and digital solutions, there exists a critical factor that often goes overlooked – the significance of intangible assets, specifically intellectual capital (IC). This chapter comprehensively explores the role of an organization's IC in the adoption and performance of DSCM. We employ a comprehensive analytical approach, drawing upon existing literature from various sources to elucidate the relationship between IC and DSCM. Synthesizing insights from the literature, the chapter shows how each constituent of IC contributes to the adoption, operation, and performance improvement of DSCM. The discussion in the chapter shows that human capital (HC) forms foundations, as the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of the employees are prerequisites essential for understanding, adopting, and capitalizing on DTs in SCM. The analysis also reveals that SC, which represents organizational processes, digital tools, and knowledge repositories, supports the seamless integration of DTs within SCs. Similarly, RC, by nurturing trust, open communication, and collaborative networks, plays an instrumental role in establishing ecosystems that help the adoption and effective functioning of DSCM. This chapter makes a convincing case to consider IC as the strategic component while DSCM adoption and performance.

This chapter provides an in-depth look at how digital supply chain management (DSCM) can revolutionize supply chains in the post-COVID world. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of traditional supply chains, highlighting the need for resilience and adaptability. The chapter begins by examining these COVID-induced disruptions, setting the foundation for the discussion on DSCM. DSCM, leveraging advanced technologies and data insights, offers a solution to these challenges, promoting agility, transparency, and sustainability in supply chain operations. This represents a significant shift from traditional practices, equipping organizations to cope with the dynamic postpandemic environment. Key capabilities of DSCM, such as resilience, integration, agility, and risk management, are discussed, supported by real-world examples from leading companies. These examples showcase the successful implementation of DSCM and its benefits in navigating the complexities of modern supply chains. However, the adoption of DSCM is not without challenges, including cybersecurity risks and integration difficulties. The chapter suggests strategies to overcome these challenges, emphasizing the importance of technology, collaboration, sustainability, and data-driven decision-making. By embracing these strategies, organizations can effectively manage their supply chains in the evolving global market, leveraging DSCM to withstand future uncertainties.

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.

The environmental performance of organizations has come under public policy limelight since the phenomenal increase of natural resource degradation and industrial waste. Thus, green concepts have been put forward, but the implementation of green practices faces many barriers and challenges. These barriers require attention as organizational practices are negatively affecting the environment leading to global warming and climate change. Therefore, this chapter systematically identifies four internal barriers including inadequate management commitment and support, insufficient technology competence and infrastructure, financial constraints, the uncertainty of economic benefits, and eight sub barriers within an organization concerning green concepts implementation. Moreover, this chapter also identifies four external barriers including lack of stakeholder's interest, inadequate environmental administrative support, scarce academic research, and lack of green collaborative practices, and eight sub barriers outside an organizational context concerning green concept implementation. The barriers in this research were identified by reviewing the existing literature on the topic. This chapter advances the green literature by identifying multiple barriers and challenges to the successful implementation of green concepts in organizations. This is of significance as if these barriers are tackled strategically, it would reduce environmental degradation problems and help make financial gains. Moreover, this research can help managers understand the key barriers to green concept implementation and provide guidance to them when attempting to implement green practices in their organizations. This research would also motivate researchers to extend further investigation on how to overcome such barriers and find out strategies to mitigate the barriers to green concept implementation to effectively address environmental issues.

This research develops a set of specific modern slavery disclosure principles for organisations. It critically evaluates seven legislative Acts from five different countries and 16 guidelines and directives from international organisations. By undertaking an in-depth content analysis, the research derives an index comprising nine principles and 49 disclosure items to promote best-practice disclosure in tackling modern slavery. We promote nine active principles for organisations to implement and disclose: recognising modern slavery practices, identifying risks, publishing a modern slavery risk prevention policy, proactive in assessing and addressing risks, assessing efficacy of actions, garnering internal and external oversight, externally communicating modern slavery risk mitigation, implementing a suppliers' assessment and code of conduct to ensure transparency and specifying consequences for non-compliance. The research is motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focusses on economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. The research findings will assist practitioners seeking to discover and disclose evidence of modern slavery practices and their mitigation to minimise and encourage the elimination of this unethical and illegal practice in domestic and global supply chains and operations.