Work

The road to cooperative supply‐chain environmental management: trust and uncertainty among pro‐active firms

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: The pressures on firms to improve their environmental performance have caused them to look outside their boundaries towards their supply chains. In such approaches, firms work with vendors to develop the environmental profile of supplied materials (for example) by reducing materials' toxicity or the amount of packaging used. While large firms can mandate that their suppliers comply with such initiatives, more cooperative approaches are generally likely to be more fruitful. This article presents the results from an exploratory, two phase study of the conditions under which firms engage in cooperative supply‐chain environmental management. First, the authors conducted interviews with 14 leading‐edge firms. In the second phase, the authors conducted a theoretical‐sample survey to examine a model of the antecedents of cooperative supply‐chain environmental management. The results suggest that inter‐firm trust, uncertainty and pro‐active environmental management most directly affect the extent to which firms engage in cooperative supply‐chain environmental management. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Source: Business Strategy and the Environment

DOI: 10.1002/bse.580

Authors: Mark P. Sharfman, Teresa M. Shaft, Robert P. Anex

Institutions: University of Oklahoma, Iowa State University

Language: English

Topic: Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Subfield: Strategy and Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, World Resources Institute