IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v222y2020ics0925527319303214.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Agile capabilities as necessary conditions for maximising sustainable supply chain performance: An empirical investigation

Author

Listed:
  • Geyi, Dan’Asabe Godwin
  • Yusuf, Yahaya
  • Menhat, Masha S.
  • Abubakar, Tijjani
  • Ogbuke, Nnamdi J.

Abstract

The effects of agile practices on sustainability performance measures require examination and clarification especially given the wider diffusion of agility and the increasing embrace of sustainability. More importantly, the role agility plays in enhancing or not enhancing sustainability performance is not fully understood. Therefore, we explored the interaction effects between agile practices, sustainable practices, operational performance objectives and sustainable performance of organisations. A survey of higher carbon and energy intensive supply chains in the UK was carried out with a net 311 respondent organisations. The results show that there is a significant correlation between sustainable supply chain practices and agile practices. Also, the results indicate that agile practices do have a positive influence on both sustainability performance and operational performance objectives. Whilst the link between agility and operational performance is not new, what is new here is the connection between agile practices and sustainability performance. In addition, the findings show that sustainable supply chain practices predict both sustainability performance and operational performance. But more importantly, when these relationships are mediated by agile practices, the performance impacts of sustainability practices are enhanced. These findings question the usefulness of implementing sustainability practices within the supply chains when there is a lack of agile capabilities. In other words, the results suggest that agile capabilities are necessary conditions for maximizing the outcomes of implementation of sustainability practices. As such, managers who want to maximize the outcomes of their sustainability campaigns should consider concurrent implementation of sustainability practices and agile practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Geyi, Dan’Asabe Godwin & Yusuf, Yahaya & Menhat, Masha S. & Abubakar, Tijjani & Ogbuke, Nnamdi J., 2020. "Agile capabilities as necessary conditions for maximising sustainable supply chain performance: An empirical investigation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:222:y:2020:i:c:s0925527319303214
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.09.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527319303214
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.09.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. B. Ageron & A. Gunasekaran & A. Spalanzani, 2012. "Sustainable supply management : an empirical study," Post-Print halshs-00740499, HAL.
    2. BLOME, Constantin & SCHOENHERR, Tobias & ECKSTEIN, Dominik, 2014. "The impact of knowledge transfer and complexity on supply chain flexibility: a knowledge-based view," LIDAM Reprints CORE 2603, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    3. Antony Paulraj & Injazz J. Chen & Constantin Blome, 2017. "Motives and Performance Outcomes of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices: A Multi-theoretical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 239-258, October.
    4. Beske, Philip & Land, Anna & Seuring, Stefan, 2014. "Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 131-143.
    5. Pierre, Cariou & Francesco, Parola & Theo, Notteboom, 2019. "Towards low carbon global supply chains: A multi-trade analysis of CO2 emission reductions in container shipping," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 17-28.
    6. Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph & Lai, Kee-hung, 2008. "Green supply chain management implications for "closing the loop"," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Rosa Dangelico & Devashish Pujari, 2010. "Mainstreaming Green Product Innovation: Why and How Companies Integrate Environmental Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(3), pages 471-486, September.
    8. Kenneth Wilburn Green & Lisa C. Toms & James Clark, 2015. "Impact of market orientation on environmental sustainability strategy," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 38(2), pages 217-238, February.
    9. Grimm, Jörg H. & Hofstetter, Joerg S. & Sarkis, Joseph, 2014. "Critical factors for sub-supplier management: A sustainable food supply chains perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 159-173.
    10. Sarkis, Joseph & Zhu, Qinghua & Lai, Kee-hung, 2011. "An organizational theoretic review of green supply chain management literature," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 1-15, March.
    11. Esfahbodi, Ali & Zhang, Yufeng & Watson, Glyn, 2016. "Sustainable supply chain management in emerging economies: Trade-offs between environmental and cost performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(PB), pages 350-366.
    12. Hannes Hofmann & Martin C. Schleper & Constantin Blome, 2018. "Conflict Minerals and Supply Chain Due Diligence: An Exploratory Study of Multi-tier Supply Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 115-141, January.
    13. Ageron, Blandine & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Spalanzani, Alain, 2012. "Sustainable supply management: An empirical study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 168-182.
    14. Zhu, Qinghua & Lai, Kee-hung, 2019. "Enhancing supply chain operations with extended corporate social responsibility practices by multinational enterprises: Social capital perspective from Chinese suppliers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 1-12.
    15. Ben Naylor, J. & Naim, Mohamed M & Berry, Danny, 1999. "Leagility: Integrating the lean and agile manufacturing paradigms in the total supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1-2), pages 107-118, May.
    16. Luthra, Sunil & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Xu, Lei & Diabat, Ali, 2016. "Using AHP to evaluate barriers in adopting sustainable consumption and production initiatives in a supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(PB), pages 342-349.
    17. Wong, Christina W.Y. & Lai, Kee-hung & Shang, Kuo-Chung & Lu, Chin-Shan & Leung, T.K.P., 2012. "Green operations and the moderating role of environmental management capability of suppliers on manufacturing firm performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 283-294.
    18. Mie Augier & David J. Teece, 2009. "Dynamic Capabilities and the Role of Managers in Business Strategy and Economic Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 410-421, April.
    19. Yusuf, Yahaya Y. & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Musa, Ahmed & Dauda, Mohammed & El-Berishy, Nagham M. & Cang, Shuang, 2014. "A relational study of supply chain agility, competitiveness and business performance in the oil and gas industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PB), pages 531-543.
    20. Lin, Ching-Torng & Chiu, Hero & Tseng, Yi-Hong, 2006. "Agility evaluation using fuzzy logic," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 353-368, June.
    21. Dominik Eckstein & Matthias Goellner & Constantin Blome & Michael Henke, 2015. "The performance impact of supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability: the moderating effect of product complexity," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(10), pages 3028-3046, May.
    22. Chen, Lujie & Zhao, Xiande & Tang, Ou & Price, Lydia & Zhang, Shanshan & Zhu, Wenwen, 2017. "Supply chain collaboration for sustainability: A literature review and future research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 73-87.
    23. Henry Kaiser, 1974. "An index of factorial simplicity," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 39(1), pages 31-36, March.
    24. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    25. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    26. Mani, Venkatesh & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Delgado, Catarina, 2018. "Enhancing supply chain performance through supplier social sustainability: An emerging economy perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 259-272.
    27. Oguz Morali & Cory Searcy, 2013. "A Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices in Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 635-658, October.
    28. Jeffrey H. Dyer & Harbir Singh & William S. Hesterly, 2018. "The relational view revisited: A dynamic perspective on value creation and value capture," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(12), pages 3140-3162, December.
    29. Yusuf, Y. Y. & Gunasekaran, A. & Adeleye, E. O. & Sivayoganathan, K., 2004. "Agile supply chain capabilities: Determinants of competitive objectives," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(2), pages 379-392, December.
    30. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss, 2010. "Trade‐offs in corporate sustainability: you can't have your cake and eat it," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 217-229, May.
    31. Stuart Hart & Matthew Arnold & Rob Day, 2000. "The Business of Sustainable Forestry: Meshing Operations with Strategic Purpose," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 234-250, June.
    32. Gligor, David M. & Holcomb, Mary C. & Feizabadi, Javad, 2016. "An exploration of the strategic antecedents of firm supply chain agility: The role of a firm's orientations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 24-34.
    33. Yusuf, Yahaya Y. & Gunasekaran, A. & Musa, Ahmed & El-Berishy, Nagham M. & Abubakar, Tijjani & Ambursa, Hafsat M., 2013. "The UK oil and gas supply chains: An empirical analysis of adoption of sustainable measures and performance outcomes," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 501-514.
    34. Bottani, Eleonora, 2010. "Profile and enablers of agile companies: An empirical investigation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(2), pages 251-261, June.
    35. Flavio Tonelli & Steve Evans & Paolo Taticchi, 2013. "Industrial sustainability: challenges, perspectives, actions," International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(2), pages 143-163.
    36. Klassen, Robert D. & Vereecke, Ann, 2012. "Social issues in supply chains: Capabilities link responsibility, risk (opportunity), and performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 103-115.
    37. Song, Malin & Zheng, Wanping & Wang, Zeya, 2016. "Environmental efficiency and energy consumption of highway transportation systems in China," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(PB), pages 441-449.
    38. Blome, Constantin & Schoenherr, Tobias & Eckstein, Dominik, 2014. "The impact of knowledge transfer and complexity on supply chain flexibility: A knowledge-based view," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PB), pages 307-316.
    39. Christina W.Y. Wong & Chee Yew Wong & Sakun Boon‐itt, 2018. "How Does Sustainable Development of Supply Chains Make Firms Lean, Green and Profitable? A Resource Orchestration Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 375-388, March.
    40. Wu, Kuo-Jui & Liao, Ching-Jong & Chen, Chih-Cheng & Lin, Yuanhsu & Tsai, Chuck F.M., 2016. "Exploring eco-innovation in dynamic organizational capability under incomplete information in the Taiwanese lighting industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(PB), pages 419-440.
    41. Treacy, Raymond & Humphreys, Paul & McIvor, Ronan & Lo, Chris, 2019. "ISO14001 certification and operating performance: A practice-based view," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 319-328.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Desmond Mwangi Wairimu & Dennis Chege & Samuel Muli & Jackson Ndolo, 2022. "Nexus Between Agility Capability and Resilience in the Retail Sector," International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 8(2), pages 34-47, June.
    2. Ehsan Shekarian & Behrang Ijadi & Amirreza Zare & Jukka Majava, 2022. "Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of Industrial Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-30, June.
    3. El-Khalil, Raed & Mezher, Mohamad Ali, 2020. "The mediating impact of sustainability on the relationship between agility and operational performance," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 7(C).
    4. Ayoub Al-Zabidi & Ateekh Ur Rehman & Mohammed Alkahtani, 2021. "An Approach to Assess Sustainable Supply Chain Agility for a Manufacturing Organization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Sharma, Rohit & Jain, Geetika & Paul, Justin, 2023. "Does the world need to change its vaccine distribution strategy for COVID-19?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    6. Trujillo-Gallego, Mariana & Sarache, William & Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes de, 2022. "Digital technologies and green human resource management: Capabilities for GSCM adoption and enhanced performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. El-Khalil, Raed & Mezher, Mohamad Ali, 2020. "The mediating impact of sustainability on the relationship between agility and operational performance," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 7(C).
    2. Jadhav, Akshay & Orr, Stuart & Malik, Mohsin, 2019. "The role of supply chain orientation in achieving supply chain sustainability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 112-125.
    3. Mani, Venkatesh & Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappetta & Mani, Kavitha T.N., 2020. "Supply chain social sustainability in small and medium manufacturing enterprises and firms’ performance: Empirical evidence from an emerging Asian economy," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    4. Ardian Qorri & Saranda Gashi & Andrzej Kraslawski, 2021. "Performance outcomes of supply chain practices for sustainable development: A meta‐analysis of moderators," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 194-216, January.
    5. Rebeca B. Sánchez-Flores & Samantha E. Cruz-Sotelo & Sara Ojeda-Benitez & Ma. Elizabeth Ramírez-Barreto, 2020. "Sustainable Supply Chain Management—A Literature Review on Emerging Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-27, August.
    6. Kumar, Gopal & Subramanian, Nachiappan & Maria Arputham, Ramkumar, 2018. "Missing link between sustainability collaborative strategy and supply chain performance: Role of dynamic capability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 96-109.
    7. André Tchokogué & Jean Nollet & Nathalie Merminod & Gilles Paché & Véronique Goupil, 2018. "Is Supply's Actual Contribution to Sustainable Development Strategic and Operational?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 336-358, March.
    8. Mohammad Najjar & Michael H. Small & Mahmoud M. Yasin, 2020. "Social Sustainability Strategy across the Supply Chain: A Conceptual Approach from the Organisational Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Jajja, Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq & Chatha, Kamran Ali & Farooq, Sami, 2018. "Impact of supply chain risk on agility performance: Mediating role of supply chain integration," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 118-138.
    10. Wamba, Samuel Fosso & Dubey, Rameshwar & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Akter, Shahriar, 2020. "The performance effects of big data analytics and supply chain ambidexterity: The moderating effect of environmental dynamism," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    11. Luthra, Sunil & Garg, Dixit & Haleem, Abid, 2015. "An analysis of interactions among critical success factors to implement green supply chain management towards sustainability: An Indian perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P1), pages 37-50.
    12. Ramin Bashir Khodaparasti & Hooshmand Bagheri Garabollagh & Reza Mohammadpour, 2020. "Engagement in Green Procurement: Antecedents and Outcomes on Manufacturing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises from Iran," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(53), pages 102-102, February.
    13. Dubey, Rameshwar & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Childe, Stephen J. & Papadopoulos, Thanos & Luo, Zongwei & Wamba, Samuel Fosso & Roubaud, David, 2019. "Can big data and predictive analytics improve social and environmental sustainability?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 534-545.
    14. Dongwook Kim & Sungbum Kim, 2017. "Sustainable Supply Chain Based on News Articles and Sustainability Reports: Text Mining with Leximancer and DICTION," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-44, June.
    15. Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Luthra, Sunil & Rich, Nick & Kumar, Divesh & Rana, Nripendra P. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2018. "Enablers to implement sustainable initiatives in agri-food supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 379-393.
    16. Kannan, Devika, 2021. "Sustainable procurement drivers for extended multi-tier context: A multi-theoretical perspective in the Danish supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    17. Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto & Esposito, Emilio & Passaro, Renato & Shashi,, 2021. "Determinants of the transition towards circular economy in SMEs: A sustainable supply chain management perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    18. Bikram Jit Singh Mann & Harmeet Kaur, 2020. "Sustainable Supply Chain Activities and Financial Performance: An Indian Experience," Vision, , vol. 24(1), pages 60-69, March.
    19. Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappetta & de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes & Sarkis, Joseph, 2019. "Unlocking effective multi-tier supply chain management for sustainability through quantitative modeling: Lessons learned and discoveries to be made," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 11-30.
    20. K. T. Shibin & Rameshwar Dubey & Angappa Gunasekaran & Benjamin Hazen & David Roubaud & Shivam Gupta & Cyril Foropon, 2020. "Examining sustainable supply chain management of SMEs using resource based view and institutional theory," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 290(1), pages 301-326, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:222:y:2020:i:c:s0925527319303214. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.