Special Topic Forum on Theory Building Surrounding Sustainable Supply Chain Management

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12057
• Published date: 01 July 2014
• Date: 01 July 2014

Special Topic Forum on

Theory Building Surrounding Sustainable

Supply Chain Management

Guest Editors:

Gideon Markman (Colorado State University)

Dan Krause (Colorado State University)

The area of social and environmental sustainability attracts

scholars from diverse social sciences disciplines (e.g.,

supply chain, management, finance, accounting, marketing,

political science, sociology, economics, management, etc. to

name a few). Such cross-disciplinary effort is needed because

although many scholars link sustainability to discrete business

activities—inbound and outbound logistics, processes and op-

erations, finished products and customer interface, distribu-

tion channels, and services—we do not have an overarching,

integrative theory of sustainability.

For example, some suggest a “green to be seen” perspective—

that consumers are willing to pay extra for sustainable offer-

ings but only if clear status incentives are associated with such

purchases (Griskevicius, Tybur & Van den Bergh, 2010). Oth-

ers note that because a shift towards sustainable practices is

costly and disruptive of firms’ functions, green management

matters, but only if it yields higher profits (Siegel, 2009). If

companies can charge premium prices (and consumers are

willing to pay more) for sustainable products, but only when

such purchases enhance buyers’ reputation or firms’ bottom

line, what are the implications for products, services, and op-

erations that are less observable or less augmentative of finan-

cial performance? Indeed, some companies, such as Apple,

decline to name their suppliers and the provenance of raw ma-

terials (The Guardian, 2013). When companies follow a poli-

cy of non-disclosure of suppliers, materials, and practices, do

they worry that transparency—including the touting of ethical

supply chain practices—reveals their competitive secrets to ri-

vals? Are they simply attempting to hide unethical practices?

Or, are there other reasons?

Regardless of the motivation, it is increasingly apparent that

choices and considerations of sustainability are critical in most

if not all business functions. Despite the importance of sustain-

ability, not every scholar, manager, or company agrees on the

conceptual connections among and drivers of sustainability

and SCM. Part of the problem is insufficient theory.

Supply chain scholars are perhaps among the most qualified

to develop a theory of sustainability because they observe

firms’ entire value chains. Such scholarship analyzes how firms

combine raw inputs from disparate suppliers; how inputs are

processed and augmented into outputs; and how such outputs

are then sold to customers. This also means that supply chain

scholars can keenly appreciate how even seemingly incon-

sequential choices in early value-chain activities can trigger

cascading effects that bring a smooth-running operation to a

grinding halt with negative consequences—e.g., undermining

the reputation of a single firm, or worse, ravaging entire in-

dustries (e.g., the tobacco industry).

Such examples, and scores of insightful studies in diverse dis-

ciplines, corroborate the need—in fact, an opportunity—to

develop an overarching, integrative theory of sustainability.

Hence, this STF is a platform for scholars to showcase their

best conceptual research on sustainability, and hopefully, its

impact on operations and supply chain management. The

STF might appear broad—encompassing sustainability, ethics,

CSR, and of course, supply chain management—but the focus

on theory papers (which encompass both pure conceptual the-

ory building and qualitative methodologies such as inductive

case studies) rather than deductive, big data, “empirical” re-

search does narrow the scope.

We are particularly interested in “edgy” manuscripts that

would yield conceptual platforms, open up new research fron-

tiers, or offer new insights that significantly enrich discussion