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Article history: The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the published denitions of green supply chain
Received 18 July 2012 management (GSCM) and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). A total of 22 denitions for
Received in revised form GSCM and 12 denitions for SSCM were identied. In order to analyze the identied denitions, two
19 November 2012
different sets of key characteristics for business sustainability (i.e., economic, environmental, social,
Accepted 7 February 2013
stakeholder, volunteer, resilience, and long-term focuses) and SCM (i.e., ow, coordination, stakeholder,
Available online 16 February 2013
relationship, value, efciency, and performance focuses) were proposed. The identied denitions were
analyzed against each other and the two sets of proposed key characteristics. The analysis shows that
Keywords:
Sustainable supply chain management
denitions for GSCM were generally more narrowly focused than those for SSCM and had an emphasis
(SSCM) on the characteristics of environmental, ow, and coordination focuses. Though some denitions of
Green supply chain management (GSCM) SSCM show considerable overlap with denitions of GSCM, it is argued that SSCM is essentially an
Denitions extension of GSCM. Several identied denitions addressed at least half of the proposed key business
Sustainability sustainability and SCM characteristics. However, no complete denition of GSCM or SSCM was identied.
Supply chain management (SCM) To address this issue, a new denition for SSCM is proposed.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.02.018
330 P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341
Seuring and Muller, 2008; Srivastava, 2007). One of the key issues With that in mind, an introduction to SCM is provided in the next
highlighted in these reviews is the profusion of denitions for both subsection.
of these terms.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the published denitions 2.2. Supply chain management
of GSCM and SSCM. This is accomplished through a comparison of
these denitions against the characteristics of business sustainabil- Many avenues of research have been pursued under the um-
ity and SCM. The denitions of GSCM and SSCM are also compared brella of SCM (Mentzer et al., 2001). Since the introduction of the
against each other. The analysis will help highlight the convergences concept in the early 1980s, SCM has been used to describe the
and divergences in the literature as well as the strengths and planning and control of materials, information ows, and the lo-
weaknesses of the existing denitions. The analysis also provides the gistics activities internally within a company and also externally
basis for the development of a new denition for SSCM. This will between companies (Cooper et al., 1997). Over time, research on
provide a reference point for future research in these areas. SCM has continued to broaden in focus (Burgess et al., 2006).
Initially, SCM focused primarily on material ows. More recent
2. Overview of business sustainability and supply chain research emphasizes additional aspects of SCM, such as risk
management (Colicchia and Strozzi, 2012), performance (Hassini et al., 2012), and
integration (Fabbe-Costes and Jahre, 2007). There is also a growing
Sustainability and SCM are two concepts that independently emphasis on information ows, internal and external networks of
have created many debates over the last decade (Seuring et al., relationships (Stock et al., 2010), and governance of supply net-
2008). However, the increasing integration of sustainability into works (Pilbeam et al., 2012).
SCM demonstrates an evolving area where they exhibit explicit The growing interest in SCM has led to the development of
interactions (Ashby et al., 2012). Therefore, in order to investigate numerous denitions to describe it. A summary of representative
the integration of sustainability into SCM practice, a brief overview denitions for SCM is presented in Table 2. These denitions have
of each of these subjects is provided in the following sub-sections. A been collected through a scan of literature and should be viewed as
summary and analysis of representative denitions of business illustrative rather than comprehensive. An analysis of the deni-
sustainability and SCM is emphasized. This will provide a basis for tions in Table 2 highlights that SCM is focused on managing ows of
structuring the analysis of denitions of GSCM and SSCM later in materials, services, and information. In order to manage these ac-
the paper. tivities, there is a clear emphasis on the need for coordination
within and between rms. Furthermore, an emphasis on meeting
2.1. Business sustainability stakeholder needs, particularly those of customers, feature promi-
nently in the denitions. The management of internal and external
Sustainability issues are receiving increased attention among relationships also features prominently. The key outcomes of these
businesses. Business sustainability initiatives are often conducted activities are to create value, improve efciency, and improve
under a variety of titles, with corporate sustainability (Steurer et al., overall performance in the supply chain. Based on an analysis of the
2005) being among the most prominent. Business sustainability SCM denitions summarized in Table 2, the key characteristics of
initiatives are often closely associated with corporate social re- SCM may thus be expressed as: (1) ow focus, (2) coordination
sponsibility (CSR) initiatives. In fact, although there are those who focus, (3) stakeholder focus, (4) relationship focus, (5) value focus,
would argue against the practice, sustainability and CSR are often (6) efciency focus, and (7) performance focus. There is a set of
used as synonyms in a corporate context (Van Marrewijk, 2003). An notes in Table 2 that explain how each characteristic was inter-
analysis of denitions of corporate sustainability, business sustain- preted in the analysis. These characteristics are broadly consistent
ability, and CSR shows that they share a number of key features. with a previous analysis of 173 denitions of SCM, which identied
Table 1 presents a representative summary of denitions for the three major SCM themes as activities, benets, and constitu-
corporate sustainability and business sustainability. The denitions ents/components, as well as six associated sub-themes: material/
were identied based on a scan of the literature and the list should physical, nances, services and information ows; networks of
be viewed as illustrative rather than comprehensive. Although relationships (internal and external); value creation; creates ef-
analyses of denitions for CSR have been published (e.g., Dahlsrud, ciencies; customer satisfaction; and constituents or components
2008), no compilations of denitions for these terms were found. (Stock and Boyer, 2009, p. 698). Furthermore, the key SCM char-
The denitions in Table 1 show that sustainability issues in a acteristics listed here are also broadly in line with the ndings in
corporate context should focus on an integrated perspective of the Burgess et al. (2006), who identied the key themes in SCM as
triple bottom line, focus on addressing the needs of key stake- leadership, intra-and inter-organizational relationships, logistics,
holders, and adopt a long-term perspective. The need to build process improvement orientation, information system, and busi-
resilient organizations is also highlighted, as is the voluntary nature ness results and outcomes.
of many business sustainability initiatives. Building on the analysis SCM shares the stakeholder focus with the concept of business
in Table 1, the key characteristics of business sustainability may sustainability. There is also a growing effort to incorporate the other
therefore be expressed as: (1) economic focus, (2) environmental characteristics of sustainability into SCM. This is reected in
focus, (3) social focus, (4) stakeholder focus, (5) volunteer focus, (6) ongoing research on GSCM and SSCM. However, the many pub-
resilience focus, and (7) long-term focus. Table 1 includes a set of lished denitions of GSCM and SSCM have yet to be systematically
notes explaining how each characteristic was interpreted in the analyzed to determine the extent to which they address the char-
analysis. These characteristics are consistent with a previous acteristics of both business sustainability and SCM. The remainder
analysis of 37 denitions of CSR, which identied the ve key CSR of this paper focuses on this issue.
dimensions as stakeholder, social, economic, voluntariness, and
environmental (Dahlsrud, 2008). 3. Research methodology
Increasingly, researchers and practitioners in different elds are
taking into account the impacts and implications of business sus- Traneld et al. (2003) explain that literature reviews have dual
tainability on traditional assumptions and practices in their elds purposes. First, the intellectual structure of an identied eld needs
(Gimenez and Tachizawa, 2012). SCM is one of these research areas. to be mapped, consolidated and evaluated. Building on that work,
P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341 331
Table 1
Representative denitions of business sustainability.
the key knowledge gaps and opportunities to address them can be relevant articles, a structured keyword search was conducted.
identied. The underlying rationale is to develop and expand the Accordingly, the terms green supply chain management and
body of knowledge in the eld. Following this logic, a systematic sustainable supply chain management were separately searched.
research literature review on denitions for GSCM and SSCM was The search for each of the keywords was conducted along with the
conducted in this paper. Systematic literature reviews are currently terms dene, dening and denition by utilizing the All
playing a major role in evidence based practices (Traneld et al., Fields category. The data range was set for the papers published
2003). By adopting a scientic, imitable, and transparent process, from All years to Present, and all of the Subject Areas available
systematic literature reviews can provide an appropriate audit in Scopus were chosen for each of the conducted searches. Refer-
track for decisions, procedures, and conclusions made by the re- ences cited in the papers identied through the Scopus search were
viewers (Cook et al., 1997). also used as secondary sources to identify additional relevant
As previously noted, the purpose of this paper was to identify publications. As of January 31, 2012, a total of 124 papers for GSCM
and analyze the denitions of GSCM and SSCM published in the and 56 papers for SSCM were identied in the Scopus search. Fig. 1
peer-reviewed literature. To achieve this purpose, the literature shows a distribution of the published articles by year over the last
review focused on a search of all articles published in the Scopus 10 years. Figs. 2 and 3 show the distribution of reviewed articles by
database. Scopus was selected due to its broad coverage of man- journal for GSCM and SSCM, respectively. The gures highlight the
agement and engineering journals. The search was limited to arti- multidisciplinary approach required in a systematic literature re-
cles published in English in peer-reviewed journals. To identify the view (Burgess et al., 2006; Traneld et al., 2003). As shown in the
332 P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341
Table 2
Representative denitions of supply chain management.
gures, the journals cover a wide range of core topic areas, with an content by using a word-for-word content analysis (Krippendorf,
emphasis on sustainability, production, operations, strategy, busi- 2004). Content analysis is a useful and efcient tool for perform-
ness, and supply chain management. ing systematic and transparent literature reviews (Seuring and
Each of the identied papers was searched to identify any Gold, 2012). The approach of conducting a keyword analysis and
explicit denitions of GSCM and SSCM. Statements were consid- systematically reviewing the literature through content analysis
ered as denitions if they explicitly expressed the essential nature has been employed in a number of recent literature reviews on SCM
of the terms GSCM or SSCM (adapted from Merriam-Webster, topics (e.g., Abbasi and Nilsson, 2012; Burgess et al., 2006; Carter
2012). In cases where a denition was reproduced from another and Easton, 2011; Seuring and Muller, 2008). In this study, the
source, the original paper was considered the basis of the deni- key business sustainability and SCM characteristics reected in
tion. Once a database of denitions was developed, two researchers each published denition of GSCM and SSCM were identied and
independently examined each group of denitions (i.e., GSCM and recorded. Once each researcher independently completed the
SSCM). Each denition was analyzed for both latent and manifest analysis, the results were discussed in detail and nalized.
P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341 333
environmental dimension of sustainability. Social issues were not sustainability by highlighting the importance of substantial mar-
explicitly mentioned in any of the published denitions of GSCM. keting and consideration of alternative energy platforms in the
The focus on environmental issues was to be expected given the supply chain. The remaining denitions (50%) addressed all three
nature of the term GSCM, which clearly emphasizes this dimen- aspects of the triple bottom line. These included denitions by
sion of sustainability. Carter and Rogers (2008), Seuring and Muller (2008), Ciliberti et al.
Among the other business sustainability characteristics exam- (2008), Font et al. (2008), Pagell and Wu (2009), and Wolf (2011).
ined, only the stakeholder focus and long-term focus categories Beyond the triple bottom line dimensions, Table 5 shows that
were addressed by some of the denitions. Table 5 shows that 7 the other sustainability characteristics considered were addressed
(32%) of the denitions demonstrated some focus on stakeholders. by one denition or another, with the exception of the volunteer
The stakeholders that were specically mentioned included cus- focus. Five (42%) denitions addressed the stakeholder focus
tomers (Handeld and Nichols, 1999; Lee and Klassen, 2008), con- characteristic. Stakeholders were broadly referred to in one de-
sumers (Srivastava, 2007; Wee et al., 2011), employees (Kim et al., nition, while the others mentioned resources, suppliers or cus-
2011), and suppliers (Gavronski et al., 2011; Lee and Klassen, tomers. One-third of the denitions studied addressed the long-
2008; Yeh and Chuang, 2011). It is important to note, however, term focus characteristic. Carter and Rogers (2008) explicitly
that these denitions generally provided only a passing reference to mentioned the importance of improving the companys long-term
these stakeholders. Table 5 also shows that 10 (46%) of the deni- economic performance. The other three denitions addressing the
tions demonstrated a long-term focus. This was generally indicated long-term focus characteristic did so more indirectly, as was seen in
through reference to end-of-life product management, product the denitions of GSCM. Only 1 (8%) of the denitions emphasized
reuse, product recovery, reverse logistics, and closed-loop supply the resilience focus characteristic (Closs et al., 2011). This directed
chains. None of the denitions explicitly mentioned future gener- clear focus to the many risks involved in SCM and the importance of
ations or the management of the supply chain over the long-term. the companys ability to recover from and adapt to these risks.
The volunteer focus and resilience focus categories were not Overall, the most comprehensive denitions from a sustainability
addressed by any of the denitions studied. The voluntary nature of perspective were provided by Carter and Rogers (2008) who
sustainability is rarely made explicit in denitions of business addressed 5 of the 7 characteristics, and by Seuring and Muller
sustainability, though previous research has shown that several (2008), Pagell and Wu (2009), Badurdeen et al. (2009), Wolf
denitions of CSR do make the point (Dahlsrud, 2008). Resilience is (2011), and Closs et al. (2011) who each addressed 4.
also rarely addressed in denitions of business sustainability. This
may help explain why these characteristics were not incorporated 4.3.3. Summary
into the published denitions of GSCM. Overall, the results show that the denitions for GSCM were
generally more narrowly focused than those for SSCM and had an
4.3.2. Sustainability characteristics addressed by sustainable supply overwhelming emphasis on environmental issues. Though some
chain management denitions denitions of SSCM show considerable overlap with denitions of
An analysis of the denitions suggested for SSCM found that GSCM, it is clear that SSCM is essentially an extension of GSCM.
although all three dimensions of the triple bottom line were While the integration of environmental thinking into SCM practices
explicitly addressed, they were not present in all suggested de- is found to be the central point of concern in almost all of the
nitions. Jorgensen and Knudsen (2006) were the only authors that denitions of GSCM, the denitions of SSCM adopt a broader triple
limited their focus to the social dimension. Five (42%) denitions bottom line perspective. Both GSCM and SSCM had several deni-
addressed two dimensions of sustainability. Seuring (2008), tions that addressed the stakeholder focus and long-term focus of
Badurdeen et al. (2009), and Haake and Seuring (2009) focused on business sustainability. Resilience was addressed by only one of the
combinations of the environmental and social aspects of sustain- denitions in both categories, while the voluntary focus of business
ability. Wittstruck and Teuteberg (2011) highlighted ethics as part sustainability was not captured by any of the published denitions.
of the social feature of sustainability, and suggested a denition for This may reect the fact that actions do not necessarily need to be
SSCM that emphasizes the environmental and ethical aspects of voluntary to qualify as GSCM or SSCM. The distribution of the key
sustainability in the supply chain. Closs et al. (2011) focused on a business sustainability characteristics highlighted in the analysis is
combination of the economic and environmental features of shown in Fig. 4.
P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341 335
Table 3
Denitions of green supply chain management (GSCM).
Note: These 22 unique denitions of GSCM are from a total of 124 identied articles analyzed.
4.4. Supply chain management characteristics addressed by the 4.4.1. Supply chain management characteristics addressed by green
denitions supply chain management denitions
The analysis showed that the coordination focus and the ow
A summary of the key SCM characteristics addressed by the focus were overwhelmingly the most frequently addressed SCM
published denitions of GSCM and SSCM is provided in Table 6. The characteristics in the GSCM denitions. The coordination focus was
table includes a set of notes explaining how each characteristic was addressed in 20 of the 22 (91%) denitions while the ow focus was
interpreted in the analysis. addressed in 19 (86%) of the denitions. In many cases, these
336 P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341
Table 4
Denitions of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM).
Note: These 12 unique denitions of SSCM are from a total of 56 identied articles analyzed.
characteristics were addressed implicitly through reference in the HMida and Lakhal, 2007; Kim et al., 2011; Lee and Klassen, 2008;
denition to supply chains or SCM. The heavy emphasis on these Parmigiani et al., 2011), environmental measures (Albino et al.,
two characteristics reects their importance in SCM overall and the 2009), and improving competitive capacity (Yeh and Chuang,
need to reect them in any extensions of the concept, as in GSCM. 2011). The efciency focus of SCM was reected in 4 (18%) deni-
Each of the other SCM characteristics were also addressed in the tions, including in direct references to efciency (Zhu et al., 2005),
denitions of GSCM. The stakeholder focus was addressed in 7 zero waste (Buyukozkan and Cidci, 2012; Lakhal et al., 2007), and
(32%) of the denitions. As previously mentioned, the stakeholder reducing resource usage (El Saadany et al., 2011). The value focus
focus characteristic was the only one that directly overlapped with was addressed by 3 (14%) of the denitions. This was accomplished
the characteristics of sustainability. The performance focus char- through reference to prot and market share (Buyukozkan and
acteristic, which was addressed in 8 (36%) of the denitions, was Cidci, 2012; Zhu et al., 2005) and conversion of resources into us-
reected in a number of ways, including reference to environ- able products (Srivastava, 2008). Finally, the relationship focus
mental performance (Andic et al., 2012; Gavronski et al., 2011; characteristic was addressed by only 2 (9%) of the denitions. Yeh
P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341 337
Table 5
Key business sustainability characteristics addressed by the denitions.
and Chuang (2011) addressed this characteristic through reference though different authors certainly emphasized different aspects.
to management between suppliers and supplier management The most comprehensive denitions were provided by Yeh and
systems while Sarkis et al. (2011) did so through reference to inter- Chuang (2011) who addressed 5 of the 7 SCM characteristics and
organizational practices. by Kim et al. (2011) and Lee and Klassen who each addressed 4.
Overall, the results show that there was good coverage of the
characteristics of SCM in the denitions suggested for GSCM, 4.4.2. Supply chain management characteristics addressed by
sustainable supply chain management denitions
In the denitions for SSCM, the analysis showed that the most
commonly addressed SCM characteristics are the coordination
focus and the ow focus. The coordination focus was addressed in
all 12 of the published denitions, while the ow focus appeared in
10 (83%) of the denitions. As with the GSCM denitions, these
characteristics were in many cases addressed implicitly through the
use of the terms supply chain or supply chain management in
the denitions.
Of the remaining SCM characteristics, only three (i.e., relation-
ship focus, stakeholder focus and performance focus) were
addressed in the SSCM denitions. Five (42%) of the denitions
addressed the relationship focus. Haake and Seuring (2009)
explicitly mentioned the forming of relationships. The coordina-
tion of inter-organizational business processes (Carter and Rogers,
Fig. 4. Distribution of the key business sustainability characteristics addressed by the 2008; Wolf, 2011), cooperation among companies (Seuring and
denitions. Muller, 2008), and seamless information sharing between
338 P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341
Table 6
Key SCM characteristics addressed by the denitions.
companies (Badurdeen et al., 2009) were also interpreted as a denitions from the perspective of the SCM characteristics were
demonstration of the relationship focus. The stakeholder focus was offered by Badurdeen et al. (2009) who addressed 5 of the 7
also addressed by 5 (42%) denitions. Seuring and Muller (2008) characteristics and by Seuring and Muller (2008), Carter and Rogers
referred to customer and stakeholder requirements, Carter and (2008), and Wolf (2011) who each addressed 4.
Rogers (2008) and Wolf (2011) mentioned the individual com-
pany and the supply chain partners, Closs et al. (2011) highlighted 4.4.3. Summary
resource availability and talent management, and Badurdeen et al. The results show that the majority of both the GSCM and SSCM
(2009) implied a focus on suppliers based on the need to achieve a denitions addressed the ow focus and coordination focus char-
shared vision. The performance focus was addressed by only 2 acteristics of SCM. In both cases, this was largely done through the
(17%) of the SSCM denitions. Carter and Rogers (2008) explicitly insertion of words referring to the supply chain or SCM in the
referred to the long-term economic performance of the company. denitions. The SSCM denitions showed more denitions placing
Badurdeen et al. (2009) indirectly referenced performance through an emphasis on the stakeholder focus and/or the relationship focus
their emphasis of the need to achieve a shared vision. despite the much greater number of denitions of GSCM. Unlike the
The value focus and efciency focus characteristics were not GSCM denitions that addressed the performance focus in more
explicitly addressed by any of the published SSCM denitions. It is than a third of the denitions, the SSCM denitions rarely referred
important to note that this may be a matter of interpretation. In to this SCM characteristic. None of the SSCM denitions addressed
cases where the economic dimension of sustainability was the value focus or efciency focus, though these were not widely
mentioned, this may be considered an indication of the value focus addressed in the GSCM denitions either. The distribution of the
by some analysts. However, in this study, a more explicit reference key SCM characteristics highlighted in the analysis is shown in
to value focus was sought. Overall, the most comprehensive Fig. 5.
P. Ahi, C. Searcy / Journal of Cleaner Production 52 (2013) 329e341 339
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Acknowledgments tainable energy production from biomass. International Journal of Sustainable
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