TY - CHAP

T1 - Innovation in Sustainable Supply Chains

T2 - Interaction for Resources from an SME Perspective

AU - Harms, Dorli

AU - Klewitz, Johanna

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Supply chain management is increasingly challenged to integrate environmental (e.g. product recyclability) and social issues (e.g. labor conditions) to establish sustainable supply chains. Apart from a risk-orientation in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) companies can also pursue an opportunity-oriented strategy linked to innovation. In this paper we develop the argument that SSCM is an opportunity for companies to develop sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs), that is, improved or new products, processes, and organizational structures. For this purpose we focus our analysis on SSCM from the perspective of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as, so far, little is known on how SMEs manage SSCM within the business-toconsumer (B2C) context, even though SMEs are important for sustainable development. We argue that SSCM can play a central role for SOIs of SMEs by making resources accessible through the interaction with primary (e.g. customers, suppliers) and secondary supply chain stakeholders (e.g. competitors, universities). Building on the resource-based and relational view we develop a conceptual framework which discusses how resource flows can occur in the interaction with different supply chain stakeholders. As a result, we explicate theoretical propositions and implications for practice.

AB - Supply chain management is increasingly challenged to integrate environmental (e.g. product recyclability) and social issues (e.g. labor conditions) to establish sustainable supply chains. Apart from a risk-orientation in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) companies can also pursue an opportunity-oriented strategy linked to innovation. In this paper we develop the argument that SSCM is an opportunity for companies to develop sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs), that is, improved or new products, processes, and organizational structures. For this purpose we focus our analysis on SSCM from the perspective of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as, so far, little is known on how SMEs manage SSCM within the business-toconsumer (B2C) context, even though SMEs are important for sustainable development. We argue that SSCM can play a central role for SOIs of SMEs by making resources accessible through the interaction with primary (e.g. customers, suppliers) and secondary supply chain stakeholders (e.g. competitors, universities). Building on the resource-based and relational view we develop a conceptual framework which discusses how resource flows can occur in the interaction with different supply chain stakeholders. As a result, we explicate theoretical propositions and implications for practice.

KW - Sustainability Science

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

KW - Entrepreneurship

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-658-03061-2_5

DO - 10.1007/978-3-658-03061-2_5

M3 - Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

SN - 978-365-80306-0-5

T3 - Advanced Studies in Supply Management

SP - 105

EP - 130

BT - Supply Management Research

A2 - Bogaschewsky, Ronald

A2 - Eßig, Michael

A2 - Lasch, Rainer

A2 - Stölzle, Wolfgang

PB - Gabler Verlag

CY - Wiesbaden

ER -