Building sustainable and resilient supply chains: a framework and empirical evidence on trade-offs and synergies in implementation of practices

Abstract

Implementing practices aiming at both sustainable and resilient supply chains is a nascent but still poorly addressed research area. This study aims at exploring how to develop sustainable and resilient supply chain practices, advancing knowledge on synergies and trade-offs that can be expected. Empirical evidence from six firms has been collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The preliminary results obtained show that sustainability practices are more explicitly implemented by firms, while resilience practices are sometimes neglected. Various degrees of synergies and trade-offs are highlighted: besides being the most widely implemented practices, green logistics, certifications, and eco-design practices can be considered both sustainable and resilient. The implications of this study may be important to expand knowledge on what is regarded as both sustainable and resilient, and it supports organizations throughout their supply chains in the implementation of practices.

Keywords:

• Sustainability
• resilience
• supply chain management
• trade-off
• synergy

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Correction

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2023.2277514)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marta Negri

Marta Negri is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Management, Economics, and Industrial Engineering of Politecnico di Milano, Italy. She graduated cum laude with her Master of Science in Management Engineering, specializing in sustainability and energy management. Her research interests concern supply chain sustainability, supply chain resilience, circular economy, with a particular focus on the manufacturing sector.

Enrico Cagno

Enrico Cagno is a Full Professor at the Department of Management, Economics, and Industrial Engineering of Politecnico di Milano. He teaches ‘Sustainability of Industrial Systems’ (Ph.D.), and ‘Industrial Eco-Efficiency’ (M.Sc.), at the School of Industrial and Information Engineering. His primary interests are Industrial Sustainability and Risk Analysis & Management, with a particular focus on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. He authored more than 350 publications between journals, books, book chapters, and proceedings. He serves as associate editor, and as a member of the editorial board and regular referee for several international peer-reviewed journals. He has promoted, coordinated, managed, and participated in numerous research and consultancy projects, ranging from strategic and organizational development to applied research for domestic and international enterprises and administrations.

Claudia Colicchia

Claudia Colicchia is Associate Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. She is Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Business, Law and Politics, University of Hull, UK. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK and a Member of the Italian Association of Professors of Industrial Plants Design & Management. She is the author of more than 80 papers at the national and international levels. Her research interests include Supply Chain Sustainability, Supply Chain Risk Management, Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0, and Citation Network Analysis. Her research has appeared in leading scientific journals, such as Journal of Supply Chain Management, Production Planning and Control, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, International Journal of Production Research, Journal of Cleaner Production, and Journal of Business Ethics. She has also received the 2019 Best Paper Award in the Journal of Supply Chain Management.