Resilient and sustainable energy supply chains: insights on sourcing and pricing strategies in a non-collaborative and collaborative environment

Abstract

Energy supply chain resilience and sustainability are essential for dependable, ecologically responsible energy availability, reducing disruptions, and creating a sustainable future. In this regard, this study explores the resilience and sustainability of a single energy supply chain through two distinct scenarios. The focus is on a manufacturer capable of sourcing products from renewable and non-renewable power plants. Although the renewable power plant is the preferred clean option, disruptions may occur. On the other hand, the fossil fuel power plant offers reliability at the cost of environmental impact. The manufacturer employs two sourcing strategies based on disruption probabilities: single sourcing from just the renewable power plant and dual sourcing from fossil and renewable power plants. In the second scenario, a collaboration between the power plants is introduced. If a disruption occurs at the renewable power plant, it orders the fossil fuel power plant to generate electricity on its behalf. Using a game-theoretic approach, the research examines the effects of dual-sourcing techniques, and the efficacy of cooperation in minimising disruptions. It also examines the trade-offs between energy supply chain resilience and environmental sustainability. The results shed light on sourcing strategy decision-making and add to the literature on sustainable and resilient energy supply chains.

KEYWORDS:

• Energy supply chain
• resilience
• environmental sustainability
• collaboration
• game theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hamed Rajabzadeh

Hamed Rajabzadeh is a Ph.D. student and a research assistant at the chair of Innovation and Risk Management at Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany). His fields of interest and research are supply chain risk management, game theory, and sustainable supply chain management.

Marcus Wiens

Marcus Wiens (Ph.D. in Economics) is a Full Professor, holding the Chair of Business Economics, in particular Risk and Innovation Management, at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany). His fields of research are economic risk and innovation analysis, supply chain risk management, economic cyber security, behavioural risk management, and game theory. Marcus Wiens is a member of the German Operation Research Society and Principal Investigator at the KASTEL Institute of Information Security and Dependability at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).