Environmental and social supply chain management sustainability practices: construct development and measurement

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and operationalise the concept of supply chain management sustainability practices. Based on a multi-stage procedure involving a literature review, expert Q-sort and pre-test process, pilot test and survey of 156 supply chain directors and managers in Ireland, we develop a multidimensional conceptualisation and measure of social and environmental supply chain management sustainability practices. The research findings show theoretically sound constructs based on four underlying sustainable supply chain management practices: monitoring, implementing systems, new product and process development and strategy redefinition. A two-factor model is then identified as the most reliable: comprising process-based and market-based practices.

Keywords:

• sustainable supply chain management
• social sustainability
• environmental sustainability
• construct development

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences for funding this research.