Barriers to circular food supply chains in China

Purpose: This paper aims to identify and systematically analyze the causal-effect relationships among barriers to circular food supply chains in China. Design/methodology/approach: Grounded in multiple organizational theories, this paper develops a theoretical framework for identifying relevant barriers to integrating circular economy philosophy in food supply chain management. The study uses 105 responses from Chinese food supply chain stakeholders including food processors, sales and distribution channels, consumers and government officials. It applies a fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to examine the causal-effect relationships among the identified barriers. Findings: Overall, the results suggest two key cause barriers: first, weak environmental regulations and enforcement, and second, lack of market preference/pressure. Meanwhile, lack of collaboration/support from supply chain actors is the most prominent barrier. The key cause and prominent barriers are also identified for each of the supply chain stakeholder involved. Research implications: The study offers practical insights for overcoming barriers to integrating circular economy philosophy in the management of supply chains in the Chinese food sector, as well as in other contexts where similar challenges are faced. It also sheds light on which organizational theories are most suitable for guiding similar studies. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first barrier study on circular food supply chains. The use of multiple organizational theories for the development of the theoretical framework is unique in barrier studies. The study offers insights from multiple stakeholders in the Chinese food supply chains

Sustainable supply chain management in stakeholders:supporting from sustainable supply and process management in the healthcare industry in Vietnam

© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Prior studies presented the sustainable supply chain management practices, but an approach from stakeholders is still untapped. The interaction between forward and reverse flows also needs to be involved in investment recovery. Sustainable supply chain management is an increasing concern in the environmental, social and economic performance. This study uses fuzzy Delphi method to validate a set of criteria and uses exploratory factor analysis to confirm the aspects. This study applies stakeholder theory in combination with fuzzy set theory and decision-making trial and evaluation method to explore the interrelationships among attributes. The results show that sustainable supply management and process management are the major cause aspects. Investment recovery has not been noticed in the healthcare industry, reflected in the weak interaction. The top five criteria are supplier assessment, environmental management systems, green certification of supplier, supplier collaboration and health and safety certifications. This study provides theoretical and managerial implications

Fuzzy DEMATEL Approach to Assess Factors Leading to Navigational Equipment Defect

The increasing attention to the improvement and continuous enhancement of navigational safety has led to a high standard of navigation systems and the introduction of new technologies. Although several conventions, recommendations, guidelines, and performance standards for navigational equipment are set out by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), unexpected defects on this equipment may still occur on board. Any defect on this equipment may cause both accidents and commercial loss. This paper presented A fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique to assess factors that may cause navigational equipment defects, considering the academic and industrial gaps. Five homogeneous experts were asked to evaluate the relationship among the factors with respect to the linguistic scale. After the factors were ascertained and evaluated, preventive measures for most important factors were recommended in the view of experts’ opinions in order to minimize and avoid their effect. The findings of the study will contribute to understanding the causes of navigational equipment defects and provide a basis for the continuous safety process of the ship’s bridge operations in a comprehensive aspect

Barriers to smart waste management for a circular economy in China

Waste management requires a new vision and drastic improvements for a transition to a zero-waste circular economy. In reality, however, many economies are producing more and more waste, which poses a serious challenge to environmental sustainability. The problem is enormously complex as it involves a variety of stakeholders, demands behavioral changes, and requires a complete rethinking of the current waste management systems and the dominant linear economic model. Smart enabling technologies can aid in a transformation of waste management toward a circular economy, but many barriers persist. This study first shortlists twelve important barriers to smart waste management in China based on interviews with experienced practitioners. It then prioritizes these barriers through a scientific prioritization technique, fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), based on the survey data from three representative stakeholders. It identified three key causal barriers: the lack of regulatory pressures, the lack of environmental education and culture of environmental protection, and the lack of market pressures and demands. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed based on the research results and findings

Assessing Risk and Sustainability Factors in Spice Supply Chain Management

The inopportune organization of spice supply chains (SSCs) results in aided risks, resource wastages, and sustainability issues. Nevertheless, practitioners and academicians alike must investigate spice supply chain management (SSCM) in terms of long-term sustainability. This study draws on the available literature to compile a collection of characteristics and maintain sustainable spice supply chain management techniques which come up with associated risks and relevant obstacles. Existing studies claim that due to a lack of resources, the associated risks are the root of poor SSCM performance. As a result, the goal of this study is to identify the primary risk variables using qualitative data; nevertheless, the attributes must be converted into a scale that is comparable. The fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used to obtain valid and reliable attributes from qualitative data, while the fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (FDEMATEL) was used to address uncertainty and interrelationships simultaneously. FDM results suggest that there are eighteen critical risk variables and seven risks threatening effective SSCM. FDEMATEL results reveal qualitative data translated into crisp, comparable values in order to investigate causal linkages between variables and confirm the compatibility of the theoretical structure with industry realities. The findings show fluctuation in the Price (C8), diseases and pests (C20), human contamination (C23), spice adulteration (C24), and loss of food quality, and quantity (C36) are all important risks and sub-risks in these causative interrelationships. The primary risks involved in enhancing SCM include Financial Risk (A5), Ergonomic Risk (A8), and Operation and Management Risk (A10). The study recommends that industry professionals use future marketing tools to protect themselves from price changes which allow them to assess supply and demand circumstances and manage price risks over distance and time. Spices are the key contributors to earning a sizable amount of foreign currency through export in a developing country. It suggests to policymakers, regulatory organizations, and practitioners to develop regulations, raise farmer understanding about pest control, impose stiff penalties on vendors and businesses proven to be involved in spice adulteration, and develop a sustainable fertilizer distribution system. These corresponding action plans for improving the SSC sector and comparing it with agro-food and short-supply chains are investigated. This study contributes to theory by utilizing FDM and FDEMATEL methods for addressing the uncertainty and interrelationship among associated risks that hinder SCM from attaining sustainability

CONTEMPLATION OF OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVES ENCUMBERING THE PRODUCTION-CONSUMPTION AVENUES OF THE PROCESSED FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

In developing nations, the changing lifestyle of the masses and the winds of globalization have increased the consumption rate of processed food items. However, the network of processed food supply chains is confronting various challenges impacting the production-consumption avenues. The presented work aims to identify and analyze the challenges encumbering the processed food supply chain dynamics. To meet this goal, thirty-two distinct challenges are identified from the research literature and refined by seeding inputs from field experts into an exploratory factor analysis. Challenges of high field relevance are further analyzed for the contextual interrelationships and severity by the novel hybrid approach Interval Valued Neutrosophic Vague Set Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory. The outcomes of the presented work find their implication in formulating the decisional framework and strategic and tactical roadmaps to mitigate the impact of these challenges to mapping demand and supply patterns

Development of Conceptual Constructs for Organisational BIM Adoption and their Systematic Application within the UK Architecture Sector

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an innovation that is transforming practices within the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) sectors. The investigation of the process of BIM adoption and diffusion has attracted significant interest from industry and academia. Drivers and factors influencing BIM adoption were examined at different levels, ranging from individual and group through organisations and supply chains to whole market level. However, there is still a dearth of studies that extensively integrate drivers and factors affecting the decision to adopt BIM by organisations. Existing studies often seek to develop approaches for forecasting BIM diffusion, and are generally focused on the diffusion phase, after BIM has been adopted. Therefore, this study aims to improve the understanding of the BIM adoption process within organisations and across markets by developing the necessary conceptual constructs (e.g., BIM adoption taxonomy, adoption process model, adoption two-dimensional characterisation model, and systems thinking models) and providing the supporting empirical evidence. This study provided an in-depth analysis of the BIM adoption process within organisations. It developed a unified BIM adoption taxonomy that contains an extensive array of adoption factors. Following the validation of the taxonomy, its factors were used within a proposed conceptual model, which combined the Innovation Diffusion Theory with the Institutional Theory, to perform a multifaceted analysis of the BIM adoption process. A set of 11 most influencing factors on BIM adoption process was identified and included: Willingness to adopt BIM, Communication behaviour of an organisation, Observability of BIM benefits, Compatibility of BIM, Social motivations among organisation's members, Relative advantage of BIM, Organisational culture, Top management support, Organisational readiness, Coercive pressures (Governmental mandate, informal mandate), and Organisation size. Focussing on these 11 most influencing factors, several analyses were performed to understand the interplays between these factors - while considering specific instances of certain factors (i.e. organisation size, and external isomorphic pressure) over time (i.e., Pre-2011, 2011-2016, and Post-2016 exemplifying three key time periods in the UK national BIM strategy). The results showed that the Relative advantage of BIM is the most important and influencing factor across all the three stages of the adoption process (i.e., Awareness stage, Intention stage, and Decision stage) of the BIM adoption process. Coercive pressures (e.g. Governmental mandate, informal mandate) had a direct influence on both formulating the intention and the decision to adopt BIM across the three-time horizons (i.e., Pre-2011, 2011-2016, and Post-2016). For the Pre-2011 period, the coercive pressures were mostly informal mandate/pressures by the parent companies and partners, while during 2011-2016 and Post-2016 periods, it is predominantly the UK Government mandate which was announced in 2011 and entered into effect in 2016. Several Systems Thinking models were developed to show the interdependencies among the factors that affect the BIM adoption process at different time periods and stages of the BIM adoption process. Such models infer patterns of behaviour of BIM adoption as complex systems and can be used to guide the development and implementation of BIM strategies. For example, by relating each factor within the system thinking model to the player group(s) who can exert influence upon it, the complementary role of the player groups can be planned to facilitate the BIM adoption process according to the patterns identified in the corresponding systems thinking model. The different patterns developed through the specialised systems thinking models can be used to develop tailored BIM adoption strategies for the different scenarios involved. At a global level (overall aim), this study provided an understanding of how intra-organisational BIM adoption and inter-organisational BIM diffusion occurs. At a local level (individual objectives), the key knowledge deliverables in this study (i.e., the taxonomy, conceptual model for BIM adoption process, two-dimensional characterisation model of BIM adoption, and systems thinking models) and the empirical investigation represent a new contribution to knowledge with each contributing from a specific standpoint. The Unified BIM Adoption Taxonomy is the first – if not the sole – statistically validated BIM adoption taxonomy that includes an extensive array of adoption drivers and factors and combines constructs from both the Institutional and the Innovation Diffusion theories. The conceptual model for analysing BIM adoption and its use for the empirical investigation of BIM adoption within the UK Architecture sector explored and identified relationships that were not known before (i.e., triggering the BIM Awareness and formulating an Intention about BIM adoption is not limited to Internal Environment Characteristics and the Innovation Characteristics respectively - as suggested by Rogers’ theory, but occurs by a combination of both characteristics). The two-dimensional characterisation model of BIM adoption clarified new interplays between adoption factors, the organisation size, and time (i.e., pairs of positively and negatively correlated factors vary based on time horizon). The classification of factors into cause and effect groups using the F-DEMATEL provided a new understanding of the independencies between factors which can be used to tailor and prioritise implementation actions and investments. The developed Systems Thinking Models enabled an attentive analysis of mutual interactions between adoption factors as part of a causal relationship networks. The developed instances of such models for different temporal scenarios and stages of the BIM adoption stage can be exploited by the industry player groups (i.e., Policy-makers, decision-makers, change agents, etc.) to promote BIM adoption process within the organisations and BIM diffusion across a market. The key knowledgeable deliverables can be used to perform various analyses of the BIM adoption process, providing evidence and insights for decision-makers within organisations and across a whole market when formulating BIM adoption and diffusion strategies. In particular, they can assist researchers, decision-makers, and policy-makers with a better understanding of the BIM adoption process and can guide the development of BIM strategies and plan for BIM adoption and diffusion. Ultimately, they contribute to promote BIM adoption within the architectural sector through the suggested adoption patterns

Developing a conceptual model to evaluate green suppliers: Decision making method using DEMATEL

Nowadays stakeholder pressure and public awareness have been raised against companies‟ environmental impacts, so green supply chain management (GSCM) seems vital for companies‟ environmental compliance and business growth. Companies continuously seek novel ideas and methods enabling them to obtain and/or maintain environmental sustainability. Greening the supply chain is one of such innovative idea involving all of the business value-adding operations, comprising purchasing and in-bound logistics, production and manufacturing, distribution, out-bound logistics and collaboration with patrons and suppliers in a way that has the least negative environmental effect. The main objective of the present study is finding interrelationship between green supplier criteria. For this to happen, we investigated experts‟ opinions through nominal group technique (NGT) to find out the interrelationship and causal preferences of the green supplier evaluation aspects using Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. A numerical example demonstrates the application of the proposed model.N/

Interrelations among leadership competencies of BIM leaders: A fuzzy DEMATEL-ANP approach

© 2020 by the authors. The use of new, digitally enabled innovations, such as building information modeling (BIM), raises issues such as the delineation of a competent leader. Even though BIM-based competency assessment models have become essential tools for maximizing the potential values of BIM implementation, the current competency models provide limited focus on leadership aspects that facilitate and enhance the BIM implementation efforts. This paper seeks to identify the specific competencies required for BIM implementation and examines the relationships between these competencies. Thirty-two experts from around the globe investigated a total of 15 leadership competencies under three categories pertaining to intellectual, managerial, and emotional leadership. Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was implemented to examine the cause-and-effect relationships among the BIM leadership competencies and fuzzy analytic network process (ANP) was performed to weigh those competencies. Findings show that the intellectual competencies act as the cause group, while managerial and emotional competencies are the effect groups. Moreover, the involving leadership is found to be the more suitable leadership style for BIM professionals, given the current capability and maturity levels of BIM implementation, in order to deal with the required changes throughout the BIM implementation process. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the BIM domain to examine the associated leadership competencies by using the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique. The results of this research show the relative importance of criteria and sub-criteria, which contributes to further improvement of BIM leadership