Embedding sustainability into supply chain management : a New Zealand perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) refers to the integration of social, environmental and economic practices into supply chain management (SCM). Despite its increasing prominence both in academia and practice, there is a paucity of empirical research on SSCM. In particular, SSCM has not been adequately explored in New Zealand. To address this knowledge gap, this study empirically investigates why and how companies are integrating sustainability practices in their SCM. The study is positioned within an interpretive paradigm using a qualitative case study design, primarily drawing on the interview data from 23 New Zealand-based companies. This thesis comprises three empirical chapters. The first chapter examines the factors that motivate and inhibit companies to adopt SSCM strategy. The findings indicate that financial and operational efficiency, reputation/risk management, customer pressure and top management support are prime motivators for companies to embrace SSCM strategy. Conversely, economic difficulties, strategic/structural constraints, suppliers’ related issues, and inadequate customer demand are key obstacles encountered by companies in the successful implementation of SSCM strategy. The second chapter explores how companies govern their SCM activities with the aim of improving SSCM performance. The findings suggest that a company’s choice of an appropriate mechanism is determined by context-dependent factors such as perceived level of risk with suppliers, regulatory regimes and cultural differences. Based on the empirical findings, this chapter proposes a sustainable supply chain governance (SSCG) model that classifies companies’ SSCM progression into five stages based on two dimensions – corporate pro-sustainability orientation and SSCM maturity. The third chapter investigates how companies manage their green supply chain management (GSCM) issues. The findings indicate that the current focus of companies is on developing internal environmental performance that relates to their mid-stream SCM practices. At the external (upstream and downstream) SCM level, the implementation of environmental practices is relatively limited, and few companies are actively collaborating with supply chain partners in terms of developing their SSCM performance. Overall, the empirical findings of this study reveal that SSCM is relatively new but is evolving rapidly in New Zealand. This study contributes to theory by offering new insights regarding the integration of sustainability into SCM, suggesting that diligent and prudent management of SSCM can possibly lead to achieving competitive advantage1. In addition, this thesis explicates an integrative SSCM framework that provides new insights linking sustainability and SCM disciplines. Hence, this study has several implications for practitioners to adopt SSCM practices. First, businesses will learn (and benefit from) how to integrate different aspects of SSCM strategy into their overall business model, enabling them to reduce their business risk. Second, this study enables managerial understanding as to how their businesses can progress through the different stages of SSCM integration. The main limitation of this study is that the findings cannot be generalized to any specific industry or larger population. Future research should therefore focus on an industry-specific exploration of SSCM strategies, and also test the study’s findings in a large-scale survey

A modified multi-level inverter system for grid-tied DES applications

Energy harvesting from renewable energy sources is trending in the world due to inventions in modern technology. This paper proposes a grid-tied single-phase modified W-type 81-level inverter. Inverter design equations to calculate various parameters, such as the number of voltage levels and the number of DC power sources, along with the feedback controller equations, are developed to integrate the proposed topology with an electric power grid. The modeling of the control system for the proposed topology is carried out in the synchronously rotating reference frame for single-phase systems. The PWM generation part of the proposed inverter system makes use of the binary search nearest level algorithm to efficiently track the grid voltage signal. The proposed system integrates the inverter with the grid without the need for an output filter. The efficiency analysis shows that the proposed system delivers active and reactive power to the grid with an efficiency of around 90% and a THD of 1.04%. The voltage and current waveforms for the dynamic active and reactive power flow reveal that the proposed system exhibits a good transient and steady-state response. The overall system is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and the results are verified using a hardware implementation of the prototype circuit.Web of Science1424art. no. 1654

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Female Workers’ Social Sustainability in Global Supply Chains

This review article investigates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on female workers in the global supply chain context. To this end, we reviewed and critically examined emerging scholarly literature as well as policy documents and reports published by international development organizations concerning female workers’ social sustainability, livelihood, and health and wellbeing issues in global supply chain operations. Thus, this article focuses on female workers’ issues in emerging and developing economies where the ongoing pandemic continues to devastate and create multidimensional social and economic challenges for the wellbeing and social sustainability of female workers. Our analysis suggests that female workers are facing serious socioeconomic challenges that continue to affect their wellbeing, mental health, and livelihoods. Accordingly, it is imperative that international development organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade associations, governments, and most importantly the corporate sector not only consider individual responsibility for promoting female workforce social sustainability in global supply chains but also actively collaborate to address pressing social sustainability issues vis à vis female workers. Building on these findings, the implications for future research, practice, and policies are discussed

Mindfulness and social sustainability: an integrative review

The purpose of this review paper is to present a holistic conceptualization by synthesizing mindfulness and social sustainability literature and introducing an integrative mindfulness-social sustainability framework. To this end, we conducted an extensive review of the mindfulness and social sustainability literature. The findings revealed that there is a paucity of research that has examined the relationship between mindfulness and social sustainability. While some recent studies have begun to explore the role of mindfulness in ecological sustainability, the link between mindfulness and social sustainability has remained under-researched. This paper introduces an integrative mindfulness-social sustainability framework that explicates how mindfulness practice can be employed in the workplace context to achieve social sustainability outcomes. In this regard, we first discuss how mindfulness is related to social sustainability at the individual (e.g., employee health and well-being) and organizational (e.g., ethical behavior, employee performance, workplace spirituality) levels. Next, we examine how individual and organizational social sustainability might relate to some wider societal sustainability outcomes (e.g., social justice, collective social capital). We argue that this is one of the few early theoretical papers that has investigated the potential connections between two important, albeit fragmented disciplines—mindfulness and social sustainability. This paper suggests potential courses of action to address social sustainability challenges by integrating mindfulness and social sustainability

Integrating management control systems, mindfulness and sustainability: an occupational health and safety perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to integrate the notions of management control systems (MCS), mindfulness and sustainability, and introduce a framework demonstrating how sustainability outcomes – specifically occupational health and safety (OHS) improvements – can be accomplished by incorporating mindfulness-based interventions (or mindfulness-based training) as an effective MCS enabler. Design/methodology/approach The authors have conducted an integrative literature review to synthesize the knowledge of the mindfulness, sustainability and MCS literatures with a specific focus on OHS. Findings The findings revealed that there is a dearth of research that has investigated the potential linkages between mindfulness, MCS and sustainability. While some studies have explored the role of MCS in promoting sustainability and corporate social responsibility concepts, as well as the linkages between mindfulness and sustainability, this paper specifically looked at how mindfulness-based interventions can be applied in the organizational context to enhance OHS sustainability outcomes. Research limitations/implications This paper introduces a framework that shows how mindfulness-based interventions, as a means of MCS, can be used to enhance desired OHS sustainability outcomes. Originality/value This paper extends the sustainability, mindfulness and MCS literature by explicating how mindfulness-based interventions can be used as one of the key MCS enablers that support sustainability and OHS outcomes. Accordingly, the authors argue that this is one of the few early review papers that have investigated the potential connections between mindfulness, sustainability and MCS in the OHS context

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Female Workers’ Social Sustainability in Global Supply Chains

This review article investigates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on female workers in the global supply chain context. To this end, we reviewed and critically examined emerging scholarly literature as well as policy documents and reports published by international development organizations concerning female workers’ social sustainability, livelihood, and health and wellbeing issues in global supply chain operations. Thus, this article focuses on female workers’ issues in emerging and developing economies where the ongoing pandemic continues to devastate and create multidimensional social and economic challenges for the wellbeing and social sustainability of female workers. Our analysis suggests that female workers are facing serious socioeconomic challenges that continue to affect their wellbeing, mental health, and livelihoods. Accordingly, it is imperative that international development organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade associations, governments, and most importantly the corporate sector not only consider individual responsibility for promoting female workforce social sustainability in global supply chains but also actively collaborate to address pressing social sustainability issues vis à vis female workers. Building on these findings, the implications for future research, practice, and policies are discussed

A Systematic Literature Review on Environmental Sustainability Issues of Flexible Packaging: Potential Pathways for Academic Research and Managerial Practice

The purpose of this review is to investigate environmental sustainability issues of the flexible packaging (FP) segment of the packaging industry. Increasingly, waste and pollution caused by FP have become a significant challenge for global sustainable development. Prior research studies have examined a diverse set of environmental challenges associated with FP, albeit, in a fragmented way. There is a paucity of research exploring and synthesizing the environmental burden of FP in an integrated fashion. To bridge this knowledge gap, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify, synthesize, and analyze the environmental sustainability issues of FP utilizing the SCOPUS database. Based on an in-depth critical analysis of selected articles, this paper provides novel insights to scholars, practitioners, and policymakers for developing an improved understanding of environmental issues of the FP sector. This paper promotes academic scholarship and strengthens managerial practice in addressing the environmental sustainability challenges of FP