Is lean synergistic with sustainable supply chain? An empirical investigation from emerging economy

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. In the extant literature some researchers have agreed upon the nature of inter-relationship between lean and green as synergistic whereas other have termed it as coincidental or even dichotomous. We submit that the inconclusiveness in the relationship between lean and green arises from not investigating it from a holistic standpoint. In this study, we address this gap by adjudging the relationship of lean systems with holistic supply chain context which includes sourcing, production and logistics. The proposed hypotheses are grounded in the resource-based view of the firm. We examine the relationship in the context of emerging economy such as India. Results obtained using structural equation modelling method indicates that lean implementation positively influences the implementation of sustainability practices for supplier selection and production but negatively impacts sustainability practices for delivery and logistic services. We conclude that the relationship between lean management and sustainable supply chain management is not straightforward. Gain at some place may cause loss at other places. Therefore, the net impact must be seen in totality and segmented analysis is the cause of inconclusive findings

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Not AvailableTillage is an important agricultural operation which influences soil properties, crop yield and environment. Nine combinations of three tillage practices including conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero tillage (ZT) were evaluated in fodder sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) – wheat (Triticum durum) cropping system for 5 years (2009–2014) on clay loam soil under limited irrigation. Continuous ZT practices significantly improved surface soil organic carbon, bulk density, infiltrationrateandmaximumwaterholdingcapacity.Carbonsequestration rate, soil organic carbon stock and soil enzymatic activities were relatively moreunderZTthanCT-CTpractice.Higherfodder yieldofsorghum+cowpea was recorded with CT (kharif) while wheat grain yield with ZT (rabi). However, the system productivity was statistically similar in all the tillage treatments on pooled data basis. The economic benefits were also maximum under ZT-ZT practice. The ZT-ZT practice recorded significantly lowest energy input (17.1 GJ ha−1) which resulted in highest energy use efficiency (13.6) and energy productivity (518 kg GJ−1). Thus, adoption of ZT significantly improved soil health, stabilized crop yield, increased profitability and energy use efficiency in the semi-arid agro-ecosystem.Not Availabl