Assessing circularity along the agri-food supply chain: a decision making tool

Circular economy (CE) is gaining momentum as a sustainable and resource efficient economic model. In the agri-food context, the CE transition would effectively tackle the natural resource depletion, responding the urging challenges of food waste and insecurity. Combining systematic literature review and expert interviews, this paper addresses how CE strategies can be assessed in the context of agri-food supply chain. The study brings some initial advancement in circularity assessment, presenting a list of CE indicators relevant for each CE strategy and supply chain stage. Perspectives from the practitioner experts are integrated to present further considerations for advancement

Surface doping in T6/ PDI-8CN2 Heterostructures investigated by transport and photoemission measurements

In this paper, we discuss the surface doping in sexithiophene (T6) organic field-effect transistors by PDI-8CN2. We show that an accumulation heterojunction is formed at the interface between the organic semiconductors and that the consequent band bending in T6 caused by PDI-8CN2 deposition can be addressed as the cause of the surface doping in T6 transistors. Several evidences of this phenomenon have been furnished both by electrical transport and photoemission measurements, namely the increase in the conductivity, the shift of the threshold voltage and the shift of the T6 HOMO peak towards higher binding energies.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Designing circular supply chains in start-up companies: evidence from Italian fashion and construction start-ups

PurposeThe theory of complex adaptive systems (CASs) represents an interesting perspective to study the characteristics of circular supply chains (CSCs). In this regard, the current literature lacks evidence regarding coordination and integration mechanisms, characteristics of the environment and emerging system properties of CSCs. This paper aims to fill this gap and focuses on how and why companies design (i.e. configure and coordinate) their CSCs and what value these design choices help to create across different industries.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a multiple case study approach and analyze data collected from a sample of five sustainable start-ups operating in the fashion and construction industries in Italy to better understand how these companies design (i.e. configure and coordinate) their CSCs.FindingsResults reveal that in the two industries under investigation, the design of CSCs built around open and closed-loop logic is triggered by the intention to solve a negative sustainability impact. The sustainability impact determines whether the value is restored within the same supply chain, in another, or inside or outside the same industry. Interestingly, start-ups appear to coordinate other CSC actors with three leading roles: (1) orchestrator, (2) integrated orchestrator and (3) circular manufacturer. The coordination role of the start-ups differs in each supply chain configuration based on the level of vertical integration of manufacturing activities.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical perspective, the authors' results expand previous supply chain management (SCM) literature by presenting an empirical analysis of the configuration and coordination of CSCs, and discussing the drivers for creating such circularity from a CAS perspective. From a managerial perspective, the authors offer a practical experience to entrepreneurs on how to transform circular and sustainable business model aspirations into CSC practices

When sustainability becomes an order winner: linking supply uncertainty and sustainable supply chain strategies

This study investigates how to implement a sustainable supply chain strategy by choosing a set of sustainable practices while considering the strategic priority assigned to sustainability within a company’s competitive strategy (i.e., an order winner (OW), market qualifier (MQ) or desirable attribute (DA)). Therefore, two research questions arise: RQ1. What are the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices adopted by companies under the different levels of priority assigned to sustainability (i.e., OW, MQ and DA)? and RQ2. How does supply uncertainty influence the choices regarding the SSCM practices to adopt or vice versa? We addressed these questions through a two-step methodology that includes 10 exploratory case studies in different industries and four explanatory cases in the furniture industry. Six research propositions are developed, and we show how some sustainable practices are common to all companies in the sample, while others are only applicable when sustainability is an MQ or an OW. Moreover, in contrast to the suggestion in the literature, we observed that companies with sustainability as an OW implement sustainability practices despite increasing exposure to supply uncertainty. However, when sustainability is a DA or an MQ, companies might implement sustainable practices with the aim of reducing supply uncertainty rather than for sustainability goals. The cases show that investment in these practices can trigger a transition towards a situation in which sustainability is an OW

Co-creation with customers and suppliers: an exploratory study

Purpose: Co-creation along the new product development (NPD) seems the winning approach in nowadays market. The purpose of this paper is to explore the collaboration and interaction flows between suppliers and customers in co-creation initiatives devoted to NPD. Design/methodology/approach: After developing a classification of demand-side and supply-side involvement in co-creation along the NPD process, 13 cases of co-creation in the consumer goods industry, within the Italian context, have been analyzed. Findings: Three patterns of co-creation have been identified: supplier-driven approach: companies co-creating with suppliers in multiple NPD phases, while involving customers only in one; customer-driven approach: companies involving customers in multiple phases, while engaging suppliers only in one and firm-driven approach: companies involving both customers and suppliers in one single phase. Further, the locus of relevant knowledge drives to different co-creation approaches. Research limitations/implications: The work contributes to extant literature by: providing a classification of demand-side and supply-side involvement in NPD; empirically investigating the interaction flows between customers and suppliers in co-creation initiatives along the NPD; highlighting the factors potentially affecting a concurrent involvement of customers and suppliers in NPD. Practical implications: The findings can help to efficiently and effectively design and manage the relation with both suppliers and customers in co-creation projects devoted to NPD. Originality/value: The involvement of suppliers and customers in co-creation initiatives has been so far analyzed only separately in literature. This study opens a new stream of research, stressing how the evolution of the market, toward a more participative one, spurs the need to investigate the collaboration and interaction flows between the two actors

Towards an integrated model to explain the factors affecting collaborative innovation processes – insights from the agrifood sector

This study explores the relevant factors to involve multiple actors who develop and implement new technologies to build sustainable agrifood systems. By examining 11 cases, we found that technological, organization, environmental, behavioural and interorganizational factors (all mentioned in current literature) as well as collaborative business models (not mentioned in current literature) affect such initiatives. Based on this, we propose an integrated model. The agrifood sector is one of the first sectors in which a collaborative transition unfolds. As other sectors are likely to undergo similar transitions in the near future, lessons learnt from the agrifood sector can guide these transitions

Perylene diimides functionalized with N-thiadiazole substituents: Synthesis and electronic properties in OFET devices

Two new perylene diimide derivatives N,N′-bis(5-tridecyl-1,3,4- thiadiazol-2-yl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic 3,4:9,10-diimide (PDI-T1) and N,N′-bis[5-(1-hexyl)nonyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]perylene-3,4,9, 10-tetracarboxylic 3,4:9,10-diimide (PDI-T2), achieved by functionalizing the basic perylene molecular core at imide nitrogen with 1,3,4-thiadiazole rings, have been synthesized. Both these compounds make possible the fabrication of n-type organic thin-film transistors able to work in air, even when bare SiO2 surfaces are utilized as gate dielectric. As active channels of transistors in the bottom-contact bottom-gate configuration, PDI-T1 evaporated films exhibited a maximum mobility of 0.016 cm2/V s in vacuum. For evaporated PDI-T2 films, instead, mobility values were found to be more than one order of magnitude lower, because of their reduced degree of crystalline order. However, PDI-T2 films can be also deposited by solution techniques and field-effect transistors were fabricated by spin-coating, displaying mobility values ranging between 10-6 and 10-5 cm2/V s. Similar to what previously found for other perylene diimide derivatives, our experimental work also demonstrates that the electrical response of both PDI-T1 and PDI-T2 transistors under ambient conditions can be improved by increasing the level of hydrophobicity of the dielectric surface. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved