sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Sustainable Business Management: Operations Competitiveness, Digital Competence and Supply Chain Network

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2024) | Viewed by 11861

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Business Administration, University of Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain
Interests: corporate social responsibility; networking for sustainability; R&D and sustainability; operations management

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Business Administration, University of Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain
Interests: operations management; supply chains; manufacturing flexibility; circular economy; knowledge management; PLS-SEM; bibliometric reviews
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability emphasises the three dimensions of the triple bottom line (economic, environmental and social). Today, it is recognised as one of the most relevant key factors in generating competitive advantages and better economic performances for firms.

Recently, society has increased the pressure on industries to direct more attention to the environmental and resource consequences of the products and services they offer and the processes they deploy. Across the world, institutions and countries are including in their agendas, as a priority, the need to transform the current industrial sector towards a more sustainable economy that strengthens business competitiveness by meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), incorporating information and communication technologies, while protecting the environment. This new context will require the implementation of a new, evolutionary and integrative perspective of organisations and will imply, in many cases, substantial changes in organisations to become more sustainable in their management. Sustainable Business Management (SBM) means operating in a way that recognises that resources are limited and valuable, thus managing them in a way that sustains and builds value for all stakeholders that contribute to an organisation.

Within the context of firms, operations management is considered a strategic area in achieving the sustainable development goals as it consumes most of the productive resources that are now considered as limited and valuable. Consequently, the implementation of new operations management practices has become essential for the development of environmentally friendly processes that allow for us to achieve the SDG goals, mainly those related to SDG9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) and SDG12 (responsible consumption and production).

These environmentally friendly processes cannot be achieved without digital transformations (i.e., Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0 technologies) and the incorporation of sustainability into the management of supply chains, as this will enable better operational efficiency, promote environmental performance and promote the sustainable development goals in the management of material, information and networks throughout the supply chain. Addressing these challenges—to be efficient and competitive, from an operational to supply chain level—is a hot topic that requires further research.

We invite high-quality empirically rigorous papers addressing sustainable practices in operations management and the supply chain. Potential contributions may include, but should not be limited to, theoretical papers and/or quantitative studies. Papers that provide new empirical evidence from case studies are also welcome. With this in mind, we are looking for theoretical and empirical research able to investigate a variety of lines of inquiry, including:

  • Digitalisation for SBM in operations and the supply chain;
  • New trends in SBM;
  • Supply chain networks for SBM;
  • R&D for responsible production and consumption;
  • SDGs in operations management and the supply chain;
  • Enablers, barriers and outcomes of SBM;
  • Public resources for sustainable business transitions;
  • Design and development of sustainable products and processes;
  • SBM practices in singular contexts (i.e., specific sectors, family firms, SMEs);
  • Gender diversity and SBM;
  • Work practices for SBM.

Dr. Gema García-Piqueres
Dr. Marta Pérez-Pérez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable business management
  • operations
  • supply chain
  • digital competence
  • sustainable development goals
  • Industry 4.0
  • networks

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 797 KiB  
Article
Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Banking through Organizational Agility
by Wiweko Probojakti, Hamidah Nayati Utami, Arik Prasetya and Muhammad Faisal Riza
Sustainability 2024, 16(19), 8327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198327 - 25 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3227
Abstract
The fast development of technology in the banking sector has forced a basic review of organizational strategies and structures since banks want to keep ahead of the curve and satisfy the evolving needs of the digital era. This study examines the mediating role [...] Read more.
The fast development of technology in the banking sector has forced a basic review of organizational strategies and structures since banks want to keep ahead of the curve and satisfy the evolving needs of the digital era. This study examines the mediating role of organizational agility in the relationship between transformational leadership and digital transformation on sustainable competitive advantage in the banking sector. The research sample was drawn from a population consisting of head offices, branch offices, and sub-branch offices of regional banks in Indonesia, totaling 185 units. Based on 185 data points collected through surveys distributed to unit leaders, we used PLS-SEM analysis to test the proposed hypotheses. Empirical results indicate that transformational leadership and digital transformation have no significant effect on sustainable competitive advantage. However, organizational agility can significantly mediate this impact on sustainable competitive advantage. The findings underscore the importance of developing agility as an internal factor of organizations that plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 3668 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Agriculture Management: Environmental, Economic and Social Conjunctures for Coffee Sector in Guerrero, via Traditional Knowledge Management
by David Israel Contreras-Medina, Luis Miguel Contreras-Medina and Verónica Cerroblanco-Vázquez
Sustainability 2024, 16(16), 6864; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166864 - 9 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2371
Abstract
Early studies on sustainability establish social, economic, and environmental improvement as the ultimate goal worldwide. This is true for nations or companies with significant economic and technological resources that apply indicators, data, and methodologies to manage harmonious, sustainable development; however, little is known [...] Read more.
Early studies on sustainability establish social, economic, and environmental improvement as the ultimate goal worldwide. This is true for nations or companies with significant economic and technological resources that apply indicators, data, and methodologies to manage harmonious, sustainable development; however, little is known about the management, integration, and measurement of unified social, economic, and environmental dimensions to achieve sustainable actions for agriculture. Therefore, under a qualitative-quantitative approach combining the knowledge management paradigm, sustainability criteria, and the log-linear statistical test, this paper investigates actions for sustainability around planting–harvesting–first disposal of the coffee circuit based on the tacit-explicit traditional knowledge of 55 members of its productive ecosystem from Guerrero, Mexico. The results show a statistical integration between environmental, economic, and social data with 0.000 (p < 0.05); a partial association on its effects with 0.209, 0.068, and 0.000, respectively (p > 0.05); the creation of on-site banks, training and assistance, and a state network for exchanging experiences as the conjectural actions that can show effects with 0.002, while the remaining were over >0.05 (p > 0.05). Governments, organizations, and researchers could extrapolate the model for sustainable agriculture management in the coffee-growing regions and for other crops. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 747 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Nexus between Supplier and Customer Integration and Environmental Cost Performance: Insights into the Role of Digital Transformation
by Jianwei Li, Deyu Zhong, Haoyu Ru and Lixia Jia
Sustainability 2024, 16(14), 5989; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16145989 - 12 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1600
Abstract
Since the beginning of the 21st century, environmental protection and digital supply chains have increasingly garnered attention. As firms transition to green practices, how to achieve competitive advantage by reducing environmental costs has become one of the key concerns for many business managers. [...] Read more.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, environmental protection and digital supply chains have increasingly garnered attention. As firms transition to green practices, how to achieve competitive advantage by reducing environmental costs has become one of the key concerns for many business managers. This study aims to examine how supplier and customer integration affect a firm’s environmental cost performance while considering the moderating effect of digital transformation. Following a survey conducted by a professional research agency on 800 Chinese manufacturing firms specializing in green products, the research model was tested using structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between both supplier integration and customer integration with a firm’s environmental cost performance. Additionally, positive digital transformation reinforces the relationship between supplier integration and customer integration. However, there are limitations due to the study’s background, scope, and sample size. This study underscores the impact of supplier integration and customer integration on a firm’s environmental cost performance, as well as the crucial moderating role of digital transformation. It contributes to the growing literature on sustainable supply chain management and provides valuable insights for relevant practitioners. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 393 KiB  
Article
Thinking Out Loud? Internal vs. External Communication of Sustainability in Companies
by Julia Offermann, Anna Rohowsky and Martina Ziefle
Sustainability 2024, 16(13), 5416; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135416 - 26 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3818
Abstract
Climate change is already having a significant impact, and Germany, the EU’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, is experiencing this firsthand, prompting adaptation measures in cities. German companies must balance social and environmental responsibility with economic goals. Achieving sustainable business goals requires employee [...] Read more.
Climate change is already having a significant impact, and Germany, the EU’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, is experiencing this firsthand, prompting adaptation measures in cities. German companies must balance social and environmental responsibility with economic goals. Achieving sustainable business goals requires employee support and engagement, which can be facilitated through internal and external communication using storytelling and narratives. This paper addresses a gap in research on internal and external sustainability communication by examining both simultaneously. Using a semi-structured interview study, the paper examines the current state of sustainability communication in selected German companies, focusing on addressees, channels, structure, and content. The results revealed a high relevance of sustainability in companies, identified similarities between internal and external characteristics of communication, but also highlighted specific differences (e.g., with regard to communication strategies). This paper also identifies effects of communication and areas for improvement and suggests directions for future research to improve sustainability communication and its role in promoting a more sustainable society. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop