Innovations in Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain and Logistics Management

Dear Colleagues,

Global supply chains are undergoing a rapid transformation in response to environmental challenges, market volatility, and technological disruptions (Sheffi, 2020). Sustainability and resilience have become critical priorities for both researchers and practitioners, as supply chains must simultaneously reduce their ecological footprint and withstand shocks such as pandemics, geopolitical instability, and climate-related events (Wang et al., 2024). Advances in digital technologies, data-driven decision-making, and circular economy practices are opening new avenues for designing supply chains that are both sustainable and resilient (Islam et al., 2025; Ivanov, 2021).

Different forms of innovation—including radical, incremental, and open innovation (Chesbrough & Bogers, 2014; Tidd, 2023)—play important roles in shaping organizational and supply chain practices. They also play a crucial role in shaping organizational and supply chain practices while also enabling technologies to be leveraged more effectively to achieve these objectives. Sustainability-oriented innovations, such as environmental and social innovations, are becoming increasingly important in the modern business environment (Schaltegger & Wagner, 2011). They emphasize ecological preservation and social well-being alongside financial performance. A key question is how such sustainability innovations can be leveraged to build robust supply chains that not only reduce environmental harm, but also support business continuity.

Improvements in social responsibility also require social innovation—an area that has been receiving increasing attention. Social innovation can enhance social impact by enabling companies to drive positive change within and beyond their organizations. However, the mechanisms through which social innovation contributes to improved social outcomes require further exploration, particularly to understand how firms can effectively utilize these mechanisms and translate them into actionable strategies. For example, human-centered operations can contribute to building supply chains that are both sustainable and resilient.

Innovation not only plays a critical role in enhancing organizational and supply chain capabilities, but is also shaped by external environmental factors. For instance, environmental uncertainty can significantly influence innovation outcomes (Wang et al., 2022). It is therefore important to examine these phenomena in the post-pandemic business environment. Geopolitical dynamics, such as the U.S.–China trade war, illustrate how cross-border tensions can affect organizational innovation. Drawing on open innovation theory, it becomes clear that innovation can generate both positive and negative impacts on business operations and supply chains.

With the emergence of Industry 5.0, innovation has become increasingly intertwined with advanced technologies (Seyedghorban et al., 2020; Wang & Prajogo, 2024). This underscores the need to explore practical use cases and industry examples that demonstrate the value of innovation, as well as its effects on specific areas and applications. Although many scholars argue that innovation plays a central role in digital supply chain transformation, gaps remain in the literature. For example, artificial intelligence can augment human work, but technology alone is insufficient to replace human judgment and creativity (Sheffi, 2024). Human intelligence remains a crucial driver of innovation, particularly when integrating emerging technologies into supply chain operations (Wang et al., 2025). Furthermore, new supply chain governance models and collaborative practices, combined with technological advances, offer pathways for supply chains to minimize environmental impact, uphold social responsibility, and strengthen adaptive capacity.

This Special Issue, ‘Innovations in Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain and Logistics Management’, aims to advance our knowledge at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and resilience. We welcome submissions from a wide range of sectors and industries, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, construction, logistics, warehousing, etc. This Special Issue invites empirical, conceptual, and methodological contributions exploring innovation for sustainability and resilience. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of our editors.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Digital transformation and its role in sustainable and resilient supply chains (e.g., blockchain, IoT, AI, big data, digital twins).
• Supply chain agility, flexibility, and visibility as enablers of resilience and sustainability.
• Circular economy practices and closed-loop supply chains for sustainability and risk reduction.
• Business model innovations supporting green logistics and sustainable operations.
• Governance, policy, and institutional innovations that enable sustainable supply chain resilience.
• Social sustainability, equity, and inclusivity in supply chain risk management.
• Disaster risk reduction, humanitarian logistics, and community-based resilience.
• Risk analysis and decision-support systems for transport and logistics under disruption.
• Continuous improvement practices in sustainable supply chain management.
• Supply chain collaboration, integration, and information sharing for resilience.
• Sustainable transport capacity management and infrastructure planning.
• Industry 5.0 and human-centric innovations in supply chain resilience.
• Metrics, frameworks, and methodological advances for assessing supply chain sustainability and resilience.
• Case studies of innovative practices in developed and emerging economies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.  

References

Chesbrough, H., & Bogers, M. (2014). Explicating Open Innovation. In. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199682461.003.0001

Islam, S., Shi, Y., Nahar, R., Ahmed, J. U., & Wang, M. (2025). Identifying and analyzing barriers to ship-based evacuation planning using AIS data. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 203, 104357.

Ivanov, D. (2021). Digital Supply Chain Management and Technology to Enhance Resilience by Building and Using End-to-End Visibility During the COVID-19 Pandemic [Article]. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2021.3095193

Schaltegger, S., & Wagner, M. (2011). Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: Categories and interactions [Article]. Business strategy and the environment, 20(4), 222–237. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.682

Seyedghorban, Z., Tahernejad, H., Meriton, R., & Graham, G. (2020). Supply chain digitalization: past, present and future [Article]. Production Planning and Control, 31(2–3), 96–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2019.1631461

Sheffi, Y. (2020). The new (ab) normal: Reshaping business and supply chain strategy beyond Covid-19. MIT CTL Media.

Sheffi, Y. (2024). Technology is not enough: Potential job displacement in an AI-driven future. Journal of Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Procurement, 6(4), 338–351.

Tidd, J. (2023). Managing Innovation. In IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society Body of Knowledge (TEMSBOK) (pp. 95–108). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119987635.ch6

Wang, M., Childerhouse, P., & Abareshi, A. (2024). Global logistics and supply chain integration in the digital era: a focus on China's Belt and Road Initiative. Journal of International Logistics and Trade, 22(2), 58–79. https://doi.org/10.1108/JILT-03-2023-0018

Wang, M., Hill, A., Liu, Y., Hwang, K.-S., & Lim, M. K. (2025). Supply chain digitalization and agility: how does firm innovation matter in companies? Journal of Business Logistics, 46(1), 1–40.

Wang, M., Kim, N., & Chan, R. Y. K. (2022). Impacts of environmental uncertainty on firms' innovation capability and stakeholder value: evidence from the Australian courier industry International Journal of Innovation Management, 26, 2250008. https://doi.org/10.1142/s1363919622500086

Wang, M., & Prajogo, D. (2024). The effect of supply chain digitalisation on a firm’s performance. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 124(5), 1725–1745. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2023-0629

Dr. Michael Wang
Dr. Samsul Islam
Dr. Yongjiang Shi
Dr. Kurt Y. Liu
Dr. Bill Wang
Guest Editors

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• innovation
• sustainability
• resilience
• digitalization
• supply chain
• logistics
• transportation