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Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 26645

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Panagiotis Reklitis

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Guest Editor

Department of Agribusiness and Supply Chain Management, Agricultural University of Athens, 1st km Old National Road Thiva-Eleusis, 32200 Thiva, Greece
Interests: supply chain management; sustainability; crisis management; innovation management

Prof. Dr. George Malindretos

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Guest Editor

School of Environment, Geography and Applied Economics, Harokopio University, 17676 Kallithea, Greece
Interests: supply chain & logistics; urban freight transport; sustainable agrifood chain; distribution channels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call from the United Nations to provide a shared blueprint for sustainability, peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The 11th Goal—sustainable cities and communities—aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. In the digital era, coupled with the pandemic crisis, advancing social sustainability is further related to promoting human resource development, quality of life and employee wellbeing. Circular and biobased economic models, as well as an industrial symbiosis that improves across industry resource/energy efficiency and eco-innovations, is needed to move towards an environmentally and economically sustainable transition. To facilitate this transition to sustainable human communities, synergies and partnerships are needed across multiple stakeholders (Trivellas et al., 2021), and supply chains have a critical role to play (Reklitis et al., 2021). Furthermore, with new emerging technologies such as e-business, blockchain and cryptocurrency leveraging business communication, digital marketing, crowdsourcing, user engagement and financial management, there is a move towards the digital transformation of community activities.

We invite all academicians and professionals to provide their point of view on this emerging issue through research articles. The goal of this Special Issue is to analyze the actions of all stakeholders and highlight their role focusing on social, environmental and economic sustainability of communities, as well as communities’ connectivity in the digital era.

Reading List:

Reklitis, P.; Sakas, D.; Trivellas, P.; Tsoulfas, G. Performance Implications of Aligning Supply Chain Practices with Competitive Advantage: Empirical Evidence from the Agri-Food Sector. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8734.
Manikas, I.; Malindretos, G.; Moschuris, S. A Community-Based Agro-Food Hub Model for Sustainable Farming. Sustainability 2019, 11, 1017. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041017
Trivellas, P.; Malindretos, G.; Reklitis, P. Implications of Green Logistics Management on Sustainable Business and Supply Chain Performance: Evidence from a Survey in the Greek Agri-Food Sector. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10515.
Sakas, D.P.; Kamperos, I.D.G.; Reklitis, P. Estimating Risk Perception Effects on Courier Companies’ Online Customer Behavior during a Crisis, Using Crowdsourced Data. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12725.
Wang, Y.; Iqbal, U.; Gong, Y. The Performance of Resilient Supply Chain Sustainability in COVID-19 by Sourcing Technological Integration. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6151. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116151
Najjar, M.; Small, M.H.; M. Yasin, M. Social Sustainability Strategy across the Supply Chain: A Conceptual Approach from the Organisational Perspective. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10438.
Trivellas, P.; Anastasopoulou, A.; Malindretos, G.; Reklitis, P.; Sakas, D.P.; A place-based analysis of stakeholders' advancing sustainability in remote and isolated communities: The case of North Aegean Islands, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021, 899(1), 012044

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Panagiotis Reklitis
Prof. Dr. George Malindretos
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

social sustainability
sustainable supply chains
social economy and cooperative entrepreneurship for sustainable development
digitalization and pandemic (COVID-19) crisis
business communication, digital marketing and crowdsourcing
user engagement and cryptocurrency
business intelligence and participative decision support systems
green logistics and transport
sustainable communities
resilience of remote and isolated communities
multi-stakeholder and multi-criteria decision making
creative resilience and crisis management
human wellbeing and quality of life
work–life balance
circular economy and industrial ecosystems
economic sustainability, accounting and financial management
consumer behavior in the COVID-19 era
city logistics and urban freight transport

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2109 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards a Resilient Organization: Lessons Learned from the Oil and Gas Sector in Qatar

by Issa M. Al Mohannadi, Khalid Kamal Naji, Galal M. Abdella, Hamad Nabeel and Abdel Magid Hamouda

Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010109 - 21 Dec 2023

Viewed by 703

Abstract

Organizational resilience indicates the capacity of an organization or a system to return to its steady condition, or exceed it, after going through a disruptive event that disrupts its steady condition. Qatar’s oil and gas sector has shown remarkable resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic due to its preparedness and readiness to deal with such a disruption. As a lesson learned from the recent COVID-19 pandemic, local governmental institutions need to support national preparedness and resilience to handle emergencies and unpredictable crises by learning from the successful model of Qatar’s oil and gas sector. This study presents the key Resilience Engineering Indicators (REIs) that make this sector resilient and validates the six Resilience Engineering indexes or dimensions adopted, which include top management commitment, speaking up culture, learning, awareness, being prepared, and flexibility. The study evaluated the performance of these REIs using a 5-point Likert Scale survey questionnaire based on the relevance to resilience dimensions. The results show ten REIs contributing to the organization’s resilience and the top four most important Resilience Dimensions (RDs). Moreover, this is the first study to evaluate and assess the organizational resilience level in Qatar’s oil and gas sector. This study’s results can be integrated into different organizations’ strategies to improve the efforts to enhance the national response to disturbances in governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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14 pages, 861 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Farmers’ Perception on Contract Farming in the Post-COVID Era: Empirical Study in Greece

by George Malindretos, Eleni Sardianou and Maria Briana

Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 14696; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014696 - 10 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1009

Abstract

Contract farming (CF) as a sustainable practice has expanded rapidly, bringing numerous benefits to both the agribusiness industry and farmers, as well as the broader economy; CF is also considered a vehicle to tackle the challenges in sustainable development due to the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little attention has been paid to CF schemes in Greece. To address this evidence gap, the current study aimed to outline the socioeconomic profile of Greek farmers and how it is related to their perspective on CF in the post-COVID era. Primary data were collected in the agricultural area of central Greece, Thessaly, with a structured questionnaire containing three sections: demographics, awareness of the CF concept, and farmers’ perceptions toward CF. The results indicate that 60.7% of the respondents are unaware of CF. Demographic and economic variables such as gender, years of experience, and income impact Greek farmers’ attitude toward CF. In addition, factor analysis results reveal that economic benefits and social, technological, and environmental challenges and risks are associated with CF. We suggest that researchers and policymakers interested in the development of CF in Greece should consider the heterogeneity of the agricultural workforce for the development and successful implementation of policies related to CF. Educational programs towards increasing farmers’ awareness and sufficient understanding of the practical issues of CF are also required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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18 pages, 2649 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recovery for Resilience: The Mediating Role of Work–Life Balance on the Quality of Life of Women Employees

by Anna Anastasopoulou, Eftichia Vraimaki and Panagiotis Trivellas

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12877; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712877 - 25 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1585

Abstract

Employees often have to cope with unprecedented challenges in their working and living conditions—caused by organizational and socioeconomic changes and/or crises—by showing resourcefulness and adaptability. Especially working women who bear a heavier burden strive harder to achieve balance between their work and family lives, and build resilience to maintain their quality of life. It is, therefore, important to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms women employ to strengthen their resilience by combining different roles without compromising their quality of life. This survey research examines which coping strategies and after-work experiences contribute to women’s quality of life by improving their sense of work–life balance (WLB). Data collected from 654 women employees in Greece confirmed the positive effect of WLB on quality of life. Furthermore, being able to choose among after-work experiences, learning or doing challenging things, work disengagement, and problem solving positively influence WLB. In contrast, continuing work at home, relaxation, and avoidance coping negatively affect WLB. It appears that taking time to relax and avoidance coping come into conflict with women’s socially acceptable behavior at home. The importance of social relationships is also highlighted by the positive influence that support seeking, as a coping mechanism, has on women’s quality of life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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24 pages, 1186 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Global Supply Chain Nervousness (GSCN)

by Ghazi M. Magableh and Mahmoud Z. Mistarihi

Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12115; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612115 - 08 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 840

Abstract

In today’s competitive environment, managing supply chains (SCs) is becoming increasingly challenging. Demand uncertainty, globalization, shorter product and technology lifespans, and growth in the number of logistics partners result in more sophisticated global supply relationships, which in turn, increase SC vulnerability. Generally, nervousness reduces SC effectiveness because SC instability is primarily caused by events that are external to the business domain. This tension creates uncertainty, increases the cost of maintaining supply chains, and makes relationships with suppliers and customers unpredictable. This study analyzed global SC nervousness (GSCN) components in terms of drivers, consequences, indicators, and pillars, and proposed solutions. A questionnaire was used to study and evaluate the characteristics of the GSCN, and the DELPHI–FAHP was used to analyze the results and designate the factors that most impact nervousness mitigation in the supply chain. To this end, a framework is presented to discuss the interactions of nervousness in a SC with an integrated solution. The results indicate that demand planning, sourcing strategy, collaboration, risk management, and sustainable SC, along with technological innovation applications, represent essential demands for a smarter future GSC vision. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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20 pages, 923 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Employee Performance Implications of CSR for Organizational Resilience in the Banking Industry: The Mediation Role of Psychological Empowerment

by Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou, Anna Anastasopoulou and Panagiotis Trivellas

Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11946; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511946 - 03 Aug 2023

Viewed by 2217

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been found to be important in boosting organizations’ sustainability and resilience against crisis. Although employees constitute key internal stakeholders for CSR, limited attention has been paid to them. The purpose of this research is to examine how employee perceptions of CSR activities affect employee performance through their sense of psychological empowerment. Drawing upon a sample of 203 employees in the Cypriot banking sector, a structured questionnaire was administered to measure employee performance, psychological empowerment, and CSR activities as perceived by employees. The analysis of data, based on path modeling using the partial least squares (PLS) approach, confirms the mediating role of psychological empowerment between CSR activities (philanthropic, ethical, and environmental) and job performance. This study contributes to the theoretical evolvement of the CSR literature, as it established the mediating role that psychological empowerment plays between perceived CSR and job performance. The findings suggest that CSR should be treated not just as a pressing obligation but as a dynamic investment in organizational effectiveness, sustainability, and resilience because positive employee perceptions of CSR can contribute to staff empowerment and indirectly to job performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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14 pages, 1096 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Resilient Supply Chain Framework for Semiconductor Distribution and an Empirical Study of Demand Risk Inference

by Wenhan Fu, Sheng Jing, Qinming Liu and Hao Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7382; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097382 - 28 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2743

Abstract

Supply chain uncertainty is high due to low information transparency in the upstream and downstream, long lead time for supply chain planning, short product life cycles, lengthy production cycle time, and continuous technology migration. The construction and innovation of the new program of supply the chain faces huge challenges. This study aims to propose a smart resilient supply chain framework with a decision-making schema through the plan-do-check-act management cycle. It can enhance supply chain resilience and strengthen industrial competitiveness. Moreover, an empirical study of demand forecast and risk inference for semiconductor distribution is conducted as a validation. Through demand pattern clustering and forecasting for historic customer order behaviors, the demand status of each customer is classified, and an optimal planning solution is released to support decision-making. The result has shown the practical viability of the proposed approach to drive collaborative efforts in enhancing demand risk management to improve supply chain resilience. The proposed forecast model performs better than all four benchmark models, and the revised recall of the proposed risk reference model shows high accuracy in all demand risk levels. As supply chain resilience is about to be reconstructed due to the industrial revolution, a government and industry alliance should follow the resilient supply chain blueprint to gradually make the manufacturing strategy a technology platform in the Industry 4.0 era. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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24 pages, 1232 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Perceived Benefits on Blockchain Adoption in Supply Chain Management

by Chuangneng Cai, Xiancheng Hao, Kui Wang and Xuebing Dong

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6634; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086634 - 13 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3573

Abstract

Globalization has prompted enterprises worldwide to increasingly seek the optimal supply chain configuration. However, outsourcing, shortened product life cycles, and a reduced supply base severely weaken supply chain risk tolerance. With the emergence of blockchain, enterprises see an opportunity to mitigate supply chain risks. The purpose of our research is to explore supply chain managers’ intention to adopt blockchain technology from the perspective of supply chain risk management. Using a survey sample of 203 managers in China and the USA, we explored the impact of four perceived benefits of blockchain technology on supply chain risk resistance by extending the technology acceptance model. The results show that the traceability, transparency, information sharing, and decentralization of blockchain can enhance the perceived usefulness of blockchain in supply chain resilience and responsiveness, and the ability to withstand disruption risks and supply and demand coordination risks encountered in the supply chain, thus promoting the adoption of the technology. In addition, the relationships between supply chain resilience and blockchain technology adoption and between supply chain responsiveness and blockchain technology adoption are more salient for managers with high levels of uncertainty avoidance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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19 pages, 1240 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Digital Economy on Urban Green Transformation—An Empirical Study Based on the Yangtze River Delta City Cluster in China

by Xinfeng Chang, Jian Su and Zihe Yang

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13770; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113770 - 24 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2139

Abstract

Under the new development pattern, promoting urban green transformation efficiently addresses resource and environmental restrictions and is the foundation of high-quality development. However, the development of green transformation in Chinese cities faces constraints in three dimensions, production, life, and ecology, and it is not clear whether the digital economy, as a key driver of green development, can empower urban green transformation. Therefore, this paper measures the level of urban green transformation from the three dimensions of production, life, and ecological space and empirically tests the impact of the digital economy on urban green transformation from 2011 to 2020 by using panel data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The results indicate: (1) The development of the green transformation level in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration demonstrates a constant upward trend, but the absolute difference fluctuates and declines; (2) the development of the digital economy has a positive impact on urban green transformation, as well as changes in urban production, living, and ecological space; (3) the digital economy helps the green transformation of cities by supporting the growth of an advanced and rationalized industrial structure. Nevertheless, the indirect influence of an advanced and rational industrial structure on urban green transformation is quite different. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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Review

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31 pages, 980 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Impact of Industry 4.0 Technologies on Key Performance Indicators for a Resilient Supply Chain 4.0

by Catherine Marinagi, Panagiotis Reklitis, Panagiotis Trivellas and Damianos Sakas

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5185; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065185 - 15 Mar 2023

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 7289

Abstract

The term “Resilient Supply Chain 4.0” incorporates two research areas: Industry 4.0 and Supply Chain Resilience (SCRes). Industry 4.0 technologies include innovations such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Augmented Reality (AR), Cloud Computing (CC), the Internet of Services (IoS), Big Data Analytics (BDA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Twins (DT), Blockchain (BC), Industrial Robotics (IR), and Additive Manufacturing (AM). Industry 4.0 technologies do not have a direct impact on SCRes, but on resilience elements such as flexibility, redundancy, visibility, agility, collaboration, robustness, and information sharing. This paper aims to investigate which of the Industry 4.0 technologies can help improve the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are used for creating a Resilient Supply Chain 4.0. A non-systematic literature review has been conducted for the identification of (a) the most important constituent elements of SCRes, (b) the Industry 4.0 technologies that improve the SCRes elements, and (c) the KPIs that enhance SCRes. A systematic literature review has been conducted to identify which of the Industry 4.0 technologies have an impact on the KPIs that enhance SCRes. The findings of this work demonstrate that Industry 4.0 technologies can help improve the KPIs for a Resilient Supply Chain 4.0. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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46 pages, 34792 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Bibliometric Analysis of Short Supply Chains in the Agri-Food Sector

by Giannis T. Tsoulfas, Panagiotis Trivellas, Panagiotis Reklitis and Anna Anastasopoulou

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021089 - 06 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3273

Abstract

Short supply chains have recently gained increased attention because of the turbulence in the global environment caused by exogenous influences that create unstable and uncertain conditions. The emergence of short supply chains is of particular importance for sustainable development at large, but also for the viability of vulnerable communities and areas (e.g., remote and isolated, and islands). This paper aims to explore the area of short supply chains focusing on the agri-food sector from a bibliometric standpoint. Towards this end, journal articles listed in the Scopus database were analyzed using the software VOSviewer. We present a broad overview, recent developments, and fundamental ideas in the realm of short food supply chains, which may aid in our comprehension and future research on this topic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Resilience in the Supply Chain in the Digital Era: The Challenges for Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability)

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