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Operations Management Challenges and Solutions for Sustainable Supply Chains in the Digital Era

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: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 903

Editors

College of Business Administration, Pukyong National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
Interests: artificial intelligence and digital capabilities in operations and supply chains; sustainability and green innovation; governance and coordination mechanisms in inter- and intra-organizational collaboration; managing uncertainty and conflict in project-based and new product development operations
School of Management, Guangzhou College of Commerce, Guangzhou, China
Interests: supply chain management; operations management; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

  1. Overview

This Special Issue seeks original research on the evolving landscape of operations management (OM) within sustainable supply chains. As digital transformation and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) pressures increasingly reshape global value chains, there is a growing need to understand how these dynamics unfold across diverse institutional, organizational, and regional contexts.

  1. Scope and Focus

This Special Issue particularly welcomes studies that bridge digital innovation and sustainability from an operations management perspective, with emphasis on the following topics:

Regional Contexts

Empirical and conceptual insights from diverse economies, including East Asian contexts such as Korea, China, and Japan, as well as other emerging and developed regions.

Organizational Diversity

Operations and supply chain challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), social enterprises, and hybrid organizations operating under resource and institutional constraints.

Theoretical Advancement

Research that refines, contextualizes, or re-examines operations management theories by incorporating institutional conditions, resource constraints, and sustainability requirements observed across different organizational settings.

  1. Key Topics of Interest

Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Digital Enablers: The role of AI, blockchain, IoT, and related technologies in supporting sustainable supply chain practices and ESG outcomes.
  • Process Innovation: Sustainable operations, process redesign, and circular economy practices in the digital era.
  • Policy and Governance: The influence of sustainability-oriented regulations and policies on operational and supply chain decision-making.
  • Operational and Process Practices: Studies examining process design, operational coordination, and capability development for managing digitalization and sustainability requirements in supply chain contexts.

Dr. Kihyun Um
Dr. DeYu Zhong
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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 supply chain management (SSCM)
  • digital transformation and operations strategy
  • AI-enabled systems and process innovation
  • ESG pressures and regulatory environments
  • context-specific theoretical advancements in operations management
  • SMEs and social enterprises in emerging and developed Asian economies

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 638 KB  
Article
Structural and Relational Capabilities Moderating Social CRM’s Innovation Effects Within Mission-Driven Social Enterprise Networks Settings
by Susie Hong and Ki-hyun Um
Sustainability 2026, 18(8), 4063; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18084063 - 19 Apr 2026
Viewed by 510
Abstract
This study investigates how a network’s structural and relational capabilities condition the influence of social CRM capabilities on innovation novelty, highlighting a deeper network paradox. Drawing on survey evidence from social enterprises, the analyses indicate that social CRM capabilities meaningfully contribute to the [...] Read more.
This study investigates how a network’s structural and relational capabilities condition the influence of social CRM capabilities on innovation novelty, highlighting a deeper network paradox. Drawing on survey evidence from social enterprises, the analyses indicate that social CRM capabilities meaningfully contribute to the generation of novel innovations. Yet the two network capabilities move in opposite directions: structural capability amplifies the innovative gains derived from social CRM, whereas relational capability tends to dilute them. These divergent effects reflect the simultaneous pull of structural-hole and network-closure mechanisms within the same organizational setting. The results suggest that organizations aiming to translate social CRM investments into innovation may benefit more from structurally expansive network positions than from tightly embedded relational ties. Future work could employ longitudinal and cross-institutional designs to strengthen causal insight and broaden the study’s applicability. Full article
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