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Building a Sustainable and Reliable Supply Chain in Collaborative Business

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 805

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Marketing and Logistics Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 413310, Taiwan
Interests: supply chain management (SCM); green innovation; sustainability; corporate social responsibility (CSR); total quality management (TQM); marketing management

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Guest Editor
Department of Marketing and Logistics Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 413310, Taiwan
Interests: operation management; inventory and purchasing management; service industry management; supply chain management; logistics and chain management; project management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, members of the supply chain have increasingly focused on various business initiatives aimed at sustainable development. Consequently, organizations are implementing strategies to enhance efficiency, reduce environmental impact, control risks, and foster strong partnerships.

Collaborative business is a necessary and mandatory trend in the contemporary supply chain. Studying topics related to improving supplier relationships towards sustainability will open many potential opportunities for scholars.

Therefore, in-depth research in this field is essential to identify and understand collaborative practices, risk management, and innovative technologies adoption that can build a supply chain that is not only sustainable and reliable but also resilient and capable of adapting to changing market conditions. Moreover, it provides businesses with insights into building sustainable partnerships that enhance overall efficiency and profitability.

Our Special Issue focuses on Building a Sustainable and Reliable Supply Chain in Collaborative Business. Hence, we seek manuscripts that explore the role of innovation strategies related to help enhance collaborative business, which contribute to shaping sustainability in the supply chain.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Research on supply chain management;
  • Research on sustainability in the supply chain;
  • Research on collaboration in the supply chain;
  • Blockchain technology;
  • Business model innovation and strategies;
  • Promoting and supporting sustainable supply chain management.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Manh-Hoang Do
Prof. Dr. Yung Fu Huang
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

  • supply chain management
  • sustainability
  • collaborative
  • big data analysis
  • business model innovation
  • green innovation
  • blockchain technology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

30 pages, 1293 KiB  
Article
Obstacles and Drivers of Sustainable Horizontal Logistics Collaboration: Analysis of Logistics Providers’ Behaviour in Slovenia
by Ines Pentek and Tomislav Letnik
Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 7001; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157001 - 1 Aug 2025
Viewed by 290
Abstract
The logistics industry faces challenges from evolving consumer expectations, technological advances, sustainability demands, and market disruptions. Logistics collaboration is in theory perceived as one of the most promising solutions to solve these issues, but here are still a lot of challenges that needs [...] Read more.
The logistics industry faces challenges from evolving consumer expectations, technological advances, sustainability demands, and market disruptions. Logistics collaboration is in theory perceived as one of the most promising solutions to solve these issues, but here are still a lot of challenges that needs to be better understood and addressed. While vertical collaboration among supply chain actors is well advanced, horizontal collaboration among competing service providers remains under-explored. This study developed a novel methodology based on the COM-B behaviour-change framework to better understand the main challenges, opportunities, capabilities and drivers that would motivate competing companies to exploit the potential of horizontal logistics collaboration. A survey was designed and conducted among 71 logistics service providers in Slovenia, chosen for its fragmented market and low willingness to collaborate. Statistical analysis reveals cost reduction (M = 4.21/5) and improved vehicle utilization (M = 4.29/5) as the primary motivators. On the other hand, maintaining company reputation (M = 4.64/5), fair resource sharing (M = 4.20/5), and transparency of logistics processes (M = 4.17/5) all persist as key enabling conditions. These findings underscore the pivotal role of behavioural drivers and suggest strategies that combine economic incentives with targeted trust-building measures. Future research should employ experimental designs in diverse national contexts and integrate vertical–horizontal approaches to validate causal pathways and advance theory. Full article
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