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► Journal BrowserSpecial Issue "Cost-Benefit Analysis for Economic Sustainability in Supply Chains"
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 October 2021.
Special Issue Editors
Interests: supply chain cost management and performance measurement; advanced cost management practices; strategic cost management; strategic innovation; business model design; strategic investment appraisal
Interests: supply chain cost management and performance measurement; advanced cost management practices; strategic cost management; sustainability in agribusiness
Interests: physical assets management; costing methods; strategic cost management; sustainability and resilience
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
At present, public and many private investment projects must contribute to the economic sustainability of organizations, systems, and supply chains. Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) is a fundamental tool for the evaluation, selection, and analysis of such projects. In a CBA, all impacts of a project should be assessed: financial, economic, social, and environmental, among others. These dimensions, under the concept of the triple bottom line (TBL), have been widespread and accepted as the main pillars of sustainability assessment.
Furthermore, in a CBA approach, the financial and economic analyses are complemented with multicriteria, sensitivity, and risk analyses. CBA is needed when markets or prices do not adequately reflect all the costs and benefits of the project, intangible benefits are considerable, and externalities should be taken into consideration.
This is particularly relevant in the context of operational systems and supply chains, where investment projects can differently impact the involved organizations, as well as the industry and society.
This Special Issue is intended to highlight the increasing relevance of sustainable and resilient systems and organizations for both the industry and the academy. Indeed, the focus must move from the single company to organization networks which have become very influential worldwide. This Special Issue aims to include current research topics as well as new concepts, approaches, methods, applications, and empirical findings.
We welcome the submission of original and high-quality research work on the use of CBA and related approaches and tools (e.g., multicriteria, sensitivity, and risk analysis) in supply chains, buyer–supplier relationships, interorganizational relationships, and specific industrial supply chains (e.g., automotive, agribusiness), highlighting economic sustainability and resilience. Research methods can be qualitative or quantitative, and contributions must be based on theoretical conceptualizations or empirical evidence.
Prof. Dr. Paulo Afonso
Prof. Dr. Antonio Zanin
Prof. Dr. Orlando Durán
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 papers will be 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 1900 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
- cost–benefit analysis
- supply chains
- buyer–supplier relationships
- public and private investments
- intangibles
- environmental issues
- social responsibility
- developing countries
- sustainability assessment
- the third sector, uncertainty and risk
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Managing Sustainability Projects for Social Impact (CSR)
Abstract: Sustainability is of increasing importance today. The awareness and action around sustainability is a global issue. In the area of sustainability, the Middle East and North Africa region is considered to be lagging behind. The purpose of this paper is to explore developments of Sustainability in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to reveal the different levels of awareness, engagement and execution through the project management approach. This research utilizes the qualitative method. The study consists of data analyzed from a case study examining an annual youth engagement program in the UAE focused on the implementation of sustainable projects. The varying degrees of complexity and “programmification” of sustainability activities in the UAE reveals a more mature stage and systematic nature than was expected based on the literature. The application of project management to organize, implement, align and monitor sustainability centered activity provides knowledge relevant to the UAE and other countries interested in the strategic implementation and management of such activities. The study demonstrates the application and value of project management for implementing sustainable initiatives and the contribution of governmental stakeholders to project management in organizations.
Keyword: Sustainability; Project Management; CSR Projects; CSR Programs; Project Managers
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Municipal Public Budget Planning with Sustainable and Human Development Goals integrated in a Multi-Criteria Approach
Analysis of sustainable business models: exploratory study in the Brazilian logistic production system
Jaqueline Geisa Cunha Gome 1, Marcelo Tsuguio Okano 1,*, Rodrigo Salgado Guerra 2, Celi Langhi 1, Denilson de Sousa Cordeiro 1, Rosinei Batista Ribeiro 1, Henry Castro Lobo dos Santos 3 and Marcelo Eloy Fernandes 1
Abstract: Over the years, researchers have presented different concepts about business models. There is no unanimity, but everyone agrees that the business model is the representation of how companies conduct their business. Subsequently, interest in the topic increased and began to be considered by companies, which, driven to incorporate in their values the positive contribution to sustainability, began to face an economic development that considers social and environmental aspects, rather than just worrying about profits for shareholders. The general objective of this research is to identify how the merger of two Brazilian logistics companies with different customer segmentation can positively contribute to the defense of sustainability, considering social and environmental aspects. As a methodology, the literature review on “business models”, “conceptual business models”, and “sustainable business models” was used to legitimize the pertinent questions on the themes. The case studies allowed the dimensioning of the productivity of the areas of the chosen companies, as well as the survey of the business processes and technological systems used, in addition to the diagnosis of the level of maturity of the areas. The combination of case studies resulted in a multiple case study. This allowed the restructuring of areas, considering the optimization of processes, as well as identifying qualitative benefits arising from melting, productivity improvements and customer service, standardization of business processes, and implementation of innovative digital technologies
Keywords: Canvas Business Model; Sustainable Business Models; Merger of Companies; Logistics; Economic Sustainability
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Robust Design of Supply Chains Under Uncertainty
Víctor J. Jiménez 1,* Leonardo Rivera 2 and Diego F. Manotas 3
Abstract: The design of supply chains involves deciding where to locate factories and distribution centers to serve a given set of customers with known demands, and to determine how much product should be made in each factory and how to move it to the customers. A powerful tool for making such decisions is Mixed Integer Programming. However, when establishing supply chains for new companies or new products, the demand is far from deterministic, and there is no historic data useful for forecasting. The decisions related to the establishment of facilities need to be made before deciding how much to make and how to send it to customers, therefore, there is a considerable amount of uncertainty regarding effective customer demand. In this paper, we propose a methodology that combines mixed integer programming and Monte Carlo simulation to incorporate the effects of demand uncertainty on the design of supply chains to ensure that the proposed design is a robust performer in the face of demand uncertainty under actual operating conditions.
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Supply Chain Social Sustainability: Unveiling focal firm’s governance mechanisms under the lens of Stakeholder and Contingency Theory
Dafne Morais 1,* and José Carlos Barbieri 2
Abstract: Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. Despite its importance, we know little about critical aspects of it. This research addresses three gaps highlighted in SSCM literature: deepening its social dimension, exploring its governance mechanisms, and strengthening its theoretical development. Through a multiple case study in six focal firms operating in Brazil, we investigated: to what extent and through which governance mechanisms focal firms address social issues in supply chains? Results present a new classification for social issues, specified for six governance mechanisms. In the light of stakeholder salience and contingency factors, the research offers insights into how social issues are managed in supply chains in emerging economies.