22 September 2010

Call for papers: Advances in Sustainable Supply Chain Management Theory and Practice

A special issue of International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics

In recent years, an increasing environmental and ethical awareness has favoured the emergence of new way of conducting business and operations. Indeed, there is a growing consensus that firms should not only be managed efficiently, but also behave in a sustainable way, that means (according to the Triple Bottom Line framework) taking into account also social and environmental issues into performance evaluation.

At the same time, it has been understood that the above-mentioned objectives cannot be achieved just optimising the performances at a firm level. Actually, the complexity of contemporary value creation processes implies that the transition to a sustainable way of conducting business can be completed only by considering operations at a supply chain level, by utilising a systemic and holistic approach.

Therefore, as a result of these two different phenomena, academic and corporate interest in green and sustainable supply chain management has risen considerably in recent years. It has to be said that some common themes within the sustainable supply chain literature have started to emerge, even though most of the literature, till now, has addressed a single corporate function (for instance, purchasing, logistics, product development) instead of really focusing on an entire supply chain system. Thus, sustainable supply chain is still an evolving field of study, in which there is a lack of unifying theories.

This special issue will provide an international forum to investigate and exchange novel ideas and disseminate knowledge covering this broad and emerging area, with a twofold aim. Contributions aimed at favouring the emergence of theoretical frameworks capable of synthesising the existing body of knowledge in the discipline are more than welcome, as well as papers presenting strategic or operational problem-solving applications based on a rigorous methodology.

Experts and professionals from academia, industry, government and the public sector are invited to submit papers on their recent research and professional experience on the subject. High quality papers reporting on relevant reviews of existing literature, theoretical studies, case studies, surveys, experiences, success stories, real world examples and practice are all very welcome. Interdisciplinary research is also encouraged.

This Special Issue looks for contributions (case studies, models, theoretical frameworks, empirical studies) in green supply chain management concerning but not limited to:
  • Theoretical frameworks/definitions about sustainable/green supply chain
  • Reviews of existing literature about sustainable/green supply chain
  • Sustainable supply chain strategic planning and operational models
  • Sustainable/green logistics network configurations and resource allocation strategies
  • Sustainable/green accounting practices across supply chain
  • Sustainable/green supply chain practical cases, issues and solutions
  • Sustainable/green supply chain projects' evaluation
  • Sustainable/green supply chain performance evaluation
Important Dates
Submission of a two-page abstract: 10 December, 2010
Feedback to authors: 20 January, 2011
Submission of full paper: 10 May, 2011

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