The Wicked Character of Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Evidence from Sustainability Reports
分析了142份企业可持续发展报告，发现不同供应链环节对可持续性的理解存在分歧，这种“棘手问题”阻碍了可持续供应链管理的进展，并为管理者提供了跨供应链的有效策略指导。
Abstract Supply chains are changing their business paradigm as they strive for sustainability and not just for increasing profits. Sustainability, however, is a concept that is open to interpretation since it is based on societal and organizational values. Little is known about what companies actually mean when referring to sustainability, and how this contrasts with the understanding at different echelons of the supply chain. Diverging interpretations and translations of sustainability among stakeholders, termed wicked problems, affect the progress of sustainable supply chain management. This paper aims to contribute to closing the gap between our common sense expectations and the actual evidence from sustainability reports of how sustainability evolves from abstract ideas to operational practices across the supply chain. To this end, this study employs a computer‐aided content analysis of 142 corporate sustainability reports across 12 industries. Building on the findings, and using the lens of wicked problems, this paper provides guidance to practitioners on how to develop strategies that are effective across the whole supply chain. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment