Analyzing the effect of sustainability on Supply Chain Relationships

The notion of sustainability continues to increase in importance for businesses. Today consumers pay attention to the environmental impacts and social consequences of the products they use. Consequently, an increase in interest in the topic from an industry perspective has been observed and the topic is considered a megatrend in today’s global economy worthy of additional academic inquiry. This dissertation looks into the role that sustainability plays for companies in the current business environment and its effect on supply chain relationships. This book highlights the effects that introducing sustainability to a supply chain relationship has on the dynamics and structure of these relationships and provides a novel methodological approach to examine the issue. For the analysis, a theoretical framework of current management theories is assembled and the insights of each theory for sustainability in supply chain management are detailed. Through a qualitative and a quantitative research phase, the findings of this dissertation show, that sustainability and collaborative behavior in supply chain relationships positively affect each other. This manuscript provides insights for both research and practice. Theoretical and managerial implications are detailed and the findings are mirrored with the derived theoretical framework. This book therefore helps to promote the effective implementation of sustainability in supply chain management practice and elaborates the theory around the topic.