The influence of supplier collaboration on green supply chain management practices and sustainable firm performance in UK food supply chain SMEs

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of supplier collaboration on Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices and Sustainable firm performance in UK food supply chain SMEs. Supplier collaboration is the management of collaborative relationship with the key supply chain partners when sourcing products or services. There has been extensive research on SCM, SC collaboration and GSCM practices of large organisations. However, no research has been found on UK SMEs in particular and their performances due to Collaborating with suppliers and GSCM practices. Thus, this study attempts to fill this gap and contributes to the current academic research and practice. Research Approach: A systematic literature review was undertaken to examine articles published in international journals during 2000-2016. SCOPUS database was used to collect information on articles and subsequently they were collected using various sources including EBSCOhost. For this study, supplier collaboration was drawn from previous literature in Supply chain collaboration and GSCM practices while performance measurement was adopted from the Triple Bottom Line Approach. From a comprehensive literature review, a conceptual framework was developed which will subsequently be empirically tested in the UK SMEs perspective. Findings and Originality: The review of literature suggested that supplier collaboration is crucial for a firm to practice GSCM in their operations especially in SMEs. The literature also suggests that trust, dependence, knowledge and information sharing, risk and reward sharing between the firms are the major determinants of mutual collaboration. This study also suggests that collaborating with suppliers help firms practice GSCM which will bring sustainable firm performance. However, this is yet to be empirically tested. Research Impact, Practical Impact and Limitations: This study should help enrich the existing theories on SCM, GSCM, SC collaboration and organisational performance. Furthermore, this study suggests trust, dependence, and sharing of information, knowledge, risk and reward are major determinants of supplier collaboration. As to practical impact, this study should also facilitate SMEs in assessing the necessity for them to collaborate with their suppliers. This study also suggests that for SMEs to practice GSCM, supplier collaboration is essential. Furthermore, it highlights that supplier collaboration affects firm performance. Moreover, as the UK government is campaigning for greener economy, it can only be possible when SMEs, which consists of 99% of UK businesses, are greening their operations for which the collaboration between the buyers and the suppliers are crucial. However, the findings of this study are limited because this is based on literature review and not empirically proved yet. Nevertheless, as this is an initial part of a bigger research project, it should help establish the foundation for further study.