Perceptions of Indian manufacturing SME employers on adopting green supply chain management practices
Authors
Dhillon, Manpreet KaurIssue Date
2018-12-18Subjects
IndiaSMEs
green supply chain management practices (GSCMP)
employers
manufacturing firms
Subject Categories::J960 Transport Logistics
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Green supply chain management (GSCM) is an increasingly important aspect of today’s supply chain practices. Meeting environmental concerns in industrial operations has in recent year’s evoked interest among environmentalists, government bodies, academics and business organisations in recent years. However, current research indicates that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally, struggles on various grounds to implement GSCM and its practices in comparison to larger organisations and they often focus on making profits than saving the environment by adopting GSCM practices. For Indian SMEs to gain competitive advantage and succeed in the market it is essential to change their traditional practices and to adapt their strategies to the dynamic environment of today. A better understanding and application of GSCM and its practices by SMEs can help in improving their performance and succeed in their operations. This study is exploratory in nature it aims to explore the perceptions of Indian manufacturing (IM) SME employers on adopting green supply chain management practices (GSCM practices) in their organisations. In order to explore these aspects, this research will investigate various dimensions of GSCM such as GSCM practices, the motivational factors and challenges faced by IM SMEs and finally develop a conceptual framework based on, literature review and the empirical findings from this study. Qualitative research methodology is used in order to gather rich and rigorous information from experienced employers, from different geographical locations in India, namely, Kolkata, Bihar, Delhi and Punjab. To meet the proposed objectives semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected SME employers over the phone. The Semi-structured interview was used based on pre-established interview questions and the data was analysed using thematic analysis method. The procedure followed helped in determining useful results and underlined various dimensions of the GSCM practices under investigation. Based on the interviews with the target employers this study identified eight GSCM practices (namely, green purchasing, green manufacturing, green transportation, green distribution, green warehousing, green marketing, green operations and reverse logistics), sixteen motivational factors (such as, financial benefits, saving cost etc.) and twenty-four challenges (such as, lack of awareness among employers, expensive process, lack of skilled staff etc.) faced by them in adopting GSCM practices. The results further helped in determining the current status of GSCM in India and most importantly the perceptions of SME employers in regards to the adoption of GSCM practices in their firms. Hence, using the interview method allowed the researcher to capture much relevant factual information about GSCM and its practices among the IM SMEs. It can be concluded, that IM SME employers are not doing much in the adoption and implementation of GSCM practices. The employers had a lack of understanding of GSCM practices and they are reluctant to move away from their traditional business methods. This information enabled to assess the level of adoption of GSCM among the IM SMEs. It is believed this is one of the first studies that highlight the perceptions of SME employers and based on this to predict the adoption of GSCM within their organisations. Finally, it is hoped that the study will help increase awareness and importance among the Indian SME employers in adopting GSCM practices in their organisations. The evidence provided on various aspects of GSCM in India should also benefit researchers and scholars in terms of understanding the current status of GSCM in Indian SMEs and assess the adoption of GSCM practices in different settings and contexts.Citation
Dhillon, M. (2018) 'Perceptions of Indian Manufacturing SME Employers on Adopting Green Supply Chain Management Practices'. PhD thesis. University of Bedfordshire.Publisher
University of BedfordshireType
Thesis or dissertationLanguage
enDescription
"A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy".Collections
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