Building bridges: towards an alternative theory of sustainable supply chain management

Matthews, Lee; Touboulic, Anne; Power, Damien; Marques, Leonardo

Abstract

We contend that the development of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) theory has been impaired by a lack of paradigmatic diversity in the field. The contested nature of the concept of sustainability has been repressed in SSCM theory, which has led to SSCM cutting itself off from debates that could be the source of inspiration for the development of interesting theory. We adopt the problematization approach proposed by Alvesson and Sandberg (2011) in order to unveil some of SSCM's unquestioned assumptions, propose an alternative assumption ground, and in this way move toward stronger theory in SSCM. We use paradoxical framing to make sense of the inherent tensions between the different levels of sustainability and between the different types of theory being produced in response to the challenges of sustainability. We articulate a number of foundational assumptions for an alternative theory of SSCM that emerge from the various tensions identified between the different paradigms of sustainability. Finally, we identify a number of ideas for future research that would enable researchers to empirically explore the alternative assumptions.

Citation

Matthews, L., Touboulic, A., Power, D., & Marques, L. (2016). Building bridges: towards an alternative theory of sustainable supply chain management. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 52(1), 82-94. https://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12097

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 9, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Dec 28, 2015
• Publication Date: Jan 11, 2016
• Deposit Date: May 21, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Supply Chain Management
• Print ISSN: 1523-2409
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-493X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 52
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 82-94
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12097
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1122174
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jscm.12097