Achieving Sustainable Supply Chains: Applying Group Concept Mapping to Prioritize and Implement Sustainable Management Practices

Thompson McDaniel, Edit Süle () and Gyula Vastag ()
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Thompson McDaniel: Doctoral School of Economics and Business Informatics, Corvinus University of Budapest, H-1093 Budapest, Hungary
Edit Süle: Department of Corporate Leadership and Marketing, Széchenyi István University, H-9026 Győr, Hungary

Logistics, 2025, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-32

Abstract: Background : Sustainability in supply chain management (SCM) practices is becoming increasingly important as environmental responsibility and social concerns, as well as enterprises’ competitiveness in terms of innovation, risk, and economic performance, become increasingly urgent. This paper aims to identify and prioritize concepts for implementing sustainable supply chains, drawing on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and green supply chain management (GSCM) techniques. Corporate supply chain managers across various industries, markets, and supply chain segments brainstormed management practices to enhance the sustainability of their supply chains. Four industry sectors were surveyed across five different value chain segments. Methods: A group concept mapping (GCM) approach incorporating multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used. A hierarchy of practices is proposed, and hypotheses are developed about achievability and impact. Results: A decision-making matrix prioritizes eight solution concepts based on two axes: impact (I) and ease of implementation (EoI). Conclusions: Eight concepts are prioritized based on the optimal effectiveness of implementing the solutions. Pattern matching reveals differences between emerging and developed markets, as well as supply chain segments, that decision-makers should be aware of. By analyzing supply chains from a multi-part perspective, this research goes beyond empirical studies based on a single industry, geographic region, or example case.

Keywords: sustainability; green supply chain management practices; organizational change; group concept mapping; prioritization of implementation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L8 L80 L81 L86 L87 L9 L90 L91 L92 L93 L98 L99 M1 M10 M11 M16 M19 R4 R40 R41 R49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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