What does “sustainable supply chain management” really mean? A contribution to bridging the gap between research, education and practice

Abstract

PurposeThis study explores practitioners' perspectives on and definitions of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), which are then compared to academic definitions to identify new implications for researchers, educators and practitioners.Design/methodology/approachAn abductive, explorative and qualitative approach was followed in the form of a review and classification of 31 academic definitions of SSCM as well as 30 interviews with supply chain (SC) practitioners.FindingsThe practitioners' answers show a lack of awareness of upstream and downstream challenges as the practitioners' focus on practices within the practitioners' firms, where the economic and environmental dimensions prevail. However, the practitioners highlighted understudied topics in SSCM: human resources policies, leadership for sustainability and ethics.Research limitations/implicationsThis research stimulates discussion on how to teach an SSCM course and which directions to follow to ensure that research has an impact on practices. Practitioners' focus on the practitioners' everyday practices confirms that practice-based theories, amongst others, are relevant in the field and that more interdisciplinary research is needed to highlight the contributions of human resource management (HRM) and business ethics to SSCM.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework clearly defines the scope of the practices and research (upstream or downstream of the SC or within the firm), which will allow practitioners to contribute to SSCM more holistically.Social implicationsEducators and researchers have a crucial role to play in clarifying the meaning of SSCM for students who are future practitioners and consumers. Interacting more with practitioners could help.Originality/valueThis research is targeted not only to researchers and practitioners but also educators.