Investigating the Motives, Barriers and Enablers Associated with the Implementation of a Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Saudi Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) can play a significant role in improving a company’s sustainability performance by addressing the social, environmental and economic issues affecting the supply chain; including suppliers, in-house operations, distributors and customers. Achieving sustainability through SSCM is a challenge that requires clarification of the complexities that arise when developing efficient and effective SSCM. Limited empirical research has investigated that complexity in detail, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study is to identify and investigate the relevance of key motives, barriers and enabling factors, and their influence on the adoption of SSCM practices in the context of the manufacturing sector in a developing country Saudi Arabia (S.A.) To accomplish this aim, a range of literature has been explored to identify and to understand the motives, barriers, and enablers of SSCM in the context of developing nations. This review has identified eight important categories of motives, thirteen categories of barriers, and ten categories of enablers; thereby revealing the research gaps that this thesis addresses. The review also has led to the development of a conceptual framework to examine the relevance and influence of the three main components of SSCM empirically: motives, barriers, and enabler in S.A. Each component is attached to four sub-components that aim to enhance understanding of the principal components. The framework has been further enhanced by differentiating the barrier and enabler sub-component effects into economic, environmental, and social categories. The thesis follows multiple case-study design, supporting a detailed analysis of six large companies working in different Saudi manufacturing sectors; namely, Oil and Gas, Minerals and Mining, Chemicals and Plastics and Energy, combined with evidence from an expert focus group. The manufacturing industry in S.A. is considered relevant to this research because of its supply chain intricacies, and the scale and extent of its ecological and social effects. This thesis further acknowledges the academic research trend towards exploring large firms because their supply chains are mostly concerned with the issues and practices associated with SSCM. The data-collection methods include in-depth interviews with top-level managers, and documents obtained from company websites. In total, primary data was collected from ten managers and nine experts, and data from 224 secondary sources were analyzed. A thematicanalysis approach was adopted to examine the data, and a template was developed to show the differences and similarities of telling the answer among the cases regarding key motives, enablers, and barriers. The study results reveal that large manufacturing companies in S.A. acknowledge the importance of adopting SSCM to improve performance. Two related motivators were found to drive adoption; these were to achieve benefits, and to respond to stakeholder pressures such as regulation, competition and corporate social responsibility (i.e. assuming responsibility toward others, such as the local community and employees). This study found that external stakeholder barriers are greater inhibitors of the development of SSCM than internal barriers. Moreover, the study particularly noted the government barriers that can cause negative economic, environmental, and social impacts on the development of SSCM ix practices. Perhaps the most significant finding to emerge from the analysis is that stakeholder engagement plays a critical role in mitigating barriers and advancing the adoption of SSCM. The study found that corporate understanding of engaging, developing and managing the positive contributions of external stakeholders, and, more importantly, of in