Introduction
Environmental conservation has become one of the major concerns of the world. As the population is growing, and demand for basic necessities is increasing rapidly and technology is getting advanced, the environment is getting damaged. Sustainability has become one of the most significant challenges of the world. People in the modern world are more aware of the environmental issues, such as global warming and climate change and its impact on the living beings. Hence, the industries are taking initiatives to change their production process to reduce their footprints on the environment. GSCM is one such initiative that aims to apply the eco-friendly techniques in the supply chain management to minimize the carbon footprint on the environment and promote sustainability by reducing the environmental damage (Fahimnia, Sarkis and Davarzani 2015). GSCM is now widely being used by companies all across the globe. It is about the effective and efficient implementation of the green practices in the production and distribution procedures (Bag, Anand and Pandey 2017). This paper aimed to explore the impact of GSCM on the organizational performances. The researcher has conducted the study by thoroughly investigating different aspects and features of GSCM, its advantages and disadvantages of this system and their effect on the business performance.
Background of the study
Supply chain management (SCM) refers to the management of the goods and services flow, which involves the movement and the storage of the raw materials, in-process inventories, and finished products from the point of origin to the point of consumption (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus 2014). Interlinked or interconnected channels, networks and node businesses are combined in the provision of the goods and services required by the end customers in a supply chain. According to Christopher (2016), supply chain management is the design, planning, executing, controlling and monitoring the supply chain functions. Tatar (2017) states that GSCM (GSCM) involves the integration of environmentally friendly activities, such as product designing, sourcing of raw materials and selection, manufacturing procedures, and delivery of the final goods and services to the customers along with the end-of-life management of the good after its lifecycle. Thus, as stated by Mirhedayatian, Azadi and Saen (2014), GSCM are the activities of a firm that revolve around the production and delivery of the goods and services from the manufacturers and suppliers to the end consumers through the material, information and cash flow by involving eco-friendly techniques.
The traditional supply chain management is more focused on the quality, optimum cost in the production and delivery process to the end consumers. This management might not always include environmentally friendly actions or ideas. On the other hand, GSCM includes the mandatory regulations for incorporating the environmental idea in each of the stages of the products and services is a supply chain. Thus, the supply chain managers play a fundamental role in developing creative and innovative eco-friendly technologies for handling the problems of the economy regarding the environment and in communicating the message to each stakeholder in the supply chain (Tatar 2017). There are many stages in supply chain management, which are turned into environment-friendly solutions under GSCM. For example, lean manufacturing is the process of eliminating the wastes in every supply chain stage. The objective of this manufacturing is to reduce the wastes during production and supply process. Hence, economic production of environmentally efficient products to satisfy the customers’ needs and expectations is the purpose of lean manufacturing (Govindan et al. 2017). The benefit of using GSCM is to reduce the inventories and saving energy and space and contribute towards a greener earth.
Khan and Yu (2017) highlight in their study on the impact of GSCM on the manufacturing firms’ performance in the context of Pakistan that, proper controlling and monitoring of the green information system is very necessary alongside implementing the eco-designs in their supply chain to achieve the efficient functioning. The authors had also highlighted 5 independent variables to measure the green supply chain practices, and those are green manufacturing, green information systems, green purchasing, eco-design and cooperation with customers. Thus, it can be said that green information system is an integral part of the GSCM, which has a significant impact on the performance of manufacturing firms, provided the firms monitor the information system efficiently. From these, it can be derived that efficient implementation of GSCM requires various measures or practices, which can influence the performance of the organizations.
As environmental issues have become major concerns for the manufacturing organizations, the necessity of implementing GSCM has increased. These practices are different than the practices in traditional supply chain management and hence, have a significant impact on the business performance of a firm. The researcher would explore different aspects of the GSCM and its influence on the organizational performance.
Research aim
The aim of the dissertation is to examine the significance of GSCM to improve organizational performance.
Research objectives
The research objectives are:
- To evaluate the costs and benefits of GSCM
- To explore the strategies for implementing GSCM
- To assess the potential challenges of implementing GSCM
- To recommend a possible GSCM model to improve the performance of the organizations
Research questions
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of GSCM?
- What strategies are usually undertaken by the firms while implementing the GSCM?
- What are the potential challenges that the firms face while applying the GSCM techniques?
- What is the impact of GSCM techniques on the business performance of the firms implementing these techniques?
Research rationale
GSCM has become a trend in the industries across the world. As the industrial activities are increasing rapidly, the environmental damages are increasing too. Hence, the implementation of GSCM has become necessary for a sustainable future, as GSCM aims to reduce the wastes, which includes harmful chemicals, solid and energy wastes, GHG emissions and to incorporate environmental sustainability. On the other hand, the industries operate for making profits. Hence, to increase productivity and profitability and reduce the cost of production, they often ignore the environment-friendly practices, which incur the high cost. The organizations that use natural resources must manage the resources in the most efficient manner to maintain the long-term sustainability and profitability (Brandenburg et al. 2014).
The awareness about the global warming and other environmental issues started from the 1990s and the firms started to incorporate the ethical CSR policies in their operations including the supply chain (Luthra, Garg and Haleem 2015). The ethical and green practices adopted by the firms help them to gain an advantage in the industry as consumers have become more aware of the environmental sustainability. Hence, the integration of green practices in the manufacturing and supply process of the firms has gained importance among the consumers as they are now more concerned about those. Hence, organizations following GSCM are being able to capture the market share and that share is increasing. Organizational performance depends on many factors including the GSCM. The researcher explored the extent to which the implementation of GSCM impacts the organizational performance. The advantages, disadvantages and potential challenges of the implementation of the GSCM practices were explored through this research study.
Proposed outline of research philosophy and research approach
The researcher has adopted the interpretivism research philosophy to address the research questions. Since, the topic of the study aimed to explore the impact of GSCM practices on the business performance in the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong; it would be most suitable to analyze the impact of these practices using qualitative method. Collecting primary data would be difficult and hence, the researcher would collect secondary data on the past 5 years from the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong regarding the implementation of GSCM and its impact on the business growth. Interpretivism allowed the researcher to use the interpretation skills to investigate the information regarding the research topic and present the analysis in a thematic manner. Following this research philosophy, the researcher has adopted deductive research approach. This research approach enabled the researcher to analyze the gathered information against already established theories and research studies. In other words, the secondary data on the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong was used as supporting information to meet the research objectives. The researcher did not generate any new theory from the gathered information. The collected data helped to explain the research phenomena and the outcome was used to validate research aim objectives.
Research structure
Chapter 1 presents the introduction of the research topic. It helps in introducing the research topic to the readers. It presents background of the study, aim and objectives of the research, research questions and hypothesis and significance of the research.
Chapter 2 represents the literature review of the previous literature. The researcher gained in-depth knowledge on the research subject by studying various kinds of literature by previous authors to gain information and idea about the research topic.
In chapter 3, research methodology is presented. This presents the strategy of the researcher while conducting this study. Research paradigm, strategy, approach, design, sampling, data collection and analysis methods are explained in this chapter.
Chapter 4 describes the data analysis, findings and its interpretation. The analysis was done using mixed methodology, that is, by using quantitative and qualitative analysis method. Tables, graphs, charts were used for visual presentation of the primary data and statistical tools were used for quantitative analysis. Secondary data were analyzed using thematic analysis under qualitative method.
Chapter 5 is the concluding chapter. The researcher presents concluding remarks and recommendations based on the findings and also establishes a link between the research objectives and the findings.
Literature Review
Literature review is done by the researchers to gain an in-depth knowledge of the research subject. Studying previous literatures helps the researchers to obtain relevant information and develop an outlook about the research subject. In this study, the researcher conducts the literature review on previous papers by other authors. Through this chapter, the researcher presents the knowledge gained from the previous works, which helps to understand the context and background of the study. Different aspects of the topic and its implications as per different theories are highlighted in this chapter to exhibit the background and context of the research topic, that is, the impact of GSCM on the organizational performance.
Nowadays, businesses are becoming highly globalized and have become more competitive. The organizations tried to broaden up their supply chain network across the globe. The organizations are using natural resources, which are simultaneously necessary for the other members of the society. The demand for the natural resources has increased due to maintaining the supply chains of the organizations. For the sustainable development, the organizations primarily related to the supply chains mode of business, need to balance out with the earth's supply of natural resources. It is to fulfill this purpose sustainable practices of GSCM are necessary. According to Ahi and Searcy (2013), the primary cause of the environmental problems is related to business operations such as logistic, manufacturing, and sourcing. The organizations, which are related to the supply chains, have already integrated the ethical consideration of green practices. However, these organizations have extended their environmental practices by including effective green practices throughout the supply chains.
Factors influencing organizational performance
Al-Tit (2017) found that organizational performance is based on many factors in a company. The author found in his study that it includes production, customer service, supply and distribution, human resources, capital stock, strategic integration, marketing technique, stakeholders’ support, knowledge creation, knowledge management capacity, creativity and innovation, leadership style, corporate governance, supportive organizational culture and CSR activities. The implementation of GSCM activities is often considered as a part of the CSR activities as the organizations are adopting the GSCM activities to reduce the environmental footprint from the manufacturing as well as supply chain practices. Hence, it can be said that implementation of effective GSCM practices does not imply that the organizational performance will improve. Many other factors need to perform well to deliver a better and improved organizational performance.
However, these days, when the environmental sustainability has become a big issue in regards to the sustainable future, the companies are now focusing on incorporating the environment-friendly practices in their business operations. Hence, GSCM is one of the major factors influencing the business operations.
Factors of GSCM
Hu and Hsu (2010) conducted a study on the critical factors of GSCM. The findings of the study showed that 20 critical factors can be divided into four categories, namely, supplier management, organization involvement, product recycling and lifecycle management. The study was conducted on the electronic and electrical industries of Taiwan. According to the findings of the study, since the Taiwanese electronics and electrical industry plays a significant role in the international Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, the validated instruments allow the managers and decision makers in the ICT manufacturers for evaluating the perceptions of GSCM practices in their companies. Moreover, the critical elements in implementing he GSCM practices, as shown in the study, are beneficial in identifying the areas, where the GSCM practices can be implemented, accepted and improvements can be possible and prioritized.
Types of GSCM practices
Stadtler (2015) has researched the various types of GSCM practices of different organizations. He has compared those different sustainability practices of the organizations and provides recommendations on how those practices could be improved. Some of the environmental practices by the organizations involved in supply chains are joint waste minimization with the suppliers, training and educational programs of the sustainability to the suppliers, joint process design of recycling, transportation with the suppliers and designing of methods that could reduce the consumption of energy. The supply chain firms in China have incorporated the environmental practices into the purchase, logistic, reverse logistics, regulatory and legislative practices (Zhu et al. 2017). They have taken practices related to the eco-designing. Some of the firms involved in the supply chains are trying to reduce the harmful effect of the environment through emission by choosing suppliers from the same geographical areas and using smart transport modes shared trucks and heavy-duty trucks with other companies and product lines. The two significant measures of the environmental pollution in the supply chains are the rate of carbon emissions, and fuel consumption as the transport sector in the supply chains are holding the significant impact of the environmental effect.
The key elements of a supply chain management are raw materials, component, manufacturer, retailer and consumers. Each of the interfaces of the SCM represents movements of the goods, the flow of information, title transfer and purchase and sale (Laari et al. 2016). GSCM is an extension of the SCM activities incorporating the environment-friendly techniques. As highlighted by Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour (2016), there are different ways of building a green supply chain in an organization. Those ways are as follows:
- Selection of products:Organizations should design the product in a way so that it is safe to use, creates less pollution and consumes less amount of energy. There should not be any hazardous elements that could create obstacle during transportation or storage and while disposing the products at the end of their life cycle. Design for Environment (DFE) refers to the development of products, which has no negative side effects for the human as well as for the environment, and which is cost effective and eco-friendly. This is a necessary GSCM practice, which should be eco-friendly and cost-effective.
- Process and production:The manufacturing process should include the GSCM initiatives to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Effective and efficient production strategy for reducing the energy consumption includes reducing the waste materials, and water and air emissions. This can be attributed to the lean manufacturing. Recycling option can be evaluated strictly before scraping any waste.
- Selection of business partners:selection of suppliers who follow GSCM and use eco-friendly raw materials in their operations is helpful while building the practice of environment-friendly operations. Involving the vendors during the conception and designing of the products is beneficial as they can provide the best inputs to align with the business strategy and customer strategy as well. This way a green supply chain can be formulated and established, which will meet the customer’s expectation and at the same time reduce the footprint on the environment.
- Designing logistics:In the logistics design, the organizations should put efforts to reduce fuel and other energy consumption. Fuels in transport can be reduced if the suppliers are set near to the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and the hubs. The plan of the sourcing and delivery of the end products should be made in a way which would reduce the unnecessary transportation. For example, the organizations can practice backhauling, in which after the delivery of a finished good is done, an empty vehicle can be used for collecting goods from other sources in the same route. Air freight should be used less while more rail and ship transportation should be practiced.
- Packaging material:Organizations practicing GSCM replace the packaging material with eco-friendly materials. They have to obtain fumigation certificate for international shipments of the wooden crates and pallets. The packaging materials should be recyclable and reusable. It should be made in a manner so that it cannot cause any hazard for the environment.
- Reverse logistics design:Recycle, repair and reuse strategy should be adopted by the organizations. Remanufacturing and redistribution process should also be incorporated. Reduction of pollution during the transportation is an important activity in the reverse logistics.
- Information technology: Companies are now focusing on providing green IT solutions through different automatic processes to reduce their carbon footprint. Companies are going for paperless solutions through digital processing.
- Green building:People nowadays prefer to deploy greener practices in the manufacturing of buildings. Using energy saving lights and natural lights in an optimized manner are the primary agenda. Water is recycled, and renewable sources are used for energy. These way green practices are following in making buildings.
Hence, the designs stated above would create a social and financial value to the customers if those are implemented successfully at each stage of any supply chain. This is often termed by the organizations as the value chain. In the end all these actions and must be sustainable and should be improved continuously through research and innovation of new ideas.
Connection between GSCM and financial performance of businesses
The connection between the GSCM and financial outcomes has become a trending topic. For the contemporary research, as it includes corporate strategies and policies and the economic sustainability, Zhu, Sarkis and Lai (2012) have studied the impact of the green practices such as GSCM and its implication on the performance of the organizations. They have seen that the Chinese manufacturing companies, that adopted green practices, that are internal and external, have achieved better results in terms of performances. Green supply chain practices focus on reducing the environmental risks and its impacts and helps in environmental efficiency. The green practices include the elimination of the resource waste and the pollution. Through this process of GSCM, the firms could be beneficial as this practice saves the cost by the proficient use of the resources and reduction of the additional materials. The firms could be beneficial by the recycling process incorporated into the GSCM. One of the standard practices in the recycling process of the GSCM is remanufacturing, which helps to reduce the cost of the production by 40%-60% (Miroshnychenko, Barontini and Testa 2017).
Benefits and boundaries of GSCM
Sarkis (2012) conducted a study on the flows and boundaries of GSCM. He found in his research that the current adaption of the GSCM framework is still limited to the firms. Some firms have shown more proactive attitude and taken benefits from the sustainability practices by adopting the policies of GSCM. The firms need to employ the green system in the supply chain management, and for this, they have to take some policies, and the firms lack this.
Tramarico, Salomon and Marins (2017) point out some of the common benefits of GSCM. As the society has become more aware of the green practices and its necessity in sustainable development, the preference for companies implementing GSCM has been increasing too. Hence, GSCM helps the companies in achieving a competitive advantage in the market and attracting new customers. It also helps in optimum usage of assets, improved competence and reduced price of production. GSCM leads to improved financial performance, reduces the risk of hazards by manufacturing and using less hazardous materials, that cause environmental damages. Lastly, GSCM results in improved quality of goods and services, giving higher customer satisfaction and building a loyalty towards the company.
McKinnon et al. (2015) highlight four ideal measures of the green logistics. Those are:
- Merge of two separately operated inbound networks, which consist of various hubs with a potential of cost savings and emission reduction.
- Longer combination vehicles (LCV) are more feasible in achieving the objective of cost and emission reduction. The greater the shipping volume, the greater the cost efficiency achieved.
- Extension of the delivery windows at the destinations, such as, in retail stores, by 30 minutes or more can lead to an efficient outcome by reducing the driving distances of the delivery vehicles. This also reduces the negative impacts on the environment by reducing carbon emissions.
- At the same time, the frequency of delivery should be reduced to the destinations, instead, the bulk delivery system should be introduced. This would also reduce the carbon footprint by the manufacturing companies.
The measures can be categorized by applying characteristics such as the ability to deliver effectiveness in the cost reduction and emissions as well, economic efficiency and ecological features. In the GSCM, the measures are implemented as per the capacity of the company.
GSCM and organizational performance
Diab, AL-Bourini and Abu-Rumman (2015) conducted a study on the relationship between the GSCM and organizational performance in the context of Jordanian Food Industries. They collected primary data through a survey and quantitative analysis method was implemented to get the outcome. The study showed that green supply chain practices had a significant impact on the manufacturing and business performances, which consists of operational, financial and environmental performances of the food industries of Jordan. With the outcomes of the study, the industry utilized the managerial implications to improve their performances and profits by implementing the GSCM practices. There was a scope of further study regarding the factors influencing the business performance, which is being utilized in this given study.
Green et al. (2012) conducted an empirical study to assess the comprehensive GSCM activities and performance model. In this model, the authors explored the GSCM practices, which connect the manufacturers with the suppliers and customers to support the environmental sustainability of the entire supply chain. Data was collected from 159 managers from manufacturing plants on the extent to which the organizations work with the customers and suppliers for improving the environmental sustainability. The author found that implementation of GSCM practices has helped in improving the environment as well as the economic performances of the firms, which in turn had a positive influence on the operational performance. Thus, from these studies, it was found that organizational performance depends heavily on these factors, such as operational performance, financial performance and environmental performance, and GSCM has a positive influence on these.
The supply chain consists of those activities associated with manufacturing from raw material acquisition to final product delivery. Because of the recently changed environmental requirements that affect manufacturing operations and transportation systems, growing attention is given to the development of environmental management strategies for supply chains. According to Staš et al. (2015), a green supply chain aims at confining the wastes within the industrial system so as to conserve energy and prevent the dissipation of harmful materials into the environment. In this paper, we compare and contrast the traditional and green supply chains.
Brandenburg et al. (2014), have shown that consumers’ perspective of the GSCM. The consumers are aware of the environmental issues and want to buy substances that are produced by sustainable practices. The firms could be benefitted if they incorporate the consumers’ perspective of sustainable practices. The conscious consumer would like to buy products that are produced by green practices. In this regard, two studies can be highlighted. Customers' perception regarding the efficient resource utilization and their environmental effect is created through increased awareness about the environment, and hence, the economic, social and environmental factors affect the customer growth (Rasool et al. 2016).
On the other hand, Palovitta (2010) conducted a qualitative study with thematic analysis on a focus group and found that the socio-cultural aspects encircling the locally produced food, create the most important sustainability dimension for consumers. This is because of the reason that for the customers, it is easier to track the supply chain activities for the local food production. In case of international food supply chain management, people often cannot get enough information to be aware of their activities. Thus, people are more concerned about the environment-friendly GSCM practices adopted in the local industries than in the international industries.
Conclusion
The research objectives for this study are to explore the costs and benefits of the GSCM in the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong, along with the implementation strategies, and potential challenges to be faced by the organizations in the industry. The literature review helped the researcher to outline the concepts for conducting this study. It helped to gather knowledge regarding the factors that have significant influence on the organizational performance, and the importance of CSR activities on the organizational growth. The researcher also developed knowledge on the factors of GSCM, its types, benefits and limitations, relationship between GSCM practices and financial and overall performances of the organizations. This helped the researcher to focus on the challenges of GSCM and how that influences the business activities, which in turn helped to create the fundamentals for the given research study on manufacturing industry of Hong Kong.
It can be derived from the above discussion that there are various studies conducted on the GSCM practices in various industries across the world, such as, local food production, Jordanian food industry, Taiwanese electronic and electrical industry etc. however, no study was conducted earlier on the impact of GSCM on the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong. Through this study, the researcher had explored the above-mentioned topic.
Research Methodology
This chapter presents an outline of the methodology adopted for this research study. Research methodology refers to the strategies and steps taken by the researcher to answer the research questions in the most logical and specific manner. It also represents the descriptions of the instruments adopted for conducting the research study. It gives an overall idea of how the researcher goes ahead in fulfilling the research objectives. Research methodology illustrates the research paradigm, research approach, strategy, design, data collection, sampling technique and data analysis method. The researcher collected secondary data on the GSCM practices and business performances of the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong and analyzed it using qualitative research or data analysis process to find out the impact of GSCM practices on the business performances.
Research method outline
Organizational performance depends on many factors. The most common way to have an idea of the organizational performance is to evaluate the trend of the revenue and profit of the organization for the past few years. However, as many organizational factors contribute to the productivity, it is important to narrow down the research topic. The manufacturing industries follow a supply chain management in their business operations. When these companies integrate environmentally friendly supply chain management activities and functionalities, it is termed as GSCM. The researcher focused on the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong to evaluate the role of GSCM in influencing the business performances. Firstly, the researcher has conducted a comprehensive literature review to throw light on different aspects of the research topic, that is, GSCM and organizational performance. After the conceptual framework was developed, the researcher focused on collecting the data and analyzing those. Secondary data was collected from the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong through observational technique and thematic analysis under qualitative analysis method was adopted to analyze the data to reach to the conclusion.
Research paradigm
Research paradigm refers to the set of general beliefs, assumptions and understanding within which the theories and practices function (Lindahl 2018). The foundation, development and nature of the information and knowledge gained while conducting the research study make the basis of the paradigm or philosophy of the research. As stated by Ryan (2018), research philosophy or paradigm is chosen based on the data collection process and analysis method. Four major research paradigms are positivism, realism, interpretivism and pragmatism. Positivism entails the researcher to deal with highly structured data, which are usually collected from large samples. The researcher applied scientific analysis method to obtain the desired result and research method is chosen accordingly (Bernard, 2017). In the realism paradigm, the researcher has the liberty to choose either qualitative or quantitative research method on the basis of the type of the data. Under interpretivism, the observational and interpretation skills of the researcher are important. Data is collected from small samples and qualitative analysis method is followed in this philosophy. According to Miller (2012), under interpretivism, the researcher uses detailed information for depth analysis through the qualitative research method. Interviews and observations are the two most commonly used method of research and data collection. However, as stated by Reynolds et al. (2014), this approach is somewhat biased towards own thought process of the researcher. Hence, there could be a gap between the findings from the data analysis and interpretation of the observations. Lastly, pragmatism allowed the researcher to implement both the qualitative and quantitative research method (Bryman & Bell, 2015). In this research study, the researcher followed interpretivism paradigm. Secondary data was collected on the organizational performances of the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong and thematic analysis was applied to interpret the findings.
Research approach
Three primary research approaches are inductive, deductive and abductive. The inductive approach allows the researcher to establish new theories based on the research topic and explore the subject without any preconceived notion. The deductive approach allows the researcher to examine the research hypothesis in the backdrop of the relevant theories, which were already established by other scholars (Åsvoll 2013). Lastly, in the abductive approach, the researcher needs to choose one potential solution to the research problem as per the reasoning, from a set of possible solutions.
The nature of the given research entailed the researcher to choose the deductive approach. The performance of the firms in the Hong Kong manufacturing industry would not have the scope of new findings or would not generate many potential solutions to the research questions. Hence, deductive approach was adopted by the researcher to interpret the data to get the findings. This allowed the researcher to observe the organizational performances in the industry and usage of the GSCM and interpret the data to reach to the conclusion.
Research strategy
Research strategy explains the general plan of the researcher to proceed with the study to get the answers to the research questions in a logical manner (Bryman 2016). Different type of research strategies are there, among which the researcher selects one as per the nature of the research topic. Surveys, case studies, experiments, grounded theory, narrative inquiry, action research, archival research and ethnography are various types of research strategy (Lindahl 2018). In the deductive research approach, the most commonly used research strategies are case studies, experiment, surveys and observational research. The features of the research strategies are different and based on the nature of the topic, the most appropriate strategy is chosen. This strategy allows the research to make a framework or plan for how the data collection would be done. In the given research, observational research strategy was followed. The researcher observed the performance trend of the manufacturing firms in Hong Kong, who follows the GSCM. With this observation, the data was collected and the researcher analyzed it using his observational and interpretation skills. This strategy is beneficial for qualitative data collection and study.
Research design
As stated by Mackenzie et al. (2012), research design refers to the procedures that enable the researcher deal with the research problem on the basis of the data obtained from the research study and to get to the conclusion in the most effective manner. Two fundamental research designs are explanatory and exploratory. As highlighted by Lewis (2015), explanatory research allows the researcher to explain the research topic on the basis of other established theories by other scholars. The research questions or hypothesis are examined against the previous theories and the logical inferences are made on the research topic as per the examination result of the research hypothesis. On the other hand, Ioannidis et al. (2014) state that exploratory research design allows the researcher to investigate the research subject to get an entirely new perspective on the research topic. It also helps in getting a new theory or new angle to study the research issue.
In the given research, the researcher will study the impact of the GSCM on the business performance in the Hong Kong manufacturing industry. In this study, the researcher explored the costs and benefits of GSCM, potential challenges faced by the organizations during the implementation of the GSCM practices, and the ways to overcome those challenges and get the optimum productivity. The exploratory research design is suitable for qualitative analysis. The researcher did not have to examine or evaluate any research hypothesis, rather he explored the aspects of the research problem to get the answers to the research questions and to fulfil the research objectives.
Data collection process and instruments
Data collection is a very crucial part of any research study. The purpose of research is solved through the analysis of the gathered data. In any type of research study, two types of data can be used, primary and secondary. The data, which the researcher collects directly from the study field, is known as the primary data. On the other hand, the data that the researcher collects from different authentic sources, such as, journals, books, newspaper articles, magazines, various official websites, and online publications, is known as secondary data (Best and Kahn 2016). The need for data collection is based on the research topic and at the same time, the sources are also determined on the basis of the topic of the study. The data collection instruments are different for primary and secondary data. Primary data is usually collected by using interview, survey questionnaire, focus group, the self-assessment checklist, appraisal forms, feedbacks etc. On the other hand, secondary data is collected from academic and non-academic sources, from various authentic sources, such as governmental websites, company websites, peer-reviewed journals etc. Primary data is most effective when research is conducted to study the individual level of behaviour and secondary data is collected when the research study revolves around organizational or a broad level (Mackey and Gass 2015).
In the given study, the research topic is centered around the impact of GSCM on the performance of the manufacturing enterprises in Hong Kong and its benefits, disadvantages, and potential challenges faced by the firms during the implementation of the GSCM. In this topic, personal level data would not be relevant. Thus, the researcher collected secondary data on the manufacturing industry and on the firms that have implemented green supply chain practices or green logistics in their business operations. The annual reports, company publications, newspaper publications and government reports were collected from the governmental websites to gather the information on the industry performance after the implementation of the GSCM practices.
Data analysis process
The data analysis process involves the application of various analytical methods to interpret the findings. There are two types of data analysis process, namely, qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data analysis methods highly focus on the descriptive analysis of the research phenomenon, while quantitative analysis majorly focuses on the scientific and statistical analysis of the research topic (Panneerselvam 2014). The information on the trends of businesses has been collected and descriptive and thematic analysis structure was applied on the information to present the findings. This type of analysis process was chosen as no statistical calculation was performed on the data. Different themes of the study were designed and the trends were represented through graphs, charts and tables. The data was collected over the past five years of performance of the manufacturing industry after the implementation of the GSCM practices, its benefits and challenges faced by the industry. Thematic analysis helps in focusing on different aspects of the research variables (Clarke and Braun 2014). The researcher interpreted the data and presented the findings under different themes, which was beneficial in addressing the research objectives and research questions. The researcher first familiarize with the data through interactions and transcribing the reading. The researcher has immersed with comprehensive understanding of the data to segregate the overall findings with different themes. After understanding the findings, relevant data has been extracted according to the themes. In addition, the researcher’s thought process has been alluded to the relationship between themes and codes. A descriptive study was used to present the findings diagrammatically.
Research timeline
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Table 1: Gantt chart
(Source: Self-developed)
Data Findings And Analysis
Introduction
In this chapter, findings from secondary data on green supply chain have been analyzed. Most of the data have been collected from the books, journals, websites and online articles. Impact of the green supply chain has been focused on the manufacturing sector in Hong Kong and data findings have strived to find out the improvement of organizational performance. The researcher has collected information from various secondary sources about factors of the green supply chain. Once familiar with the findings from the secondary data sources; the researcher started to find out the initial codes those of the features of the data which appear interesting and meaningful. These findings have been divided into six ‘themes' in order to pinpoint and examine the different elements of the data findings. In this chapter, deeper review of the identified themes has been refined, separated, combined and the researcher has discarded initial theme. The researcher named the themes in order to provide theme names and clear working definitions which can bring essence of the theme. Themes of this section have been set highlighting the objectives of the research. Thematic analysis is widely used qualitative data analysis technique as this analysis process is one of a cluster of methods that focuses on recognizing the patterned meaning.
Thematic analysis
Theme 1: GSCM and potential challenges
GSCM associates traditional supply chain management and it integrates the environmental criteria into the organizational elements or concerns into the purchasing decisions of the organizations along with the long-term relationship with the local and international suppliers. Organizations can focus on the resources and energy for creating environmentally sound supply chain (Fahimnia et al. 2015). Green supply chain provides the great advantage towards the PR, CSR and improves the profit margin for the organizations as it reduces the waste and improves customers' opinion. Green transportation costs more usually and it is the thing that can add the base cost. The traditional supply chain is not seen as the revenue earning; therefore it cannot increase costs unless it hits budget or margin. Manufacturing companies do not want to increase the cost of the supply chain as ‘greenification' strategy of supply chain needs huge modification and planning. The costs of the green supply chain are maximum as this process integrates the product design, sourcing, selection, material sourcing, and manufacturing process, end-to-end management of the product and delivery of the final product. Green logistics emphasizes all the attempts to gauge reduce the ecological effect on the logistics activities. This process includes all the activities of the reverse and forwards flow of the products and services between the point-of-origin and information. The overall process of green logistics and supply chain costs huge money as it aims to make the sustainable organizational value that balances the economic and environmental effects of the organization. The organizations take the concept of the logistics systems and approaches that have been used to advance the equipment and technology in order to reduce the environmental damages during the overall operations. As stated by Chin et al. (2015), GSCM is the cost driver which in turn increases the environmental practices. The green supply chain is expensive and escalating to overall environmental concerns can make transportation model to increase the interest of the green sustainable practices. The supply chain process of the vehicles emits a large amount of the carbon resulting from the transportation part of the supply chain. However, Tachizawa et al. (2015) argued that sustainable sourcing of the supply chain can be more cost-effective and the organizations can practice the strategic sourcing when it is the cost alternative strategy.
The green supply chain in the manufacturing sector can face a challenge from the competitors as a lot will not be going the whole hog on green issues. The companies must opt to take green as it is the real differentiator as the organization can be the best off probably mirroring unless it has the real long-term strategy and plenty of money. Competitors in the market can also use the green logistics and the organizations need to surpass the competitors by using a different strategy. Manufacturers and suppliers can fear that by operating the green supply practices; the organizations can become expensive compared the competitors in the market (Dubey et al. 2015). The authors further stated that existing green supply chain increases the cost of the product and the competitors will provide the same products with fewer prices to the customers. Considering the market, where many of the firms produce the same types of products; the customers will purchase the products which will cost less and quality of the products must be higher. The competitors can create a challenges for the organizations to implement the closed-loop supply chain in order to decrease the waste and make the re-manufactured products that might outprice the compared the competition. Downstream organizations feel pressure to implement the green supply chain and upstream organizations also face the challenge that they can raise the price of the products and customers would no longer be interested in purchasing of the products from the organizations.
In Hong Kong, manufacturing industry is not much strength and the green supply chain faces the issues of the suppliers' development of the team efforts. Sustainable, as well as suppliers' training, are some of the issues of green supply chain in Hong Kong. Stakeholders' position is another challenge that can face by the organization used for green supply chain. Out-pricing is not the uncertain aspect of the customers' facing organizations as supply chain can create the uncertainty to the changes of position of the stakeholders. Manufacturing organizations can face the issue while implementing green supply chain when the employees are adverse towards the change. Green supply chain process may transform the paper invoice towards the faxing invoices among the departments. The organizations can start the e-procurement software to reduce the use of paper that can intermediate by the change. In some of the cases, stakeholders are interested to improve the profit and they can opt to take green supply chain practice. Stakeholders can be adamant about the eco-friendly practices.
Theme 2: Green supply chain practices and performance of the organisation
Business activities may pose important threat to the environment regarding the carbon monoxide emissions, packaging materials, discarded wastes and scarped toxic minerals. In addition, the supplying vehicles of the companies sometimes stuck to the traffic congestion and it faces the issues of industrial pollution. According to Vijayvargay et al. (2017), for the organizations; GSCM is considered as the environmental innovation. The management of the organizations is trying to integrate environmental policies into the supply chain policies. The organizations are trying to reduce and eliminate the wastes that are included hazardous chemical, energy, emissions and solid wastes along the supply chain as it is associated with the product design and material resourcing. Hong Kong has trading hub and well-developed cities that include the considerable consumption. Hong Kong has the high potential to transform the world to contribute the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that includes the clean water, affordable and clean energy, sanitation and responsible consumption and responsible consumption and climate action. Global supply chain plays the critical role for the Hong Kong-based businesses and it can drive the transformation by taking adaptation and the expansion approach towards sustainability which considers the supply chain and procurement. The organizations based in Hong Kong take the benefits of the green supply chain that extends the social and environmental rewards to consider the risk reduction and brand value development in increasingly connected and transparent world. As pointed out by Laosirihongthong et al. (2013), companies of Hong Kong leads on sustainability that can share the best practices, narrate the approaches and develop the future trends related to the green supply chain and procurement. Green supply chain strategies address environmental challenges that show managing the carbon footprint of the products. Competition among the companies in the manufacturing sector has intensified the strategies and it has triggered the organizations to act in socially and ethically responsible way in a supply chain.
Green supply chain intensifies the organizational performance as the supply chain network comprises all parties and the stakeholders. Green supply chain requires the permission and the decisions of the different stakeholders like supplier, manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer and customers of the organisation. In order to deliver the products to the end customers, the organizations can consider both upstream and downstream sides of both physical distributions with information and finances. As stated by Zhu and Sarkis (2014), a typical supply chain of the organizations has five stages that require organizations' input. Five stages of the organisation are associated with the raw materials suppliers, retailers, customers, wholesalers and manufacturers. The manufacturing sector is related to the intensive use of resources and with the advancement of time the rate of resources and materials use has enhanced that leads to the diverse influence in the environment. In the manufacturing sector; the environmental degradation is occurred due to the following operations; industrial operation, procurement, disposal and product use. The current eco-system in Hong Kong cannot promote and assist the mainstreaming of the new technologies for extensive use. Speedy industrialization in Hong Kong has degraded the environment for the profound contamination from the manufacturing industries. Some of the major contributing factors to GSCM are the cost-related pressure, supply chain factors and marketing and government regulations. Large organizations are advanced in GSCM than the small or medium-sized organizations and these organizations initiate the design for reuse, recovery and recycle (Green et al. 2012). The organizations which involve themselves, third parties and suppliers in the greening process have made them advance in the development path and advance of the competitors which can provide the sustained competitive advantage of the manufacturing companies.
The above diagram proves the fact that GSCM has the elements like corporate practice towards the GSCM, green project and green operation. GSCM has its relation towards the green procurement, management of internal environmental, collaboration with the customers and investment in waste-recycling. In addition, GSCM has its relation to the ecological design. Therefore, these success factors of the green supply chain can provide the organizational performance to improve in the economic performance, environmental performance and operating performance.
Theme 3: Green supply chain and transportation cost reduction
Green supply chain concept is gaining the popularity in mainly South East Asian region. The manufacturing organizations are demonstrating the sincere commitment to sustainability. GSCM practices can be fully adopted by the organizations to define the link between measures and improving the economic performance. Green supply chain process can reduce the transportation cost in long run and it can help in building up the competitive advantage. Sustainable supply chain contains environmental, societal and economic goal. Environmental and economic sustainability can measure the means of emissions and costs. Logistics is the application that can be associated with the configuration if the organization's network. As stated by Mitra and Dutta (2014), the ultimate objective of the logistics is the achievement of ecological, economic and social goals. The green action helps to reduce the influence if mankind and green logistics can deal with the production as well as the distribution of products and goods in a sustainable way. In Hong Kong-based companies; GSCM comprises a large set of different fields that help to reduce the waste management, reverse logistics, lifecycle assessment and network design. Designing networks in a different way help in networking planning in an eco-efficient way and it is associated with the merging of the networks. Relocating production can also be part of the measurement of the GSCM; this relocating production is associated with the back-shoring, local production and local sourcing. In GSCM, transportation rate can be different by the locations and distance from the source to the destinations. In the traditional supply chain, the vehicles use the fossil fuel and the whole process costs money. In the below chart, two sets of rates have been given for full truck loads and less than truck loaded for the supply of the products by the manufacturing organizations. Both the shipments process assumes that both rates are equal at the use of 60% of loading meters. The costs of the data are taken from the internal database framework.
The manufacturing companies derive the transportation costs using the data from the internal benchmark. The organizations use the formula considering different types of cost including the fuel cost and capital cost for different means of repositioning risks, transportation costs, indirect costs, labor costs and driving time. The comparison can be made between traditional transportation and the green supply chain. The standard for calculating energy consumption as well as the greenhouse gas emissions in transportation services can be done through experiment-based reference. In recent time, Apple's management has taken the decision to come with the green supply chain to the US. In addition, the UK giant Marks and Spencer announced the 50% of the supply process would be done through GSCM process. Walmart announced that the organization saved more than $160 million in 2016 for the green supply chain process and Walmart was at the top by saving $231 million from the waste reduction. The green supply chain process is associated with the renewable energy resources, rethinking trucks and boxes, time restrictions and considering the routines (Govindan et al. 2014). The whole process saves money for the organization to improve the organizational performance. General Motors made $1 billion through reusing and recycling of almost 97% of the waste from the manufacturing process; therefore, the organizations can opt to take lean management. General Motors sent the message that supply chain must not end with waste; however, it should start with waste. In Hong Kong; the companies can start taking the waste as mini-supply chain and it can become the track all of the materials that coming in the way of being generated by the company.
Theme 4: Environmental factors of GSCM
In the manufacturing industry, the management becomes aware of the environmental issues and the concept of global warming. Customers in recent times are more cautious and aware about the products they are buying. Organizations have to expect more questions about the green manufacturing and supply chain process. The organizations are trying to lower the carbon footprint and use the recycle process. The traditional supply chain process emits the smoke and the overall process can harm the environment. Companies have observed the consumer interest in the environment and the organization has been able to convert the interest of the public in green so that the companies can increase the profit. Green supply chain connects the link between the developed environmental performance and financial gains. Companies can look into the supply chain and they can observe the areas where the development operates to produce the profit. As stated by Jabbour and De Jabbour (2016), companies find the cost-saving way to reduce the eco-logical impact of the business process. The companies are evaluating the supply chain of the organization, from the beginning of the planning and managing of the utilization of the materials to distributing and shipping of the products. The companies can identify the benefits of taking the green policies and environment and society will get benefit from this. The public mainly focuses on the environmental benefits from the GSCM; however, these benefits attribute to reduce the company's environmental influence that is forefront for executives of the organizations. Green supply chain appears that many of the company staffs are still not aware of improved environmental performance that means training cost and lower waste disposal, fewer environmental permitting costs and reduced material costs. Interest in green and environmental concern will not decrease the economic issues which have become more significant due to the faltering economy.
Supply chain optimization will allow the customers to get the products at right time. The companies in Hong Kong are spending the money while they accomplishing the green supply chain. Many of the manufacturing companies in South Asian countries are opting to fast and low-cost supply chain as these are compatible with green supply chain as well. In addition, green supply chain initiative is good for the environment as this process does not harm the environment. The green supply chain can reduce the shipping through fossil fuel. In a previous time, traditional supply chain used fossil fuel which was burnt to run the vehicles. In recent time, the organizations optimize and consolidate the material in packaging with fewer packing products that are consumed. In green GSCM, the companies are using the packaging that does not harm the atmosphere. Hazardous materials for the environment are not used as these things and materials are taken out of the supply chain and lower costs are related to this in handling and disposing of these materials. Green supply chain helps to minimize the waste; therefore costs can be included in disposal and purchasing of the products. The companies which use the GSCM can improve the public image and it will be marketing boon (Zhu and Sarkis 2016). When the customers will get to know about the companies are saving earth through saving the waste and saving the barrels of oil through the green supply chain; the companies' brand image will increase automatically.
Theme 5: Benefit of the green supply chain for the manufacturing sector
In Hong Kong, mainly the fashion clothing manufacturing companies take the initiative of the ‘go green' in manufacturing and supply chain process. The companies in Hong Kong are evaluating the business models as well as sustainable supply chain. In the article by Srivastava (2017), the authors mentioned that Hong Kong-based companies have taken the initiative to apply the Five-R framework to further assess the execution and institutionalization of the fashion clothing. GSCM has the idea of reducing the waste by enhancing the efficiencies. In addition, effective management along with resources can decrease the production costs, reuse the raw materials and promote the recycling. Therefore, the management of manufacturing companies can be efficient with money and resources as green supply chain saves the money in long run. The organizations can partner with other organizations which value the energy-efficiency in the supply chain with a positive impact on the overall efficiency. As stated by Holt and Ghobadian (2014), green supply chain process can stand out the company from the competition as it allows the whole supply chain to be dedicated towards the sustainability efforts. The companies can set themselves apart demonstrating that the companies care for the community. GSCM will give the edge and it will improve the reputation of the organization. The companies can opt to take the measure to start the Sustainability Reporting that will document the CSR activities and ‘Greenification strategy' of the organizations.
In GSCM, emerging technologies help to bring the competitive advantage to the companies in the manufacturing sector. In managing the GSCM, the companies are using emerging technologies Green supply chains in business provide best interest to eliminate the risk and opportunity to eliminate the risk can be optimized through the GSCM (Walker et al. 2017). The authors further stated that sustainability in the supply chain can put the less risk towards environmental and unethical practices. The organizations can reap the benefits from the GSCM and the organizations can use the resources and money in a subtle way without having any risks. The companies are now in an era with highly informed customers who care more about what they use and how it's produced. So, when a company communicates its green supply chain, the company is bound to retain and attract more customers than a company without a green supply chain. Green supply chain brings out the customer loyalty and the organizations can have the repeat value of the customers through the green supply chain. Green supply chain saves energy costs, reduces operational costs, maintains a steady supply of materials and creates a safer, secure working environment for the businesses (Hervani et al. 2015). This contributes to higher revenues for the companies in the manufacturing sector. In addition, the green supply chain can increase company's longevity. In recent time, most companies die prematurely because they cannot survive market competition and innovation. Green supply chain supports sustainability on very important levels for continuous business growth. However, innovation must continue to thrive in the company to attain full benefits of the green supply chain.
Theme 6: Strategies for implementing GSCM
GSCM (GSCM) is about delivering the services and products from the manufacturers to the end customers and the suppliers through material flow, cash flow and information flow in relation to the environment. However, traditional supply chain management mainly focuses on the total quality management, best possible cost and this can be contributed to the environment. GSCM typically mandates to incorporate the idea of developing the innovative ecological technologies to handle the problems faced by the organizations. The organizations can communicate to the stakeholders in the supply chain process through this green supply chain with the help of the technologies (Zhu and Sarkis 2014). Lean manufacturing process helps to eliminate the waste in each stage of the supply chain and it focuses on the producing of the environment-friendly and economically maintained quality products which can meet the expectations of the customers. GSCM is one of the best practices to reduce the inventory, saving the energy and space. Therefore, the manufacturing industry can contribute to having the lean manufacturing process so that they can facilitate the green environment.
At first, the manufacturing companies select the products and they can design the products in a different way that it can be safe for the organizations. The executives of the supply chain must follow the process so that it creates the least pollution and the vehicles consume less energy. Green supply chain must not be hazardous during the process of each stage and the vehicles must use the best transportation system. The companies can dispose of the materials once it reaches to end of the product lifecycle. The companies in Hong Kong use DFE (Design for Environment) so that it can develop the products with no side effects for the environment and for the society. The green supply chain process of Hong Kong based manufacturing companies must be cost-effective and the companies should be environment-friendly. The GSCM practice has to be implemented in the product design stage so that it will get the idea of designing of the environment. In the article of Govindan et al. (2014), the authors mentioned that process can be designed so that it can go with the green supply chain and it must reduce the negative impact of the society. Effective production and efficient use of technology reduce the energy consumption that includes the reducing material of waste. The companies check the process of production that helps to reduce the air and water emission. Therefore, the process of production in manufacturing industry contributes the lean manufacturing and all possibilities are checked to recycle the scrap materials. In addition, manufacturing sector selects the business partners in the shape of suppliers who use the lean and environment-friendly materials. The companies check the involving of the vendors in the supplying process so that the suppliers can share the best practice to align the strategy of the organizations
The manufacturing sector practice to reduce the fuel consumption and companies can achieve logistics design to achieve by establishing the suppliers near to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and the hubs. The logistics process can use less air freight and the manufacturers can increase the use of sea and rail transport. In addition, as stated by Beske et al. (2014), logistics partners are included while product designing stage so that it can develop the cubic space and effective fleet management. Additionally, the organization's use replaces package materials that must be eco-friendly and the companies can obtain fumigation certificate for international shipment for wooden crates and pallets. The manufacturing companies can use the packaging materials that must design in a way to be reused and recycled. In Hong Kong, the manufacturing products are mainly fashion clothing, jeweler and semi-precious materials; some of the sections in Hong Kong manufacture mainly tobacco and plastics products. Companies in Hong Kong re-use recycle and repair the materials and it is called the reusing of the containers and pallets. The supply chain process has redesigned by the companies and proper design has made them able to reduce the pollution through transportation and it is important activities to use the reverse logistics. One of the most important things in a green supply chain is the use of Information Technology (IT) as the companies have achieved through the various process of IT as Automation. Thereby, the companies have already reduced the carbon footprint. Usage of paper has been decreased as the companies have been using the automatic payment process and e-invoice. The companies are using the EDI for transmitting the orders. Large international companies have been using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies to track the containers.
Summary
The manufacturing companies deploy the greener practices in supply chain and in the warehouse and logistics; the companies use the efficient bulbs, considerable energy efficient system and water recycling. The manufacturing companies may have the challenges to implement the green supply chain as this might cost extra money and the implementation is not easy. Green supply chain process is associated with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) that will be beneficial for the manufacturing companies. The GSCM process can help the companies to gain the competitive benefits and it will help the companies to attract the new customers. The companies can increase the use of various resources and they can improve the efficiency and reduce the production cost so that the companies can improve the performance. The green supply chain can contribute in the greater way towards the development of the financial performance. These six themes have provided the findings and in the next chapter; discussion would be made in order to have the clear idea of the GSCM in the manufacturing sector.
Discussion
In recent time, GSCM has become the talking point because of environmental concern and the major inclusion of the green practice within the supply chain. Therefore, the interest of the management executives is mirrored by the enhancing the interest in the climate change and environment. The government put the effort to start the green supply chain to minimize the influence on the environment. As discussed in literature review section, Hu and Hsu (2010) stated that supply chain management has begun to gain popularity in the developing countries and in emerging economy like Malaysia and Hong Kong. The authors further stated that GSCM is related to the ICT which validates the thinking process of the managers. GSCM is interesting opportunity to earn money and take good care of the planet as well. Green supply chain initiatives have been taken among ISO1 4001 certified firms in Malaysian companies. The green supply chain of the organizations fulfills both legal and customers requirements. The companies face the pressure from the governmental agencies and the international regulations that can influence the adaptation of the environmentally responsible behaviour. The companies also face the issues regarding the external and internal factors to create the awareness of the non-compliance with environmental imperatives. The companies have the legitimate concerns regarding social approval and environment policies can be deployed to have the green supply chain. In the scholarly paper of Zhu et al. (2017), it has been observed that China has been implemented GSCM in the logistics, reverse logistics and regulatory and practices of legislative. The authors provided examples; Toyota is the Best Global Green Brand as it tries to reduce emission and increase the green logistics processes. In addition, Adobe Systems redesigns the ecological sensitive of their popular software package. Adobe makes less use of Plastic to make the global leader in environmental management.
Green supply chain faces the issue regarding the lack of IT implementation as It systems can support the collaborative supply chain that can increase the supply chain performance. Information and technology process is very useful for supporting the GSCM in each and every stages of the supply chain. Therefore, efficient information systems are wanted to track the vehicles and the products. Green supply chain process makes riches the organizations with technologies as the companies can have the higher innovative capability. Technological development can be gained that can have the higher ability in technological innovation. Technological advancement can be gained through higher transferability and it is easy to share the technological knowledge that can create higher explicitness. Technology and innovation can incorporate the corporate culture and they can encourage the new ideas. In the literature review section; Laari et al. (2016) discussed about the SCM’s movement of flow of information, goods and title transfer of the sale and purchase. The authors further stated that the companies have been able to call consumers’ attention for the green services and products in order to have increase of profits. A green supply chain can face the issue when the stakeholders can do the resistance and the organizational barriers can make a difficulty of implementing the fundamental change in the organization. Core features of the green supply chain are associated with the organizational objectives, core technology, forms of authority and operational strategy and market strategy. Therefore, improved communication and internal linkages help the companies to adopt the practices. Therefore, education and training for gaining the successful implementation can solve the issues also. In addition, in order to have the perfect green supply chain, the management can face the issue of poor quality of human resources and market competition can create global competitiveness.
GSCM improves the operation process by employing environmental solutions. In Hong Kong, the manufacturing sector is mainly associated with the fashion, jewel and tobacco. In addition, the green supply chain process will improve the agility of the overall supply chain process that assists to mitigate risks and increases the speed innovation. In addition, green supply chain increases the adaptability that often leads to the innovative process and continuous improvement process. As discussed in literature review; Sarkis (2012) stated that value chain of the companies must go green as it will be easier for the organization to avoid the disasters and bankruptcy. The author stated about challenges of the GSCM for the high level of uncertainty about the positioning in the market. Green supply chain process can also improve the performance of the companies promoting the alignment of the other departments. GSCM process aligns the involvement negotiation policies with the customers and suppliers which provide results in better alignment of the business principles and process. For example, GSCM allows Commonwealth Edison to produce $50 million financial gain from managing the materials and equipment with Life Cycle Management Approach. The organizations use the packaging system that is mainly mercury free, PVC free, Recyclability and hazardous elements. In addition, durability and energy efficiency is another issue in packaging. In logistics; the supply chain process can be optimized for the truckloads and they can use direct shipment to the customers. In addition, Hong Kong-based manufacturing companies go for routing of distribution process and some of the manufacturing units use the reverse logistics. Green supply chain process goes for achieving economies of scale in the production process and lean manufacturing process is associated with this. In addition, fuel efficiency tools and machines are used in the green supply chain. In the green supply chain operation, the organizations use selecting of the less carbon-intensive energy.
GSCM process reduces the environmental impact as it starts at the disposal of the waste. Green supply chain emits less smoke and waste as the vehicles use less energy. In the second stage of pollution, hierarchy deals with the control technology of the green supply chain. Green supply chain deals with the technologies like EDI and RFID so that the vehicles can be tracked. The technologies help to reduce the usage of papers. In addition, greenification process deals with recycling and reduces the waste in the supply chain process. In the last stage of the pollution prevention hierarchy that is the source of reduction of the waste. Therefore, the green supply chain process solves the issues of increasing environmental constraints that are due to the global warming and it is the part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR). Tramarico, Salomon and Marins (2017), stated that a green supply chain is eco-friendly and it increases the environmental awareness of the stakeholders. Governments of the countries are asking the firms to get greener to get the tax exemption as it is good incentive. In addition, in Hong Kong, the green supply chain is used to evolve the consumer and client demand. In recent time, the fuel prices are increasing and fuel price is unstable. The green supply chain can be helpful in response to increase the fuel price. In environmental factor; green supply chain will help to integrate the international trade and market. The customers in Hong Kong are technologically savvy and they are literate to know the overall process. The toxic waste must be eliminated so that it can be addressed together in the production process and the industrial growth. Environmental factors are covered by the organization in designing of the products, material purchase, warehousing and packaging of the products.
Achievement of the research aim
The thematic analysis of the previous chapter has brought the attention to the integration of the environmental movements and performance of the organization. The exhaustion of the natural resources along with climate change is the key catalyst which makes effort of greening of the organizational supply chain. The aim of the research has been kept as bringing out the significance of green supply chain to improve the organizational performance. This aim has been achieved through discussing the themes where it has been observed that organisations are obliged to give a balance between environmental, social and economic aspects of the organizational performance. The thematic analysis has brought out the GSCM practices which are based on the eco-design of international environmental management that is designed in the developed environmental performance of the manufacturing industries in Hong Kong. GSCM helps to demonstrate the recycling process and it reduces the decrease disposal waste of the organization as well. GSCM also permits the organizations to develop product quality and decrease the lead times that result in developing the operational performance. Green supply chain process in manufacturing industry takes the initiative of eco-labeling that defines the products to meet the certain environmental label. Green supply chain model of the organizations can use the eco-labeling so that it can provide an advantage to the executives. As stated by Vijayvargy et al. (2017), green sourcing is the process of sustainable procurement of the products from the suppliers. In addition, the intention of the companies is to become carbon neutral and some of the companies that use carbon neutral techniques are DHL, DELL, TESCO and Travelocity. McKinnon et al. (2015) stated that the companies try to go the environment-friendly supply chain to implement and design long-term help for consumers, companies and planet. The green supply chain is the effective process where the companies can use the sustainability resources and the organizations can purchase the green input that can flow through the environmentally friendly production process to have the desired green outputs. The green supply chain can increase the efficiency of the organizations and effective management of resources can reduce the production costs that promote the recycling process also. Relevant operational cost can be reduced whilst the efficiency of the resources can be improved. GSCM can bring the competitive advantage as this process can reduce the risk of being unethical practices. Sustained dedication of the supply chain process can be measured through the management protocol. Green supply chain process in the manufacturing sector can improve the quality of the products reached to the customers. GSCM involves the collaboration between the manufacturers and the suppliers based on the green design of the services or products; it provides the awareness of the seminar and it helps supplier to build own environmental program. Social and regulatory dynamics can put real pressure on companies to have both lean and green in the product sourcing, distribution, logistics and operational practices.
Conclusions
Environmental impact has become a growing concern for the companies and the manufacturing companies make themselves concern related to the GSCM. The carbon footprint of the product makes during the manufacturing process and the end users can play a better role in making the supply chain environment-friendly. Green supply chain process starts from the lean manufacturing to waste disposal after being dispatched. The manufacturing companies provide importance to making the products green with the profitable measure. Consumers like to have the products which are environment-friendly and this can set up the link between profits and environmental factors. The manufacturing companies cut the costs by decreasing the environmental impact of the services and products. However, the thematic analysis brings out the fact that complete evaluation of the green supply chain includes the managing the materials and purchasing planning. Therefore, green supply chain adds value while minimizing the costs in two types. Physical production and distribution costs are associated with the manufacturing costs, transportation costs, facility utilization costs and inventory carrying costs. Traditional functional view of the supply chain is mainly associated with the purchasing and procurement where they do the inventory control. The supply chain is associated with the warehousing, materials handling and transportation. In Hong Kong manufacturing industry, the sustainable supply chain can meet the requirements of the present without compromising the capability of future generations to meet their own wants and requirements also. Green has the primary focus of the environment and sustainable includes the social and environmental process. Green supply chain develops the operations by employing an environmental solution to improve the agility that helps to mitigate the risks and speed of the innovation. In addition, GSCM in the manufacturing industry can increase the adaptability to lead the innovative process and continuous improvements. Moreover, the green supply chain process can promote the alignment that involves in the negotiation policies with customers and suppliers that result in better alignment of the principles and business process. The traditional supply chain in Hong Kong based companies' inputs the water energy in raw materials extraction and manufacturing process that provide the impacts on transportation, retail and consumer use and disposal that emit the air and water waste. The challenges of the GSCM are associated with the costs and competition. The manufacturing companies can bring out the means of transportation which evaluates the emissions.
Linking with objectives
Objective 1: To evaluate the costs and benefits of GSCM
This objective has been met in theme 3, 4 and 5 and in the literature review section. Green supply chain considers three objectives that make the measurement to achieve the goal that makes different fields of action. Green supply chain comprises a large set of different expenses with manufacturing, reverse logistics, waste management and network design. The cost of the green supply chain is large at the initial stage as it is associated with the ideal, ecological and economic. The transportation cost of the green supply chain depends on the internal benchmark and it can be segregated into two different types including the fuel cost and capital cost. However, GSCM provides the benefits of increasing the energy cost that can mount the fuel cost and power. The management executives of manufacturing industry check the lower power consumption in IT solutions and energy sources. Greenhouse gas emissions are another factor in selecting the green supply chain and the global manufacturing industry is alarmed over the greenhouse gas. GSCM can lower the carbon footprint. However, data of Hong Kong manufacturing industry is not specific as the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong is mainly associated with the tobacco, jewel, shoes and semiconductor. Global warming can impact the weather and green supply chain can minimize the negative factor associated with the environment. The companies in manufacturing industry can improve the environmental awareness among the community that must do better vendor selection on sharing the best practices and green IT practices.
Objective 2: To explore the strategies for implementing GSCM
This objective has been met in the theme 2 and 6 and in the literature review section. It has been observed in most of the authors' write up that product selection is the first step of the green supply chain. The companies need to design GSCM in such a way that can process the production to reduce the energy consumption in which it includes the waste materials, water and air emissions. In order to implement the green supply chain, the organizations select the partners that have right track records of practicing the lean manufacturing and using the environment-friendly materials. The management of the organizations can use the best logistics design in order to reduce the fuel consumption and logistics partners intervene in the product design. In addition, secondary data provided the information using the case studies of the different manufacturing companies like packaging materials and reverse logistics design.
Objective 3: To assess the potential challenges of implementing GSCM
This objective has been met in the theme 1 and in the literature review section. In theme 1, findings on challenges of the green supply chain have been discussed. Costs of the green supply chain are costly than the traditional supply chain. Traditionally supply chain is not seen as the revenue earning and they can offset to increase the costs unless it hits the budget and margin of the companies. The green supply chain needs long term strategy and plenty of cash in order to overshadow the competitors in the industry. Limitations of the green supply chain are the shipment use by the companies and the trading trends have been changing over time to take priority and greening stuff.
Recommendations
Valid negotiation with suppliers
The manufacturing companies should ask the suppliers if their businesses practices are sustainable. It is first to step to ensure the negotiation of the suppliers and the management executives should ask the suppliers about the reduction of excessive waste. The suppliers must measure the place to allow the transport their products in an environment-friendly way. The suppliers should be asked to use the fuel-efficient vehicles and they can opt to take training classes for the drivers. The suppliers should be negotiated to use the bulk-shipping to save the costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The manufacturing companies can restructure supply network and it is needed to first check any relevant public information. The manufacturing companies can check and research the supplying data about usage of energy, emissions and waste generation.
Choose industry partnership
In the industry; there are many others industry partners and in GSCM; the companies can start the joint-venture situation. Industry partnership helps to share the knowledge and the companies can take help to have existing supply chain. Therefore, the green goals can prove to be profitable for the partners and the companies. The manufacturer company can purchase large volumes from the suppliers and it can cut cost and it maintains the collaborative approach in the industry. The companies can have the aligned sustainable vision that will not divert the valuable forces.
Track and maintain goals
Stable sustainability network can start to quantifiable to track the objectives on the regular basis. The companies can have the actionable goals through the green supply chain and each of the GSCM must be maintained with the supply chain executives. The organizations can start the green seminars where they can train the employees to improve the organizational performance. This type of goal of the organizations should be publicly transparent and this can be internally tracked.
Following the framework of GSCM
The framework of the organization should start from the redesign of the product and it will go from reconfiguring of the manufacturer to the shifting towards the green suppliers. In the next stage, the companies can shorten the distance between the assembly and distribution. The manufacturing companies should alter the service-level agreements when they evaluate the effectiveness of the supply chain and carbon towards the measurement of the service, quality and costs. The companies can start the review of the service-level agreements for the unnecessary requirements that reduce the efficiency. In addition, the companies can start to shrink packaging as the green supply chain should make the package lighter and smaller. Finally, the manufacturing companies can plan to reverse the supply chain activities to reclaim the market for an upgrade, recycle, disposal and refurbishment to gain the organizational performance.
Future scope of the research
This research work may help the future researchers to have the idea regarding the GSCM and its impact on the organizational performance. The future researchers will have the idea of the benefits and challenges of GSCM. This study will help the manufacturing companies of Hong Kong to have the concept of steps to create the lean and green supply chain. In addition, the research work can help the supply chain executives to have the big picture objective of the green supply chain. The organizations will also achieve the clear snapshot that will help the companies to have green progress in maintaining the green model of the supply chain through this research work. This research study will help in further research about ‘green supply chain and its impact on sustainability performance' of the organizations.
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