Collaboration capacity for sustainable supply chain management: small and medium-sized enterprises in Mexico
Introduction
Multi-stakeholder initiatives have frequently been used in demonstration projects designed to accelerate the implementation of cleaner production (CP) approaches and other sustainability-related strategies to improve the environmental, economic, and social performance of firms (Stone, 2006, Baas, 2006). These initiatives included a wide range of mechanisms, including environmental clubs (Sage, 2000), waste exchange programmes (Paquin and Howard-Grenville, 2009), eco-industrial parks (Chertow and Ashton, 2009), and sustainable supply chain initiatives (Fayet and Vermeulen, 2012, Seuring and Müller, 2008, Carter and Rogers, 2008). These multi-stakeholder initiatives differed from traditional implementation approaches that rely on technical assistance and training employees of individual firms, by applying collective methods as a strategy for promoting sustainability improvement among larger groups of companies.
Collective methods were designed to reduce the costs of implementation derived from economies of scale, and recommended targeting small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in emerging markets (Puppim de Oliveira, 2008, Blackman, 2006). Moreover, interactions with actors interested in firms' activities provided grounds for collaborative learning and action in sustainability (Clarke and Roome, 1999). Similarly, collaboration is a key element of problem-solving because it facilitates dynamic interactions where even incremental actions may produce significant and enduring improvements to help the transition towards sustainable organisations (Lozano, 2007).
Lozano (2007) also noted that developing a multi-dimensional organisational capacity to recognise value and collaboration skills is required for firms to collaborate in sustainability initiatives. Working together implies understanding each other, exchanging information, drawing and sharing group values, solving problems, and new reasoning. The readiness of firms to do so is defined as collaboration capacity. Following Huxham (1993), this construct outlines intra-organisational routines entailed in the transfer and absorption of knowledge, and capacity development for both sustainable and collaborative action; e.g., firms developing and implementing pollution reduction efforts that help fulfil shared objectives exhibit higher levels of collaboration capacity, while companies with low-level collaboration capacity fail to do so.
The literature generally focuses on technical stratagems to improve the sustainability performance of firms, overlooking organisational dynamics (Baas, 2006, Stone, 2006, Mitchell, 2006, Boons and Baas, 1997). Furthermore, the literature emphasises the role of anchor companies in sustainable supply chain management (Zhu et al., 2010, Vachon and Klassen, 2008, Seuring and Müller, 2008, Carter and Rogers, 2008, Sarkis, 2002, Bowen et al., 2001). But little is known about the collaboration capacity of SMEs, and their capability for successfully joining sustainable supply chain initiatives.
By focussing on the environmental dimension of sustainability, this study addresses this research gap by assessing the collaboration capacity of SMEs participating in the Mexican Sustainable Supply Programme (MSSP). The MSSP offered a unique opportunity to test the construct of collaboration capacity with SME suppliers in the context of an emerging economy. The research questions were: (1) What level of collaboration capacity did SME participation in the MSSP achieve? (2) Did the characteristics of participating companies and managers influence the collaboration capacity of individual suppliers, and if so, how? In order to answer these questions, the research method included the exploration of a conceptual model of collaboration capacity and its fit vis-à-vis MSSP empirical data. In the following sections these questions are addressed.
Section snippets
Collaboration theory and sustainable supply chain management
This section addresses collaboration capacity in sustainable supply chain management as a construct for understanding the ability of small and medium- sized firms to connect to multi-stakeholder initiatives. Literature on collaboration theory and sustainable supply chain management is reviewed.
Developing collaboration capacity in the Mexican Sustainable Supply Programme
The MSSP was designed as a voluntary inter-organisational initiative designed to facilitate implementation of CP practices within Mexican SMEs that are integrated into global supply chains. Stakeholders included the Commission of Environmental Cooperation in North America (CEC), the regional environmental authority of the State of Queretaro (SEDESU), the Mexican Chapter of the Global Environmental Initiative (GEMI), large corporations with operations in Mexico, and local suppliers. Research
Research methodology and data collection
A quantitative research methodology was used to assess the fit of MSSP empirical data with the theoretical model of collaboration capacity. Construct operationalisation, data collection, and methods of analysis are presented in the following.
Results: collaboration capacity of SMEs within the Mexican Sustainable Supply Programme
Building on the research model presented in the foregoing section, Table 4 shows frequency distributions of organisational routines performed by suppliers to answer the first research question: What level of collaboration capacity did SME participation in the MSSP achieve? A significant proportion, 53 per cent, showed evidence of activities undertaken to implement CP projects, defined in this study as operational routines. A much smaller proportion of suppliers verified communicative routines.
Discussion: collaboration capacity for environmentally focused sustainable supply chain management
The research findings reveal that MSSP suppliers achieved differing levels of collaboration capacity. The majority of participants did not evidence complex capacities (Winter, 2006), such as coordinative and communicative routines. This might suggest that the MSSP focused chiefly on technical knowledge and operational skills – thus coinciding with Baas (2006) and Stone (2006), who claimed that most CP implementation programmes based on technical assistance and workshop training, were largely
Conclusions and recommendations for future research
This paper highlights collaboration capacity as a multidimensional organisational construct in CP implementation initiatives. The study identified different levels of collaboration capacity of SME suppliers explained by organizational characteristics and their managers' profiles. Additionally, this study proposed a framework for the operationalisation of collaboration capacity in sustainable supply chain management.
The collaboration capacity of 177 suppliers was assessed to determine how that
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Donald Huisingh, Frank Boons, Leo Baas, and Rodrigo Lozano for their valuable comments to earlier versions of this manuscript. Special thanks go to Henry Gomez for fruitful discussions of the content, and to Julian Ortiz, who supported statistical analysis.
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