Title: CAS-based social network analysis for collaborative management in the green supply chain network system

Authors: Xin Miao, Bao Xi

Addresses: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; National Center of Technology, Policy and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China. ' School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; National Center of Technology, Policy and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to unify collaborative management ideas and the Complex Adaptive System (CAS) theory into a Social Network Analysis (SNA) of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) for the sake of sustainable development. Based on GSCM, the idea of the Green Supply Chain Network System (GSCNS) was to put forward a holistic solution for the coevolution of enterprises, society and environment. Based on an analysis of the characteristics of CAS, the common mechanisms shared by GSCNS and CAS were discovered; therefore, relative researches revealed the intrinsic similarities. By the application of the CAS theory, entities in GSCNS were considered as agents in being adaptive to, and evolving with, their living environment. Furthermore, a collaborative management architecture for GSCNS was raised. Considering the attributes of GSCNS, the Swarm simulation platform was introduced for modelling and simulation, and the characteristics and advantages of Swarm simulation for GSCNS were analysed and discussed.

Keywords: complex adaptive systems; CAS; social network analysis; SNA; supply chain management; SCM; collaborative management; environment; green supply chains; GSCNS; networking; sustainable development; sustainability; swarm simulation; social networks.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2007.015725

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2007 Vol.4 No.4, pp.446 - 458

Published online: 10 Nov 2007 *

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