Title: Supply chain sustainability in SMEs: an application of the Hayes and Wheelwright model and identifying stages of development using cluster analysis

Authors: Faiza Khoja; Jeffery Adams; Ralph G. Kauffman; Mikayel Yegiyan

Addresses: Marilyn Davies College of Business, University of Houston-Downtown, 1 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, USA ' Walter E. Heller College of Business, Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA ' Marilyn Davies College of Business, University of Houston-Downtown, 1 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, USA ' University of Houston-Downtown, 1 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, USA

Abstract: Sustainability is a subject of increasing interest in supply chain management, but little is known about its practice in small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper uses survey data from SMEs to assess the current state of supply chain sustainability development in SMEs. This paper conceptualises a model of supply chain sustainability development based on Hayes and Wheelwright's four-stage operations development model. The posited model is empirically tested by applying cluster analysis to SME survey data. Four clusters (reactive sustainability, awareness sustainability, emergent strategic sustainability, and advanced strategic sustainability) were identified and tested to assess the current level of supply chain sustainability development and practices in SMEs. The model can serve as a progressive planning tool for sustainability development and strategies that impact performance in SMEs. The modified four-stage model also provides a type of scale with which managers of SMEs can measure their relative development of supply chain sustainability.

Keywords: sustainability; small-and medium-sized enterprise; SMEs; cluster analysis; Hayes and Wheelwright model; supply chain management; SCM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISM.2019.103178

International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, 2019 Vol.12 No.4, pp.309 - 333

Received: 18 Nov 2018
Accepted: 26 May 2019
Published online: 21 Oct 2019 *

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