A review of how pressures and their sources drive sustainable supply chain management practices

Abstract

Rapidly growing interest in sustainability coupled with individuals, firms, and other organizations becoming more inclined to agitate for changes internally, and with outside organizations, has resulted in firms being pressured by various sources to change their sustainable supply chain management practices. In this literature review, we synthesize 93 published research articles spanning from 1997 to 2022. We identify and evaluate how pressure types (e.g., coercive, normative, and relational) are used by pressure sources (e.g., governments, suppliers, customers, and employees) to impact firm and sustainable supply chain practices (e.g., internal, upstream, and downstream). Our goal is twofold. First, we aim to guide potential sources as to which types of pressures are most effective in eliciting changes in firm and sustainable supply chain practices. Additionally, we provide insights into not only which relationships have and have not been adequately examined in extant research, but also what could be the next evolution of inquiry in this domain.