Innovative Framework Development for Net Zero Practices: Overcoming Supply Chain and Logistics Challenges through Institutional and Resource-Based Theories

Supply chain and logistics (SCL) operations are carbon-intensive and have a huge environmental impact. In COP26, most countries pledged to reduce carbon emissions from different business operations to achieve the net zero (NZ) mission. Many SCL organizations struggle to identify major roadblocks and strategic roadmaps for improving NZ challenges through innovative business frameworks. Therefore, this paper explores the NZ barriers from the theoretical lens of institutional theory (IT) and resource-based view (RBV) theory to analyse the NZ challenges. The proposed framework consists of six major dimensions based on IT and RBV and is further extended into thirty-two sub-dimensions. Two-stage multi-criteria decision-making methods, such as fuzzy Delphi and the best-worst method, are used to solve the proposed framework. The proposed hierarchical framework has been validated by Indian SCL organizations. The computational results show that operational and organizational factors are significant roadblocks to adopting NZ practices. The infancy and anxiety of carbon-capturing technology are major concerns for organizations dealing with NZ practices. The lack of technological maturity in carbon-neutral technologies is found as major challenge for SCL organizations to implement NZ practices in SCL operations. The managerial implications and recommendations for improving NZ barriers are proposed with an innovative operational, organizational, technological, and human (O2TH) framework. The O2TH-based strategies are presented to improve the adoption of NZ practices. The future scope is also presented in the conclusion section.