Outstanding Paper Award

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management

ISSN: 1741-038X

Article publication date: 24 October 2008

522

Keywords

Citation

(2008), "Outstanding Paper Award", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 19 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmtm.2008.06819haa.003

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Outstanding Paper Award

Article Type: Awards for Excellence From: Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Volume 19, Issue 8

Closed-loop supply chain activities and derived benefits in manufacturing SMEs

Stéphane TalbotSchool of Business Management Science, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, CanadaÉlisabeth Lefebvre and , Louis-André LefebvreIndustrial Engineering Department, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montréal, Canada

Purpose – Closing the loop at the end of products’ useful life is earning increased attention from industry and academia. The recent or upcoming enactment of regulations regarding the management of end-of-life products is forcing manufacturers to consider strategies to increase the residual value of the products they make. Facilitating the residual value extraction process for end-of-life products is a challenging issue deserving investigation. This paper proposes to investigate this issue.Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyzes empirical evidence from a sample of 205 environmentally responsive SMEs operating in the fabricated metal products and electric/electronic products industries. A coherent research model is developed which classifies the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) activities along two dimensions, the forward and reverse supply chains.Findings – This first proposed taxonomy has been shown to be relevant for both sectors. The results also demonstrate that firms’ abilities to implement CLSC environmental initiatives vary in their intensity and in their locus along the product value chain. Furthermore, benefits derived from these initiatives seem to vary according to the strategy favored by the firms.Originality/value – This research is valuable for those firms interested in implementing CLSC strategies in a synergistic manner with their forward supply chain.

Keywords: Product life cycle, Research, Small to medium-sized enterprises, Supply chain management

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/17410380710763831

The article originally appeared in Vol. 18 No. 6, 2007, pp. 627-58 of Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Editor: David Bennett

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