Silvia Ayuso, Mercè Roca and Rosa Colomé
The purpose of this paper is to develop understanding of the role of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to sustainable supply chain management, i.e. how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop understanding of the role of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to sustainable supply chain management, i.e. how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is integrated in their relationship with customers and suppliers.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from a survey of CSR requirements among 410 Spanish SMEs, the paper examines the extent to which SMEs receive social and environmental requirements from diverse customer typologies and the extent to which they pass on such requirements to different supplier typologies.
Findings
Based on survey results, it is concluded that large businesses are the most demanding customers in terms of the CSR requirements imposed to their SME suppliers. In turn, SMEs are able to transfer the requests received from their (larger) customers to their own suppliers.
Research limitations/implications
The data are confined to companies located in a particular region (Catalonia in Spain), which questions its generalizability to other geographical contexts.
Practical implications
The research shows that small and medium companies can be effective in spreading the CSR requirements received from large companies through the supply chain.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to research on sustainable supply chain management from the SME perspective and offers a systematic analysis of the CSR activities of SMEs, both as suppliers and buyers. In addition, it proposes a rigorous way to measure the CSR‐related supply chain pressure.
Details
Keywords
Mohammadreza Akbari and Robert McClelland
The purpose of this research is to provide a systematic insight into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship (CC) in supply chain development, by analyzing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to provide a systematic insight into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship (CC) in supply chain development, by analyzing the current literature, contemporary concepts, data and gaps for future discipline research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research identifies information from existing academic journals and investigates research designs and methods, data analysis techniques, industry involvement and geographic locations. Information regarding university affiliation, publishers, authors, year of publication is also documented. A collection of online databases from 2001 to 2018 were explored, using the keywords “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in their title and abstract, to deliver an inclusive listing of journal articles in this discipline area. Based on this approach, a total of 164 articles were found, and information on a chain of variables was collected.
Findings
There has been visible growth in published articles over the last 18 years regarding supply chain sustainability, CSR and CC. Analysis of the data collected shows that only five literature reviews have been published in this area. Further, key findings include 41% of publications were narrowly focused on four sectors of industry, leaving gaps in the research. 85% centered on the survey and conceptual model, leaving an additional gap for future research. Finally, developing and developed nation status should be delineated, researched and analyzed based on further segmentation of the industry by region.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to reviewing only academic and professional articles available from Emerald, Elsevier, Wiley, Sage, Taylor and Francis, Springer, Scopus, JSTOR and EBSCO containing the words “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in the title and abstract.
Originality/value
This assessment provides an enhanced appreciation of the current practices of current research and offers further directions within the CSR and CC in supply chain sustainable development.
Details
Keywords
The research outlined in this paper highlights the importance of certain factors related to primary health care buildings’ physical environment, such as the facility size, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The research outlined in this paper highlights the importance of certain factors related to primary health care buildings’ physical environment, such as the facility size, the functional efficiency, and the health planning of public areas in the health centers to improve the architectural space of health facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was performed using a mixed method. Data collection was carried out through observational research and descriptive analysis in six primary health care facilities in Salvador and Lauro de Freitas, Brazil.
Findings
Based on this study’s results, facility capacity, functional efficiency and space accessibility have been considered the facilities’ main problems in the investigated context. The impact of the users’ perspective on healthcare facilities was assessed for each of these three criteria to verify the results obtained. Furthermore, most of the parameters were not satisfied, as the buildings analyzed had defects in their physical environment. Therefore, it is necessary to review and pay more attention to the architecture of these cities’ primary health care units.
Originality/value
The present study addresses the architectural environment design in Brazil’s healthcare facilities, which still have gaps. Improving the physical space of a health center ensures that the approach used in this research also applies to other health centers in similar contexts. The awareness that space’s activities and configurations will change according to each territory examined will open up so many investigation worlds.