Reviewing an Article - Assignment Example

CRITICAL REVIEW OF AN ARTICLE Name Course Tutor Date Brindley, C., & Oxborrow, L. 2014, “Aligning the sustainable supply chain to green marketing needs: A case study”. Industrial Marketing Management 43 (2014), 43(2014), 45–55. Introduction The authors set an exploratory case study to look into the challenges that face most organizations especially when aligning essential sustainable procurement as well as making marketing needs. Brindley & Oxborrow (2013), note that sustainable initiatives are dynamically transforming distribution channels and the market. The authors further opine that there is an attendant shift in the attitudes of the consumers with reference to green services, processes and products. They note that there is a link between the supply chain and the market and that green supply chains have been used in other organizations to the extent of gaining competitive advantage. The general rationale of the article is strongly and succinctly reflected in the title itself. The case study is based in a UK university that for one reason or another remains anonymous throughout the article. Oruezabala & Rico (2012) strongly concur with the authors stating that this study comes at an opportune moment when there lacks empirical data on the public sector with regard to the supply chain. The aim of this paper therefore is to critically analyze the standpoint of the authors, their arrangement of work as well as content while supporting the analysis with necessary literature. Critical Analysis of the Article Generally the structure of the article is unquestionable being that it offers a step by step approach in tackling the topic. The authors have stated their objectives at the introduction part of the article. Additionally, there is a brief and direct to the point abstract that summarizes the whole article. The study was aimed at investigating the sustainable procurement of food stuff of a UK university whose name is not stated neither is there an explanation of the reason for anonymity. However, the research complements the views of other authors that universities have various stakeholders. Being that the universities have high power and ability to push for the green agenda, the selected university is most likely to be championing for sustainability in all its initiatives. The sustainability agenda covered in the article is stated as food procurement which forms part of the supply chain. Through this the authors succinctly state that they will be able to have a deeper insight of all the external as well as internal processes, any modifications on the supply chain, and what the stakeholders perceive to be sustainable supply chain. Additionally, the study also explores how the supply chain is able to meet its strategic values. The objectives have been stated in a well arranged manner in the same way they are tackled in the article. First off, the article sought to explore the impacts of sustainable initiatives to the supply chain enablers. Secondly, it sought to identify he core drivers of supply chain and the key market place as well. Lastly, the paper sought to look into the implications for the supply chain on both the stakeholders at the internal level and the management of stakeholder company relationships at the external level. The introduction is therefore brief and loaded with information as should. Brindley & Oxborrow (2013) engage a literature review to elucidate some of the definitions and concepts that are highlighted in the article. Here, different perspectives of various authors are systematically presented. Brindley & Oxborrow (2013) concur with (Seuring & Muller 2008),that even a multidisplinary approach is the best to study the success of the sustainable strategic outcomes where there are relationships, channels, networks as well as partnerships (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2013). The authors note that there are three major approaches of green marketing. They include adoption of a marketing mix that encourages environmental efficiency, development of green products for green consumers, and the understanding and management of supply and demand in a sustainable way (Liu et al., 2012; Green, Whitten, & Inman, 2012). Brindley & Oxborrow (2013) then give the definition of green marketing and sustainable supply chain management as well as green supply chain management. Green supply chain management refers to the management of supply chain with the integration of an environmental thought (Green, Whitten, & Inman, 2012). On the other hand, sustainable supply chain management refers to the transparency and strategic inclination in the integration of an organization’s goals in the long term thus maintaining the supply chain. The article clearly presents the literature review in a manner that it sets ground for the exploratory research that is the approach used by its authors. The literature review covers green marketing, green supply chain management, and sustainable chain management in every aspect. The authors go on to note that however much green marketing and sustainable supply chain management goals converge, they greatly differ in operations. Brindley and Oxborrow (2013) concur with Williams (2011), that by 2011 nearly 34 percent of all the higher learning institutions around UK had food procurement policies. The authors then represent the adoption of sustainable supply chain in a diagrammatic form making it very easy to follow and integrate with the literature that further support it. Additionally, the diagram divides the supply chain strategies into proactive and reactive based on convenience end users and realized end users respectively. The study conforms to the case study approach. According to Piekkari, Nell, & Chauri (2010) case studies cover most elements being investigated. The unit of analysis in this case is the catering function of the UK University with a student population of 24000 across its three campuses (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2014). The other unit is also the conference center. The authors give the basis of their reliability and validity as well as generalizability. However, without keen interest or attention a reader might miss this. The case study as per the authors took the staged structure thus adopting the longitudinal process sequentially following the supply chain and the overall organization for a span of two years (Piekkari & Nell, 2010). The methods used to collect data in the case study period included observation of the supplier list, three focus groups and interviews (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2014). Most supply chain management research work utilizes the multimethodology approach in data collection (Janvier-James, 2012. In this way the authors have complied with the studies that have previously been done on supply chain management. The analysis of the documented evidences, interviews as well as the results from the focus group was through template analysis. A coding template was used, which identifies the key themes that are relevant to sustainable supply chain of the institution. The coding table applied summarized all the concepts that were tackled in various literatures on green or sustainable supply chain. From the results it is evident that the need to change the supply objectives as well as sourcing for food products is driven by the market. The authors found out that there is reconsideration of the tendering process so as to include sustainable principles. The supply chin of the University has transformed to include some sustainable practices. There has also been a reduction of expenditure on overall food product (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2014). Despite the fact that there were methods used, the research fails to indicate the sample size that was used and also fails to indicate apart from the analysis that has been presented. The authors then present a discussion that aims at expounding more on the findings or rather the results. They note with concern that the results from the analysis revel a plethora of interlinked priority areas that have relationship with the development of sustainable supply chain. The key issue here is the link there is between marketing literature and the supply chain. The authors note consistency with the findings of Seuring & Muller (2008) and therefore conclude that the integration of theoretical background into practice is lacking. Some factors have been raised that are likely to institute sustainable or green supply chain management. These factors include the interchange of information within the network of suppliers, product strategies and postponement, and supplier capability, which together change the objectives of the sustainable supply chain. The discussion seems to take an elaborative approach and clearly explains the main findings in a succinct manner. The discussion acknowledges that the case study brings forth inductive reasoning that links different literature to come up with a model that can help in achieving sustainable supply chain. The discussion links its ideas to the coded table that was used to analyze the results from the interviews, three focus groups and documented evidence during the two years case study. This indicates borrowing of concepts from primary data to help in achieving one of the goals of the research that is to operationalize the sustainable supply chain objectives through interlinking of sustainable supply chain management concepts with the generic supply chain management approaches. The authors also draw the success of highlighting the importance in looking at marketing issues that are borne within the paradigm of sustainable supply chain. The major motivation that may drive an organization to adopt sustainable sourcing policies is the organization’s own value proposition (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2014). This has exactly been shown in the discussion part. Oruezabala & Rico note that the sourcing policy will always be aligned with the few market suppliers who have green skills in place as in similar view as the authors of the article. A sustainable supply chain also manages the demand and supply in a balanced manner. This comes from the supplier’s side being able to inform the consumers of what is available so that they tweak their consumption patterns and plan ahead. Tan (2011) suggests that a sustainable chain should offer communication so that the consumers are able to monitor their actions. This means that the research is applicable in real life. The authors also concur with Nyaga et al. , 2011) indicating that there should be a two way communication that is from suppliers and consumers and vice versa. A good network system should be availed to enable either parallel or single communication across the supply chain for it to be sustainable. The authors further note and support with relevant literature that for sustainable supply chain the procurement should be in tandem with the performance objectives as well as the supplier be much capable of meeting the demand of the consumers for a long-term basis. From the findings the authors come up with a new conceptual model that is again represented in diagrammatic form outlining the findings that have been added to create the relevance of the conceptual model to sustainable supply chain management (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2014). Sharma et al. (2010) also had similar findings in the perspectives of the generic and the sustainable supply chain. The authors also note their limitation and identify the implications the research has on future research. Green et al. (2012) note that there is need for marketing to be combined with the sustainable supply chain management so as to gain competitive advantage and achieve marketing (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2014). This is in line with the research. Some of the limitations include gaps in literature and small number of suppliers being relied on for the success of the case (Brindley & Oxborrow, 2014). The case is only based on one institution that despite being public, there might be issue of transferability being that different institutions have different constitutions. Conclusion The paper reviews the above stated article while supporting its stand with some literature as have been seen in the whole paper. It is evident that the article is very much relevant based on the literature that it has employed throughout when explaining concepts of sustainable supply chain management. The literature though some date back in the 90s have proved to be laden with relevant knowledge that is applicable in the contemporary sustainable supply chain management. The researchers have presented the facts in a sequential manner and even gone to the extent of simplifying things with the diagrams and tables used in representing the findings. The abstract is also representative of the whole article and a reader can get an insight from reading the abstract alone thus yearning to delve deeper into the information that is presented. The authors have done a great work that supposedly will help develop the field of supply chain management that s dynamically evolving. Bibliography Brindley, C., & Oxborrow, L. 2014, "Aligning the sustainable supply chain to green marketing needs: A case study". Industrial Marketing Management, 43(2014), 45–55. Green, K. W., Whitten, D., & Inman, R. A. 2012, "Aligning marketing strategies throughout the supply chain to enhance performance". Industrial Marketing Management, 41(6), 1008–1018. Janvier-James, A. M. 2012, "A New Introduction to Supply Chains and Supply Chain Management: Definitions and Theories Perspective". International Business Research, 5(1), 194-207. Liu, S., Kastriratne, D., & Moizer, J. 2012, "A hub and spoke model for multi-dimensional integration of green marketing and sustainable supply chain management", 41, Industrial Marketing Management, 41(2012), 581–588. Nyaga, G., Whipple, J. M., & Lynch, C. F. 2010, "Examining supply chain relationships: Do buyer and supplier perspectives on collaborative relationship differ?” Journal of Operations Management, 28, 101–114. Oruezabala, G., & Rico, J. C. 2012, "The impact of sustainable public procurement on supplier management -the case of French public hospitals". Industrial Marketing Management, 41, 573–580. Piekkari, R., & Nell, P. 2010, "Regional management as a system: A longitudinal case study". Management International Review, 50(4), 513–532. Seuring, S., & Muller, M. 2008, "Core issues in sustainable supply chain management — A Delphi study". Business Strategy and the Environment, 17(2), 455–466. Sharma, A., Mehrotra, G. R., & Krishnan, R. 2010, "Sustainability and business-to-business marketing: A framework and implications". Industrial Marketing Management, 39, 330–341. Tan, C. 2011, "A framework of supply chain management literature". European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 7, 39–48. Read More