Production Planning & Control: The Management of Operations - Research Paper Example

Summary of the Article In the contemporary age, manufacturers in a lot of developing countries like China are facing the pressures of depletion of resources and environmental pollution as a result of which, they need to improve their environmental performance. Considering this, many innovative and thoughtful companies have started to implement new kinds of practices of environmental management one of which is the green supply chain management (GSCM). Different kinds of internal as well as external influences cause these practices to diffuse.

Since the GSCM practices are considered as management innovations, their diffusion can be analyzed with the help of the seminal Bass model. Although some research has been conducted in the past to study the internal and external drivers of diffusion of the environmental friendly practices, yet no research has been done to examine the influence of those factors. Likewise, no research has been done to analyze the imitation effect from the leaders in the industry on the implementation of the GSCM practices.

The researchers’ main objective in this research was to identify and explore the impact of two such factors i.e. innovation and imitation upon the diffusion of the GSCM practices that they had selected in China. The unique approach of the researchers was the use of the Bass model and the innovation theory to extend the understanding of the process of diffusion of the GSCM practices. In this article, the Bass model for diffusion has been employed for the analysis of data for the eco-labelling practices and ISO 14001 certification in China.

To investigate this, the researchers have drawn a relative analysis of the roles of imitation and innovation drivers for the GSCM practices’ diffusion. The researchers have found that although innovation is not inconsequential, yet a much larger role in the diffusion of the specific GSCM practices in the Chinese companies has been played by imitation. The main reasons for the innovation of GSCM practices by the Chinese enterprises in the start have been supposed to be the attempt of the Chinese enterprises to get into competition with international enterprises and to be able to export their products freely to the foreign countries by overcoming the green barriers in their way whereas the main reasons for imitation being greater as an influence for the adoption of the GSCM practices by the Chinese enterprises than innovation are supposed to be risk aversion, cost reduction, and learning from the experiences of the enterprises that have adopted the GSCM practices in the past.

The authors have started by discussing the GSCM practices and innovation and have specifically discussed the eco-labelling diffusion and the ISO 14001. The authors have then discussed the Bass model and the diffusion of innovation theory and have presented the data that is required for the evaluation. The authors have also discussed the policy and managerial implications of their own findings as well as those of other researchers. Analysis The authors have started the article with the discussion about how the globalization of businesses in such developing countries as China has