Barriers and overcoming strategies to multi-tier sustainable supply chain management: an explorative study in an emerging economy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to bring attention to the most critical factor of multi-tier sustainable supplier management in an emerging economy. This study used an explorative approach to identify and understand the barriers to multi-tier sustainable supplier management in Pakistan’s textile sector and strategies to overcome these barriers. The top three barriers are ‘lack of technical knowledge, lack of awareness, and lack of interest’. It further proposes eight strategies for overcoming these barriers to multi-tier sustainable supplier management in Pakistan’s textile sector. The top three strategies to overcome these barriers are ‘employee, supplier, and management training’, ‘expert support’, and ‘government regulation’. This study provides the holistic approach to multi-tier sustainable supplier management barriers of an emerging economy. Identified barriers will help and provide a base for textile sector managers and decision-makers in an emerging economy to develop policies and strategies to address identified barriers.

Keywords

• sustainable supply chain
• multi-tier supplier management
• barriers
• explorative study
• emerging economy
• textile industry