Sustainability in supply chain management. A literature review

Objectives. This paper aims to identify main features of sustainability in supply chain management studies. Methodology. A systematic literature review was conducted taking 42 papers published from 2007 to 2014 into account. The selection criteria were strictly align with the purpose of research. Findings. Our research suggests that one key aspect of sustainability management is improving the sustainability performance along the supply chain to embrace the collaboration among various actors in a systemic approach. Research limits. This study could be further explored through deeper empirical analyse of sustainability in supply chain management in wider range of sectors. Practical implications. Both practitioners and academics might find the review useful, as it highlights main sustainability traits in supply chain management studies. In particular, a sustainability performance measure could be develop and then applied to achieve an excellent level of sustainability in supply chain management. Originality of the study. This articles rises a number of in innovative approaches to sustainability in supply chain management, as it permits to extend research field to completely original and novel sectors that goes well beyond a commonly known management perceptions.