Helen Walker

Cardiff University | CU · Cardiff Business School

Purpose Food sector supply chains have significant negative environmental impacts, including the expansion of global food commodity production, which is driving tropical deforestation – a major climate and biodiversity problem. Innovative supply chain monitoring services promise to address such impacts. Legislation also designates “forest-risk comm...

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an opportunity to address major social and environmental challenges. As a widely agreed framework they offer a potential way to mobilise stakeholders on a global scale. The manner in which the goals, with time-based targets and specific metrics, are set out within a voluntary reporting process adopted by...

Many supply chains have pledged to prevent the violation of workers’ rights as part of social sustainability in their far-flung supply chains. This paper provides a way to understand why supply chains fail to overcome the violation of workers’ rights by mapping the UN SDGs onto the social foundations of the doughnut model, with respect to workers’...

Purpose This paper aims to explore the supplier perspective on competitive tendering processes and build on an increasing and developing interest in supplier satisfaction with public sector procurement activities. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data was collected from 20 interviews with a variety of suppliers to the UK public sector, whic...

Procurement decisions have a pervasive impact on supply chain performance and market success. This is particularly true in supply chains operating to deliver projects, such as construction and engineer-to-order companies, where a focal firm's procurement decisions need to be coordinated with production activities to effectively satisfy customer ord...

Purpose This study aims to illuminate the challenges involved in implementing community benefits (CBs), a sustainable public procurement policy that ensures that there are positive social and economic outcomes for the local community when public money is spent on goods, works and services. Design/methodology/approach Interviews and focus groups we...

Purpose Drawing on statements made under the transparency in supply chains provision of the UK Modern Slavery Act, this paper aims to examine how firms are responding to modern slavery risks in their supply chains. Design/methodology/approach Using an institutional theory lens, a content analysis of modern slavery statements by financial times sto...

The way that public procurement activities are organized has an impact on the performance of public institutions. By reviewing the literature on public procurement organization dimensions this study offers a conceptual framework for public procurement organizational design, distinguishing between the macro, micro and process level dimensions. The f...

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to explore the embeddness of sustainable supply chain management (SCM) in social networks, in particular, guanxi networks in Confucianism societies. Proposing key paths for further research also provide a significant guideline for future research and global SCM. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic r...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply the aspects of decision theory (DT) to performance measurement and management (PMM), thereby enabling the theoretical elaboration of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in the business environment, which are identified as barriers to effective PMM. Design/methodology/approach A review o...

In fragile and often complex supply chains, PSM failures continue to be reported in the media, often with severe economic, social and environmental consequences. To encourage organisations to engage in responsible PSM, we need engaged research. In this paper we argue that Action Research (AR) is an influential, participative method to challenge the...

This article describes how action research can advance sustainable supply chain management research. Most sustainable supply chain management research is empirical and little attention has been paid to reflecting upon how research is conducted in the field. Current research fails to make links with ideas of relationality, change and engagement prop...

Purpose – It is important to advance operations management (OM) knowledge while being mindful of the theoretical developments of the discipline. The purpose of this paper is to explore which theoretical perspectives have dominated the OM field. This analysis allows the authors to identify theory trends and gaps in the literature and to identify fru...

In this paper we investigate the collaborative paradigm in Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM). The depth and quality of the relationship between a firm and its suppliers is widely recognised as a critical facilitator of SSCM. Many authors in the field have argued that a collaborative approach to SC relationship management was likely to be m...

This paper was presented at the IPSERA conference 2013. It explores how stakeholders make sense of sustainability in supply chains (SC), and therefore affect the development and implementation of sustainable SC practices. We adopt sensemaking theory to analyse findings from an action research study using multiple qualitative data collection methods...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate theoretical perspectives in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and contributes to understanding the current state of research in the field and its future development. Design/methodology/approach – This paper conducts a structured literature review and aims at mapping the use of theories...

This article considers public procurement papers presented at the recent annual conferences of the International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA). It reflects on whether the studies presented at IPSERA align with public procurement priorities. It identifies congruence between research and practice, but also areas in...

Sustainable procurement is on government and organizational agendas across the world and entails buying goods and services in socially, environmentally, and economically responsible ways. This article introduces the concept, explores the reasons for public and private organizations seeking to source more sustainably, and considers future research d...

This comprehensive literature review aims to provide an improved understanding of the impacts of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). SSCM is viewed here as the pursuit of sustainable development objectives through a purchasing and supply process that incorporates environmental, social and economic elements. The study reviewed 403 SSCM artic...

Purpose – This study aims to aid theory building, the use of decision theory (DT) concepts in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) research is examined. Design/methodology/approach – An abductive approach considers two DT concepts, Snowden’s Cynefin framework for sense-making and Keeney’s value-focussed decision analysis, in a systematic lit...

This study adopts a power perspective to investigate sustainable supply chain relationships and specifically uses resource-dependence theory (RDT) to critically analyze buyer–supplier–supplier relationships. Empirical evidence is provided, extending the RDT model in this context. The concept of power relationships is explored through a qualitative...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate an underexplored aspect of outsourcing involving a mixed strategy in which parallel production is continued in-house at the same time as outsourcing occurs. Design/methodology/approach – The study applied a multiple case study approach and drew on qualitative data collected through in-depth int...

Given the growth, importance and pervasiveness of OM sustainability concerns, a special issue focusing on these efforts is overdue. This need for currency is a reason for this special issue in the International Journal of Operations & Production Management (IJOPM). In this introduction we first provide an overview how the sustainable OM field is ev...

This paper reports on the findings of a participative study exploring the actions and interactions of change agents around the implementation of sustainable practices in a supply chain. The lack of focus on the role of individuals in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has motivated this research. While there is a significant body of researc...

In recent years, sustainability in supply chains has become a topic of strategic priority for supply chain management. Still, doubts have been raised about the substantive commitment of large, international corporations to really improve global social welfare and to preserve the natural environment. The objective of this panel symposium is to stimu...

Collaborative procurement is increasingly on the policy agenda in many countries, yet problems with collaboration occur. This article adopts a relational theory perspective to explore the enablers of and barriers to collaboration in purchasing, helping identify success factors. The authors adopted a mixed qualitative/quantitative methodology and in...

This paper explores how stakeholders make sense of sustainability in supply chains (SC), and therefore affect the development and implementation of sustainable SC practices. We adopt sensemaking theory to analyse findings from an action research study using multiple qualitative data collection methods. Through sensemaking and sensegiving, stakehold...

Sustainable procurement is increasingly on the agenda for purchasing and supply managers seeking to demonstrate corporate social responsibility in their supply chains. In this paper, we identify trends in the literature and establish that this is a burgeoning field. We identify methodological challenges and research gaps to guide future research. W...

This study examines the relationship between sustainable procurement and e-procurement, two recent initiatives in public procurement in many countries. A survey of sustainable procurement and e-procurement adoption was conducted with a sample of over 280 public procurement practitioners from 20 countries and with collective responsibility for expen...

Purpose This paper attempts to seek answers to four questions. Two of these questions have been borrowed (but adapted) from the work of Defee et al. : RQ1 . To what extent is theory used in purchasing and supply chain management (P&SCM) research? RQ2 . What are the prevalent theories to be found in P&SCM research? Following on from these questions...

Purpose – Increasingly, private sector companies are aiming to buy and supply products and services in a sustainable way, termed “sustainable supply chain management” (sustainable SCM), using purchasing and supply to reduce negative impacts on the environment, economy and society. There is often a gap between rhetoric and reality, with companies of...

This article provides a conceptual framework for understanding key psychological barriers to implementing sustainable development in procurement process by local government and health care authorities. This task is an important one as a comprehension of psychological barriers is a prerequisite for understanding how individuals engage with the often...

Purpose – Public bodies are being encouraged to procure sustainably, to reduce their social and environmental footprint and in order to stimulate sustainability in the private sector. However, little is known about how public sector organisations internationally are responding to this encouragement or of the conditions that are most conducive to su...

Increasingly, public sector organizations collaborate to buy products and services. They collectively form purchasing groups to deliver more value for money. What is the progress of these small-scale developments of public sector purchasing groups to date, in the early phases of their life cycle? Although previous research provides general descript...

In the Operations Management field, sustainable procurement has emerged as a way to green the purchasing and supply process. This paper explores issues in sustainable procurement training. The authors formed an interdisciplinary team to design, deliver and evaluate a training programme to promote and develop sustainable procurement in the United Ki...

Purpose This study aims to investigate sustainable procurement in the UK public sector. Design/methodology/approach Sustainable procurement is investigated using a questionnaire that draws on established scales for “purchasing social responsibility”. The survey was administered across the UK public sector, and 106 responses were received from proc...

Sustainable procurement is the pursuit of sustainable development objectives (WCED, 1987) through the purchasing and supply process, and involves balancing environmental, social and economic objectives. It is rising on the policy agenda for many countries, but knowledge remains limited. This study explores emerging issues through focus groups at a...

This article examines the opportunities for fostering sustainable development through public sector sourcing from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Buying from small businesses can make such contributions in a variety of forms, ranging from a contribution to local economic development through providing innovative green products and servic...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing e‐procurement adoption in the United Nations (UN) system of organizations are examined. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on an extended multi‐method case study of e‐procurement in the UN. A three stage methodology is adopted – a questionnaire survey of UN organiz...

This paper reflects on a longitudinal collaborative action research programme between the Centre for Research in Strategic Purchasing and Supply and the UK National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency that has operated since 1995. During the collaboration, research has changed practice and practice has changed research. A framework for anal...

This study explores the factors that drive or hinder organisations to implement green supply chain management initiatives. A literature review identifies the main categories of internal and external drivers of green supply chain management practices, including organisational factors, regulation, customers, competitors and society, but there is litt...

This paper deals with different organisational forms of collaborative procurement and provides insight into when to use which form. Different forms from the literature are compared with empirical examples to give an overview of forms, which are then described in terms of strategy, skills and organisation. Whilst acknowledging variations, the paper...

This paper deals with the evolution of relatively young purchasing groups. Although previous research focussed on macro-evolutionary phases of purchasing groups, no attention has yet been paid to the intra-phase developments, the so-called ‘micro-evolutions’. Insight into micro-evolutions is crucial to better understand how purchasing groups (can)...

A growing body of literature suggests that greater benefits of e-business will be obtained when e-business is integrated throughout a supply chain. However, organizations are still cautious in adopting e-business technologies. This paper examines whether a strategic case for e-commerce can be recognised and the factors that influence e-adoption, us...

Successive UK governments have increasingly used Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment vehicles as the principal method for procuring public sector capital projects and delivering associated services. To date there has been limited in-depth empirical investigations into managerial processes associated with...

Purpose – To examine management literature for guidance on what constitutes a discipline. To examine supply management publications to determine whether the field constitutes a discipline or an emerging discipline. To contribute a structured evaluation to the body of supply management theory/discipline development knowledge. Design/methodology/app...

In the UK public sector, procurement decisions for outsourced services are usually taken at a local level, for example by a hospital trust or a local government authority. Cumulatively, these fragmented decisions can lead to ‘imbalanced’ supply markets (too few or too many suppliers), to the detriment of both suppliers and purchasers. This paper co...

The virtual organisation is conceptualised by many researchers as a new organisational form. It represents a radical shift from the traditional organisation and makes new ways of organising possible. Such expectations are explored, and the meanings and interpretations of the virtual organisation for its designers and virtual workers are investigate...

The study presented here examines how public procurement agencies address establishing and maintaining competitive markets; a topic still in its academic infancy. Cases are used to address impediments and improve understanding of strategic priorities in managing for competitive markets. Public policy academics have observed many competing policies...

Purpose This research aims to assess the risks and benefits of outsourcing for organisations, sectors and nations. The literature on outsourcing contains little evidence of research on holistic issues of its impact at systems levels beyond the firm, notably sectors and nations. Design/methodology/approach A Delphi study with senior strategists fro...

The authors address the growing call for research into the management of supply networks serving the public sector. Building on prior action research, this empirical paper focuses on the management of supply in interorganizational, health sector networks identifying the competence requirements (skills, knowledge, traits, and behavioural indicators)...

Increasing product/service complexity, outsourcing and globalisation have led to increasingly complex, dynamic supply networks. This has impacted on risk, changing it and changing its location in supply networks. This paper provides a review of definitions and classifications of types of risk; an holistic view of risk assessment and management is t...

Consumers and organisations are increasingly considering longer term sustainability issues when they purchase or supply goods or services: "green buying" appears to be gaining momentum. However, progress is slow and the percentage of green purchases has remained static at 2% for the last two years. This paper suggests that a network approach to the...

This paper deals with the impact of the structure of collaborative purchasing forms on performance in terms of enabling or constraining cooperation. A literature study and 17 in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants involved in collaborative procurement arrangements in the UK National Health Service. The results show that the main str...

Summary Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are of fundamental importance to many economies. There is an increasing awareness of the wider impact of public procurement decisions on supply markets, local economies and society (Walker et al, 2005). Despite the importance of SMEs, current knowledge on approaches to SME involvement in public proc...