Why not now? : Reasons for small firm unable to adopt and transform through Green Supply Chain Management.

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Why not now?

Reasons for small firm unable to adopt and transform through

Green Supply Chain Management.

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A single explorative case study of one small enterprise in Sweden.

BACHELOR THESIS WITHIN: Major in Business Administration NUMBER OF CREDITS: 15 ECTS

PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Sustainable Enterprise Development AUTHOR: Payal Hirani, Naw Mie Pae Hsertawbu, Tong Zhang JÖNKÖPING May 2020

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Acknowledgements

Our deep gratitude goes to our tutor Johan Larsson, for his mentorship and encouragement along the process of writing our first thesis paper.

We would also like to extend our thanks to our participants Ishwar Hirani,

Joacim Samuelsson, Ernesto Prosperi, Stefan Persson and Viktor Konnebäck

for their precious time and allowing us to do this case study with them.

This journey has been a great learning experience and the opportunity to write this paper has been greatly appreciated.

Our heartfelt thanks.

Payal Hirani Mie Hsertawbu Tong Zhang

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Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration

Title: Why not? Reasons for small firm unable to adopt and transform through Green Supply Chain Management. A single explorative case study of one small enterprise in developed economy.

Authors: Hirani, P., Hsertawbu, N.M.P., Zhang, T. Tutor: Johan Larsson

Date: 20200518

Key Terms: ‘GSCM and SME’, ‘GSCM and manufacture’, ‘Organizational change’ and ‘Value chain'

Abstract

Introduction: It is undeniable that green effort returns more than just a better image for firms. GSCM initiative has resulted in many successful companies transition to a more sustainable organization and supply network. However, the evidence for smaller entities are not abundantly available and one can assume that GSCM is not currently adopted among this size of enterprises. With this premise, the study focuses on why these firms are reluctant to adopt GSCM initiative. The study focuses on a single case study of one successful business not adopting GSCM.

Purpose: To help SMEs prepare for what they might expect when taking green initiative, this study seeks to find barriers for why GSCM is not adopted among smaller firms. Method: A single holistic explorative study have been conducted. With qualitative approach, the interviews are analyzed and deliver enriched data to unveil reason for the firms in this study supply network.

Findings: Every respondent admitted to having financial constraint. Therefore, they are not investing in the GSCM initiative because of unknown ROI. This indicate that the firm do not know enough about the initiative and left out one important activity following the initiative, the value chain. These firms also recognize external barriers, this again turns back to knowledge of value chain and lacking in communication.

Conclusion: The barriers appear in internal and external form, meaning that some

barriers are over the firm’s own control. However, smaller firms somehow unconsciously create own barriers by not having a good communication and neglecting shared

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Figures

Figure 1 Overview of the subjects covered in frame of reference 3 Figure 2 Model of a traditional integrated supply chain 7

Figure 3 Waves of sustainability 8

Figure 4 Model of shared value in the value chain 9 Figure 5 Thematic analysis: Six interactive phases 23 Figure 6 Overview of internal and external barriers in adopting GSCM 48

Figure 7 Co-value creator in GSCM 53

Tables

Table 1 Search table for frame of reference 19

Table 2 Information from the interviews 22

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1. Introduction

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter one gives an insight into GSCM potential, its relation to SME and explains the need of GSCM. To project rationale are highlighted followed by marking the research questions with the purpose of the study and providing the delimitation of the study. ______________________________________________________________________ 1.1 Problem discussion

Sustainability is a growing subject of interest in the business world, and firms realize the need for environmental responsibility. As it has the potential to improve economic, environmental and operations (Geng, Mansouri & Aktas, 2017) and firms must take careful approach about environmental issues, for their better image in today’s competitive environment (Tang, Chen, Jiang, Paillé & Jia, 2018) for which is vital in today's competitive business atmosphere. Companies cannot be profit-oriented only for their survival and expect a growth in the long run (Khan, Tao, Ahmed, Shafique & Nawaz, 2020). Hence, due to the rising global awareness of environmental protection, many companies have implemented their GSCM to enhance their core competitive edge (Wu, Ding & Chen, 2012).

Evidence are suggested for proactive GSCM approaches prepare enterprises for superior longer-term performance, through improved management of environmental risks and the development of capabilities for continuous environmental improvement (Zhu, Geng, Fujita & Hashimoto, 2010). Large enterprises generally engaging in green practices implementation for fulfilling the environmental norms and enhancing the green image among consumers (Majumdar & Sinha, 2017).

With the growing awareness and application of sustainability in businesses, it is evident that most scholars have primarily focused on justifying the importance of GSCM in multi-national companies whereas only a few have focused on the SMEs (Kumar, Sabri, Garza-Reyes, Nadeem, Kumari & Akkaranggoon, 2018). The practice of GSCM among SMEs are not broadly studied at this stage, peculiarly among smaller entreprises (Kot, 2018; Rao, 2019). There is limited study in smaller enterprise performed to study how the transition to

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sustainable enterprise through GSCM. Additionally, there is not much empirical studies on GSCM barriers for SMEs (Muduli & Barve, 2013).

With the lack of studies, SMEs are the once faced a lot of challenges not only due to little funding but also a lack of understanding the concept of GSCM (Kumar et.al, 2018). With this in focus, the authors seek to understand the concept of GSCM through a close case study on a small firm and its network of downstream suppliers.

1.2 Purpose

This study focuses on understanding reasons for one small financially successful firm reluctant to adopt GSCM initiative. The authors are seeking to recognize barriers and enlighten challenges to help prepare for other small firms in adopting GSCM to transform the organization by seeking to answer:

Why is it challenging for smaller enterprises to adopt and transform in align with the Green Supply Chain Management initiative?

1.3 Delimitation

Several boundaries are set for this study. Firstly, this study has been delimited to a single case study where the focus is primarily one focal firm and key upstream suppliers. Secondly, key persons are the focus for interviews since the topic is specific, thus require knowledgeable and/or authorized to speak about certain decisions. This will affect the study with limited information and individual percipience. Thirdly, this study is giving focus to a manufacturing firm and therefore this study does not represent GSCM for all types of industries. Finally, this study focuses only on barriers for the firm to adopt GSCM and is not seeking to understand the process or change mechanism entirely.

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2. Frame of Reference

_____________________________________________________________________________________ This chapter introduces theories, studies perception of environmental sustainability, understanding of organizational change & factors needed for sustainability transition. In the end, limited studies about barriers for transition are presented.

____________________________________________________________________ Overview

These collections of literatures cover subject of GSCM. The literature will reveal limited sources of the Barriers for GSCM among SMEs.

Figure 1 Overview of the subjects covered in frame of reference

Figure 1 provides a descriptive guideline for the structure of the frame of reference in according to the funnel model. It will begin with an introduction to sustainability for SMEs in 2.1 followed by an understanding of green supply chain management and its relation to SMEs in 2.2, 2.3. Later the narrowed topics will be presented in section 2.4 and 2.5. In the last section 2.6, the barriers for GSCM will be highlighted.

2.1 Sustainability for SMEs

2.1.1 Motivations for sustainability practices

The reviewed literature presents various drivers of small businesses for pursuing sustainability, which appear to be connected to different stages of sustainability-related behavior (Klewitz, & Hansen, 2014).

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In initial stages, when businesses show low interest in sustainability practices, external motivations like government regulation or stakeholder pressure are the main drivers for SMEs (Klewitz, & Hansen, 2014; Clarke-Sather, Hutchins, Zhang, Gershenson, & Sutherland, 2011) which is in accordance with literature on small businesses, where government regulations, but also government subsidies for encouraging investment into sustainability, might be important drivers (Mikušová, 2017).

Regarding further stages, the authors found that both streams of literature agree that businesses no longer merely comply to external motivations but start using sustainability as a means to anticipate or realize market-related opportunities (Klewitz, & Hansen, 2014). Particular drivers for integrating sustainable practices include improving company image and reputation among customers (Klewitz, & Hansen, 2014; López-Pérez, Melero, & Javier Sese, 2017) or gaining competitive advantage on the market (Cantele, & Zardini, 2016; Clarke-Sather et al., 2011; Klewitz, & Hansen, 2014), which is connected to reacting to sustainability trends set by competitors in the industry (Siddique, & Sciulli, 2018). Another motivation presented in literature on SMEs (Cantele, & Zardini, 2016), but particularly emphasized in articles concerning only small businesses (Siddique, & Sciulli, 2018; Mikušová, 2017) appears to be related purely to financial performance:

“Managers of small companies are interested in sustainable development, but their activity is dominated by economic interests. Small businesses are willing to participate in the activities of sustainable development but prefer shorter-term benefits and expect economic benefits from these

activities.” (Mikušová, 2017, p. 1335)

On top of the above mentioned motivations, Klewitz and Hansen (2014) argue that SMEs in the most sustainability-oriented stage with sustainability deeply rooted in their business models are motivated by strong values and capabilities developed in the learning process of advancing through the different stages of sustainable behavior. However, this finding was not stated in any of the reviewed small businesses-oriented literature. Nevertheless, Mikušová (2017) suggests that the strong motivation regarding financial benefits is connected to the perception of sustainability as something that might put economic burden on small businesses. This issue will be addressed in the following section.

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2.1.2 Impact of sustainability on company’s performance

Moore and Manring (2009) demonstrated that “small businesses usually perform nimbler and more creative in evolving towards sustainability” (p. 279) and further stated that small enterprise can develop an imperative role in optimizing limited global environmental and social resources to manage their financial goals. However, Alonso-Almeida et al. (2018) find that sustainable practices involving only environmental aspect have no effect on company performance in terms of customer satisfaction or company image and argue that this result might be explained by lack of external communication of company’ environmental commitments. On contrary, practices in social dimension have positive impact on both, financial performance and on customer satisfaction and company image, yet it is impossible to isolate them into these dimensions completely since usually engaging in one lead to another and some interactions might occur (Alonso-Almeida et al., 2018). Cantele and Zadrini (2018) show similar findings in terms of financial performance but further present a negative impact on organizational commitment, which applies to those smaller companies that have mainly focused on the social dimension of sustainability and relation with the closer stakeholders. Particularly, it leads to lower focus on reputation creation and customer satisfaction, proving as excessive burden on the organization. The study of Roxas et al. (2017) further reveals that small businesses have a greater advantage when adopting sustainability as they respond better to the market than the larger corporations, and this makes the process more effective and the improved financial performance is rewarded ‘quicker’. On the other hand, López-Pérez et al. (2017) argues that although SMEs can due to their multifunctionality and versatility of their workforce, have a greater flexibility and responsiveness when integrating sustainability, larger firms can afford to invest in more resources for the communication, and thus in this particular instance, their efforts can be more effective. This view is partially supported by Kearins et al. (2010), who also claim that small businesses face financial constraints and lack supporting infrastructure, which puts them at disadvantage.

In addition, Clarke-Sather et al. (2018) discuss that there might be some hardships in evaluating true impacts of sustainability practices even in small companies that have greater sustainability awareness as many positive, but also negative impacts might be overlooked.

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2.2 GSCM Management Theoretical framework

2.2.1 Supply chain management

Normally, several independent firms are involved in manufacturing a product and placing it in the hands of the end user in a supply chain—raw material and component producers, product assemblers, wholesalers, retailer merchants and transportation companies are all members of a supply chain (La Londe & Masters, 1994). One of the most significant paradigms shifts of modern business management is that individual businesses no longer compete as solely autonomous entities, but rather as supply chains (Lambert & Cooper, 2000). Emerging economies, characterized by rapid economic growth and industrialization, offer huge opportunities for global supply chain by providing access to diverse sources of materials and labor, access to new customers, knowledge and innovations, political and macroeconomic incentives (Phan, Nguyen, Trieu, Nguyen & Matsui, 2019).

2.2.2 GSCM theoretical frameworks and Conceptual framework

The connection between GSCM and CE is at the theoretical foundation level Liu, Feng, Zhu, and Sarkis, (2018) discusses that GSCM and Circular Economy (CE) share principle concept hence sharing theories. These theories have been recognized (Liu et al., 2018; Dubey, Gunasekaran, and Papadopoulos, 2017) among literatures on GSCM and CE. Theories of resources-based view, institutional theory, stakeholders theory, resources dependency theory, social network theory, diffusion of innovation theory. There are also theories in that can advance both GCSM and CE study, including Systems theory (Von Bertalanffy), Social exchange theory and Production frontier

The most related concept of GSCM is often linked to GSCM. Maditati, Munim, Schramm, and Kummer, (2018) reveal for the conceptual framework review and find this definition of GSCM from Srivastava in 2007 to be most cited.

“integrating environmental thinking into supply chain - management, including product design, material sourcing and selection, manufacturing process, delivery of the final product to be the

consumers as well as end-of-life management of the product after its useful life.” (Srivastava, 2007, p. 54-55)

With this renounce framework of Srivastava can be match to a derived integrated sustainability supply chain model for GSC. (Figure 2) Rao 2019, examined for the potential of GSCM as it can improve company operation while contributing to sustainability and

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lead the industry. This model illustrates the environmental impact by business activities and decision.

Figure 2 Model of a traditional integrated supply chain: Reprinted from “Green Supply Chain Management: A Study on SMEs in India”, by P. H. Rao, 2014, Journal of Supply Chain Management Systems. 8, (1), 5-24 http://publishingindia.com/jscms

2.2.3 Emergence of Green Supply Chain Management

Sarkis, Joseph in 2018 provided a concise view of the derive of Green supply chain management. It all begins with “Reverse Supply Chain” with marketing activities i.e. warranty and service return. Organization must now deal with new direction of material flow. The previous paradigm view supply chain as Linear and now with reverse supply chain the paradigm has shifted to be a ‘Closed loop’. This paradigm also supporting Circular material and Circular Economy. With Circular economy touching upon 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle point out one strategy for businesses and environmental performance objectives appear to be the main cause for GSCM (Sarkis, 2018 & Rameshwar, 2017). In addition to this, financial performance also contribute to GSCM as company must create profit of the returned products. Although Sarkis may suggest ‘DFE (Design for environment) is the ultimate pollution prevention tool’ Sarkis 2018, p.9. Dubey (2017), sees corporate strategy e.g. supply chain collaboration as a key to succeed the GSCM implementation. Green supply chain emerges along with the Circular economy as Balon (2019) present GSCM as a paradigm that looks into the progress of organization, industry, and economy with a heavy focus on environmental issues.

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2.3 Organizational Change for corporate sustainability

In figure 3 below, Suzanne Benn, Melissa Edwards and Tim Williams in 2018 introducing the stages for organizations, for any business to transform they must go through these steps in one or another way. Depending on the stages, the organization can evaluate its activities and place itself in these waves, this to help the firm drift into the third wave and to create a sustainable value which benefit the environment and society as for the economics of the firm as well.

Figure 3 Waves of sustainability: Reprinted from “Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability.” by Benn. S., Edwards. M., Williams T. (2018). 4th Edition. London. Imprint Routledge.

DOI https://doi-org.proxy.library.ju.se/10.4324/9781315619620

This can help the firm see the state of the firm and through this ‘Waves of sustainability’ firm can strengthen its ability to create shared value.

A renounce concept of “Creating Shared Value” by M. Porter in 2011 points out a concept of organization or organizations in a supply chain share responsibility and goals both pecuniary and nonpecuniary in the long-term prospect. Although the concept puts more emphasis on the social aspect of prosperity, it acknowledges the importance of ecological progress and prosperity. By looking into the use and waste of the resources. The concept

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also touches upon the innovation of products and processes to mitigate environmental degradation.

Figure 4 Model of shared value in the value chain: Reprinted from “Redefining Productivity in the Value Chain”, by Harvard Business School, Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness. https://www.isc.hbs.edu/creating-shared-value/csv-explained/three-levels-of-csv/page s/redefining-productivity-in-the-value-chain.aspx

The concept ‘Value chain’ reveal to strategies for organizations to implement i.e. supply chain collaboration to be one important activity for corporation to support sustainability. This involving part concern the three level of CSV, redefining productivity in the value chain, the primary activities are mostly concerned (Figure 4).

Benn, Edwards, and Williams in 2018 argue that corporations must be a part of the ‘solution’ as they have contributed to the problem at the first place. It is undeniable, enterprises are the link between the consumer and the social, environmental and economic prosperity as much as destruction.

‘Like it or not the responsibility for ensuring a sustainable world falls largely on the shoulders of the world’s enterprises, the economic engines of the future.’ (Stuart Hart, Flagler Business

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Because the investment return enhances rather than reduced by sustainable practice, the corporations together with their partners among other stakeholders ought to take responsibility, continue Benn et al., 2018.

When firms identify their strength and weaknesses, they can be looking at opportunities and barriers for the firm. Firm can strengthen their weaknesses and overcome their barriers, this strategy is the most fit for organization who carry strong internal motivation where key stakeholders determine the direction for the firm and not entirely rely on the changes in the market either from the regulator or the consumers.

2.4 GSCM & SMEs

With a growing competition in the markets has led to many firms seeking higher flexibility, improving operations and overall a better supply chain performance. The principle of Green supply chain management is built on sustainable development with consideration of efficiency management and environmental practices. It has shown to benefit firms economically and socially. In terms of management, efficiency can be seen in the resources used which demand shared value among different parties along the supply chain.

With the growing consciousness about the environment, SCM complexity and the scale of GSCM technologies also increased (Mathu, 2019). GSCM has been utilized to develop operational performance, and improving the green supply chain practice appear as a ‘win-win’ strategy. However, despite the widely discussed and increasing awareness, the practical adoption of green supply chain management is still not fully embraced due to some factors. In connection to SME, they are simultaneously facing challenges with improving operational/management and green supply chain management to achieve higher environmental standards.

Lee, Tae, & Choi (2012) further explained that larger buying firm’s proactive nature for environmental issues is making them set increased environmental requirements for their suppliers. The employees of suppliers are recognizing this pressure from external stakeholders and are becoming more resistant to these changes.

Built on a mixed view, SMEs compared to larger companies might be at disadvantage in reaping benefits of sustainable practices due to their lack of resources (Roxas et al., 2017),

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on the other hand SMEs might have advantage thanks to their responsiveness to market demand (López-Pérez et al., 2017).

Lee et al. (2012) investigated the consequences of cooperation efforts between SMEs as suppliers and larger buying firms. SME suppliers’ weaknesses were identified and a necessity of larger buying firms to support them was emphasized in the supplier’s environmental management capabilities and overall business performance. Moreover, the SMEs recognized that implementing GSCM practice would help to develop the relational efficiency with their respective buyers and hence improve their business performance. In the mediation analysis, the article showed that operational efficiency could enhance the business performance by adopting GSCM practices.

Another interesting approach for SMEs to adopt is by looking through the UN Global Compact 10 Principles (principle 7,8,9), companies will be advanced and meet the future needs of economic, social, and environmental aspects.

2.5 Change with value chain

2.5.1 Value Chain

To understand competitive advantage, one can simply not focus on a firm as whole. It is much more complex with multiple activities that needs to be recognized i.e. sourcing, designing, manufacturing, promoting, transporting and delivering. The value chain disaggregates a firm into its strategically relevant activities in order to understand the behavior of costs and the existing and potential sources of differentiation. Barnes, 2001 dedicated chapter 5 in the publication described the fundamental role of value chain, it is explained to be useful as a strategic tool for analyzing relative cost position, differentiation and the nature of competitive scope to achieve competitive advantage.

2.5.2 Creating Shared Value

Another useful concept is “Creating Shared Value”. While many firms are remaining stuck within a boundary of outdated short-term approach to value creation, Kramer & Porter (2011) emphasizes that economic value can be created in a way to create value for society by acknowledging the society’s challenges and needs. To build an intersection between the firm's performance and society, it is needed for managers to develop new expertise and knowledge, understanding for specifications in the firm’s productivity and potential to

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collaborate with across profit/non-profit boundaries. There are three distinct ways to do this: by reconceiving products and markets, redefining productivity in the value chain, and building supportive industry clusters at the company’s locations (Kramer & Porter, 2011). 2.6 Barriers for GSCM

The on changing ecological environment affect enterprises with their daily business operation directly and with their supply chain indirectly. (Herrmann, & Guenther, 2017). At present, the adoption of GSCM is growing, however it is still in the initial stage of development (Dai et al., 2017). Some manufacturing companies in developed economies have attached importance to the concept of building a green supply chain. However, there are still many difficulties in implementing green supply chain management, especially for SMEs. According to González-Torre et al. (2010), some companies that have implemented GSCM are still at a relatively early level that is only focusing on environmental management within the green production, and less attention is given to other links in the supply chain, such as green procurement, green recycling, and reverse logistics, etc. One of the key barriers is the high costs of environmental adoption hindering GSCM implementation (Govindan et al., 2014; Abdulrahman et al., 2014). The implementation of GSCM potentially minimize the impact on the environment, and simultaneously increase the cost of the entire supply chain. Meanwhile, the high cost of switching to the new GSCM with uncertain rate of return are the extensive barriers for SMEs (Carvalho et al., 2020). It is a great test for SMEs with short marketization time and low capital accumulation. Furthermore, some companies consider the lack of laws and regulations as major barriers. On the other hand, without corresponding to regulations and government environmental policy support, the external environment of SMEs is full of uncertainties. Some developing countries still lack a unified national standard system, and logistics and environmental protection standards are even more lacking, resulting in some imported goods failing to meet the green management standards. (Abdulrahman et al., 2014)

This thesis reviews academic articles that present different barriers hindering the implementation of GSCM. According to Rauer, & Kaufmann, (2015) one can categorize them as internal and external barriers. Based on our reviewed papers, the study seeks to explore which factors could affect the adoption of GSCM and analysis to what extent these factors could influence the adoption.

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3. Methodology and methods

This chapter justifies the research philosophy and motivates the research choices. In addition, an in-depth description is provided for data collecting along with the method of analysis, and description of trustworthiness and ethical consideration.

3.1 Methodology

For this paper, the authors have chosen to conduct an interpretive study with an explorative case study and the approach has an abductive nature. One main reason for our focus on a manufacturing company located in Jönköping is because this entity represents a financially successful firm in a developed economy and it can represent many other entities that may be considering or is in a process of transforming and could motivate these firms to perform GSCM as a strategy for a long-term profit creation.

3.1.1 Research philosophy

Research philosophy is the “overarching term relating to the development of knowledge and the nature of that knowledge in relation to research” (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill., 2007). There are two different research paradigms to choose from when conducting a research, namely the positivist and the interpretivist paradigm, and the better option to adopt depends on the research questions that are to be examined (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). The particular paradigm adopted for the research will be partly determined by the study assumptions, but it will be influenced by the dominant paradigm in the research area and the nature of the research problem which is in investigating (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

Commonly associated with experiments and quantitative research, positivism is considered a form of or a progression of empiricism (Ryan, 2018). Empiricists take the approach that different contexts, circumstances, the passing of time and the experiences of the enquirer might produce different results, with knowledge coming from the experiences of our senses, observation and experiment (Ryan, 2018).

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On the other hand, interpretivism argues that truth and knowledge are subjective, as well as culturally and historically situated, based on people’s experiences and their understanding of them (Ryan, 2018).

Since the study is seeing to understand and identify barriers and to help prepare small enterprise transform through GSCM, the authors find the interpretive research paradigm to be more appropriate. By adding interpretive methods to the methodological toolbox, there is an expansion of questions that the research can address and an improvement in understanding of the particulars, which allows for the contextualization of theory to provide workable solutions to SCM challenges (Darby, Fugate & Murray, 2019). Interpretive research is typically richly qualitative in nature and therefore useful for in-depth, close-up, context-specific studies that illuminate a phenomenon or experience that is ‘in the dark’ (Boswell, Ercan & Hendriks, 2017).

3.1.2 Research design

Holistic Single case study design

A clear research design for research progress can be a useful tool for authors to follow as a plan. The main aim of the research design is to present a framework or guideline for the entire research project. The research philosophical assumptions should be made, and the research method, research techniques, data collection, and analysis method should be presented in the design. (Myers, 2013)

This thesis applies an exploratory research design as there are limited studies of barriers of GSCM among SMEs, and what they can do through GSCM. According to Collis & Hussey (2014), the aim of exploratory research is to find ideas and develop a deeper understanding of the researcher’s potential interest in the issues or topics. In exploratory research, the only focus is to develop insights with the information and build a foundation for further research. Consequently, an exploratory is suitable for our research purpose and further studies.

Followed by research techniques, since the research is mainly focusing on to gain a deeper understanding of what the challenges are for small firm to manage the adoption of GSCM, according to Ritchie et al. (2014), a qualitative study using a case study was chosen for gaining in-depth insight in the context of small enterprise. In general, qualitative research

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focuses on ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ questions and provides a deep understanding of the perspectives. (Ritchie et al., 2014)

According to Yin (2017), a single-case study is similar to a single experiment that commonly designs under a variety of situations. It is critical to represent a situation and test a situation with clear propositions, hence the authors conclude that a single-case study is a suitable method this thesis. The selected company of case study is accounted for the theoretical propositions of authors’ interest. The semi-structured interviews is conducted with a local small firm and their suppliers to gather empirical data. The semi-structured interviews are flexible and open for discussions, which leads to innovative insights that emerge with the case study and provides different levels of exploration of data. As shown in Collis & Hussey (2014), the semi-structured interviews provide the primary source of information while the researchers observation consists of their understanding of social context. The questions for our interviewees are formulated according to the purpose of the thesis in various aspects.

3.1.3 Trustworthiness

The authors are giving its full attention that this study is of quality and that it is considered to be trustworthy. Reducing the possibility of getting the answer wrong means that attention has to be paid to two particular emphasis on research design: reliability and validity (Saunders et.al, 2009). Reliability refers to the extent to data collection techniques and analysis procedures will yield consistent findings (Saunders, et.al, 2009). Whereas, validity is concerned with whether the findings are really about what they appear to be about (Saunders et.al, 2009). However, these two terms have been rejected by some qualitative researchers including Guba (2012) who explained it to be of a traditional view. As an alternative for judging qualitative analysis, Guba (2012) instead presented 4 criteria, credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. Credibility is concerned with whether the research was conducted in such a manner that the subject of the inquiry was correctly identified and described (Collis & Hussey, 2014). To ensure this the authors emphasized to ask additional relevant questions to build up the semi-structured interviews and gain a broader, deeper and clear understanding of the particular topics discussed. Further to ensure that no information was missed, the interviews are to be recorded with

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the permission of the interviewee. As one interview was conducted in Swedish, the authors first translated it through Google Translate and then read through it by themselves a few times to adjust the autocorrected text so that it is accurate with the initial answers from the interview, and the interviewee varify translation accuracy.

Transferability is concerned with whether the findings can be applied to another situation that is sufficiently similar to permit generalization (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Although many researchers emphasize that they are interested in the detail of a single case, they do sometimes claim a degree of theoretical generalizability on the basis of it (Bryman & Bell, 2011). The goal of case study analysis should, therefore, be to concentrate on the uniqueness of the case and to develop a deep understanding of its complexity (Bryman & Bell, 2011). The authors have emphasized to clearly explain the research context. However, it is up to future researchers to make the judgement of how sensitive it would be to transfer the result to a different context.

Dependability focuses on whether the research processes are systematic, rigorous and well documented (Collis & Hussey, 2014). To ensure that similar research could be done in the future, the researchers have clearly mentioned each step taken in the section research method so that the process could be simplified for potential researchers.

Confirmability refers to whether the research process has been described fully and it is possible to assess whether the findings flow from the data (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The authors have secured that the data provided from the interviews are purely based on the interviewees perceptions and has not been based on the researcher’s perceptions. After finishing transcribing the interviews, the transcripts were sent back to each interviewee to be verified for accuracy in translation. To further minimize the biases, one of the researchers who has a personal connection with one of the interviewees has chosen to step aside from conducting the interviews, hence the two other researchers have conducted the interviews.

The authors are also using of triangulation to enhance the trustworthiness in this study. Triangulation refers to the use of multiple methods or data sources in qualitative research to develop a comprehensive understanding of phenomena (Patton, 1999). Two types of

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triangulation are utilized in this research. The first type is method triangulation, which involves the use of multiple methods of data collection about the same phenomenon (Polit & Beck, 2012). Data are collected as primary and secondary, and being interpreted. The second type investigating triangulation, involves the participation of two or more researchers in the same study to provide multiple observations and conclusions (Carter, Dicenso, Neville, Bryant-Lukosius & Blythe, 2014). This research consists of three authors whom will analyze independently.

3.1.4 Ethical consideration

To have the best collaboration according to Research Methodology (2020) webpage, the interested subjects trust is highly valuable. Although one of the researchers is holding a close relationship to the enterprise, interview manner offers a secure environment and reliable communication for interviewee subjects.

The study subjects were offered anonymity both for the subject and subject’s enterprise. With respectful both in the process of collecting data and presenting the data, not to interfere with the image of the enterprise but to present valuable knowledge that are truthful, thus the subject can choose to answer or to not answer the questions asked.

The research subject should hold the confident as our study seek to generate to knowledge to develop GSCM to be better adopted by SMEs.Additionally, the main objective of this study is to present the current state of the small enterprise and its barrier with GSCM, then there will not be any information beyond this study area presented although the information may be collected. The research affiliation has no financial fund and therefore being independent to offer an impartial study.

3.2 Methods

To understand the green supply chain practice and evaluate the proposition of interest, single-case holistic study will be performed with triangulated methods based on Robert Yin, 2018. In this study, in-depth interviews and secondary data about the economy and the knowledge in the field of GSCM practice will be collected. The information concerning activities in the value chain will also be collected as secondary data, these will be used as

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evidence to help learn about the relationship among partners (focal firm and its suppliers) and identify the existing barriers.

3.2.1 Literature/ Frame of reference

The literature search is a systematic process in order to collect as much relevant information as needed, by reading and reviewing the subject. The key to a successful literature review is to plan the research by defining the topic and scope of the research (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Appropriate keywords are identified to the topic and start the preliminary search with an unlimited time frame on Google Scholar by using the group of keywords contained in our research topic. Table 1 below illustrated the search results. The results of the first selection generating 6020 articles and most articles published between 2012-2019. Only 3 articles selected were most influential and comprise our topic of SMEs in green supply chain management.

For an updated knowledge, Web of Science has been used with limiting the time frame for the next search of 3 years and justifies the keywords: “Supply chain”, “Small enterprise or firm”, “manufacturing”, and “sustainable” to minimize the results and to better adapt to the industry which is the focus, and this generated 4460 articles in total. The attempt is to find academic articles that focused solely on supply chain and sustainability. Based on information relevance, the selection contains 12 most suitable articles in total on sustainable supply chain practices and small manufacturing enterprises in green supply chain practices.

To gain a better understanding knowledge of the barriers of adopting GSCM among SMEs, we conduct another search at Web of Science with the keywords “GSCM”, “barriers”, and “SMEs”. Generating 1274 articles, we chose 6 most relevant and influential articles among the most quoted ones. Furthermore, we used the keywords “organizational change” and “small enterprise”. For finding articles that is related to the internal change of an organization, we chose 3 most relevant ones among the total generation of 41 articles.

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Table 1 Search table for frame of reference

The methods of data collection for explorative holistic case study is built on two sources, primary data through in-depth interviews and secondary data of the company and concepts relating to GSCM. This empirical case study aims to understand the underlying behavior of a firm. We conduct a holistic single-case study to investigate and learn to understand the social phenomena by an interpretive approach to data analysis. In an abductive process the complete theory can be revealed.

3.2.2 Secondary data

The data collection for this bachelor thesis began by searching for existing literatures to be reviewed with process description in the previous section (see section 3.2.1). The informations included topics/concept of sustainability, supply chain management, green supply chain management, manufacturing, small and medium-sized enterprises, challenges and changes in organization.

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The information about the interesting study subject and the organization concerns must also be collected prior to and after the primary data collection. This help the authors to prepare and collect details to enrich the findings. This practicevalso helps in preparation for the interview and provides accuracy and transparency of the study.

Internal data or information about the focal firm and agreement between partners are to be collected. These include internal guideline, contracts and meeting decisions. Some are provided by the focal studied firm and some are retrieved from online sources at the company’s website. In addition to this, more information on the suppliers are to be gathered, through the code of conduct. policy, etc.

3.2.3 Primary data

As the study is a holistic single-case study with explorative manner, it is appropriate to study multiple perspectives within the concerning supply chain. This means that CEO’s, operating manager’s and procurer/sale manager’s view are to be explored along with production managers and sale person. Although the key stakeholder, CEO’s perspective is the most valuable for this study. Due to difficult circumstances we seek to focus on factors which affect the local firms, within Jönköping.

A semi-structured interview is most appropriate based on Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson (2012), given that the GSCM is a new field for small company to adopt as a sustainable strategy, and by having the interviewees contribute to interesting and unrevealed perspectives of GSCM and contribute to deepen the understanding of the barriers for small firm. The authors also believe that further questions can arise as the interview develops. Keeping the complexity and sensitivity of some potential questions in mind, face-to-face interview is the most appropriate (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The key issues concerning the firm's view of sustainability, key performance indicator, weaknesses of the firm, challenges or barriers of becoming green are to be collected.

Interviews

The main purpose of the interviews is to explore the implementation of GSCM from a small enterprise perspective then reveal space for improving the strategic adaptation by uncovering barriers. The questions ask the interested subject about the subject’s view of

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sustainability and the practice of GSCM within the frame of the value chain. By identifying enterprises’ weaknesses, the barriers to optimize GSCM strategy can be brought to light. The view of the subject interview on sustainability can also reveal the enterprise’s status in ‘Wave of sustainability’, the model can later help the authors to see what is lacking and state to move on and transform better or more sustainably. Because the unfortunate situation due to Covid-19, the method of collecting data vary depending on how the interviewees are comfortable with. To have a fruitful study, the interviews with both the focal firm and its suppliers can partake physically, virtually and per phone.

The semi-structured interviews may serve as uncovering internal information that is yet not known about the challenges with GSCM and affirm common views of barriers a small firm may face when adopting GSCM. The guideline in Appendix 1 is used to retrieving the information to built and lead the interviewee to see own reasoning to for decision on GSCM and weighing of the decisions.

The guideline for the interviews with the managers on the other hand have similar structure to the one with the interviews with the CEO’s. The structure however, have been developed after the interview with the CEO and seeks to look into more detailed practicals for managers. Their perspectives can reveal the barriers in another perspective, not only the financial alone (expected to be revealed by the CEO). The information found can then be compared with the ones with the suppliers. One additional key person is also interviewed to enrich the data of the firm’s sustainability stance.

Suppliers may have another view on the environmental work as they act as a partner rather than working under the studied firm, therefore their perspective can be retrieved with a different interview guide (see Appendix 2). By studying their perspectives, the barriers can be matched, and the information can later be analyzed to develop understanding for improved strategy to push the transformation of the firm into right direction.

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Table 2 Information from the interviews

3.2.4 Analysis method

Since this paper is seeking depth and richness of data, the scope of this study has been limited to a single firm which will help us provide more focus. Yin (2017) has been used as a consultative tool when conducting a single case study. The single-case study is an appropriate design under several circumstances, and five single-case rationales - that is having a critical, unusual, common, revelatory, or longitudinal case (Yin, 2017). As mentioned previously, the authors are conducting a semi-structured interview and hence believe that thematic analysis is an ideal approach for this study. Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). A theme captures something important about the data in relation to the research question and represents some level of patterned response or meaning within the data set (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The collected data from the interview will be interpreted and together with other information from literature and secondary data will be analyzed through pattern matching for processes and outcome.

Furthermore, a checklist be made to follow up on right before ending the interview to identify any missing data that needs to be collected. After the interview the authors will properly reference the data and do coding to group our data into categories through which they can easily find patterns.

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The process takes a thematic approach similar to the figure below.

Figure 5 Thematic analysis: Six interactive phases

Reprinted from “Thematic analysis in social work: A case study”, by P. Labra, C. Castro, R. Wright & I. Champlas (2019) https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/thematic-analysis-in-social-work-a-case-study

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4. Empirical findings

In this chapter, empirical findings in form of both primary and secondary data are presented. The first section presents the focal firm with interviews and verified data from available data sources. The following section focuses on suppliers, which covers interviews and secondary data of the interviewed suppliers and in appendix 3 contain other key suppliers’ data. The raw data are presented for the purpose of transparency and the coding process is deliberately not being presented for the future researchers use data to analyze if desire.

4.1 Focal firm - SB International

4.1.1 CEO/Owner

The authors want to know why the CEO would transform his firm at the first place, by asking this question they have gained an insight into his personal stand of sustainability and the plan and the goal for his firm to transform. The reason was partaking in society and to support social stability. As a leader of the firm he must guide his employees and lead the change.

‘The company is a part of the society. As thinking comes from the individual, I personally feel for the society and would like to contribute for the society by a good reason. As a CEO, I would have to take the first step for the company as a whole, employers working here, the products we are using here, or the kind of work assembly we are doing in manufacturing. So, yeah, so, small measures can lead to some big things

for the contribution to society.’ - Ishwar, CEO -

Additionally, he expresses, to be environmentally friendly could also mean economic purpose fulfillment which in turn is also a good source for supporting social wellbeing. The CEO open up about the firm's position on sustainability and admit to practicing sustainable approach in minimal level compared to what he thinks he should. He also expresses the desire to practice more sustainability in daily work. He mentioned how ‘Teamwork’ is to be a key ‘to work better and better over time’ and the work is much dependent on suppliers.

‘So, if I decide, I have to do it sustainably, like that, then I have to take all the suppliers with me and all the people around me that are connected to the company as well in the whole process, … We are thinking

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about it, but no we have not reached there yet’ - Ishwar, CEO -

From here the focus is moved to the supply chain. The authors want to know about the level of understanding of respondent on GSCM. Although not to search for the degree of knowledge but rather to learn about how much and what can be considered as green for the respondent. They also seek to know the respondent’s personal opinion on GSCM potentials and what it means to the company. The respondent reintroduces the term ‘contribution’ which indicate social responsibility. He then led us into a deeper insight of ‘controlling’ of the components.

‘they [large companies’ suppliers] have a fully control over their components. Whereas here we are mainly doing an assembly work. So, we are getting there. We are outsourcing about 70- 80% of parts we are using

here’ - Ishwar, CEO -

At this point, it is learnt that the company has the desire to become greener and have shown that green company can have a good impact on society but because of the size of the company and limited control over all components, it is prohibiting the company to fully adopt GSCM. The authors continue to ask about his plan for adopting GSCM.

‘we are thinking to outsource the components for the production and then we are looking at the different supplier who are having this kind of action like sustainability excellence in their production.’ ‘years ago, when there was no sustainability discussion going around in the market then you don't look at these papers you just order by primarily looking at the price. Right now, we are just looking at the material

specification. And yes, we are asking for the data sheet for the almost all items.’ - Ishwar, CEO -

The authors continue to ask what he can be expecting to hinder the actions and why, and what the next step can be to overcome these barriers. The respondent points out that some products aren't developed in terms of green acts. He expresses that lack of innovation for many products that are unavoidable for his company and for the industry, hence hinder the company to act fully green. He gives an example of the battery for the industry.

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‘because our suppliers are not there yet and for some products, I mean there is currently no better solution in the market, there is no invention’

- Ishwar, CEO -

With a curiosity about the relationship of the firm with their suppliers, uncovering other factors that can be seen as barriers is searched. The respondent reveals the relationship with suppliers to be close, as the firm can demand and request for superior invention if the innovation allows, and the firm can communicate the intention to the suppliers.

The respondent is put into a hypothetical scenario, if they would acquire the improved component right away if a superior innovation was available. This question reveals that the factor which had been expected to be the highest barrier for any small firm, financial constraints.

‘you have to weigh everything with the price that you wish to take into consideration.’ Ishwar, CEO

-The authors now seek to find the answer for the willingness to pursue GSCM despite having financial constraints and ask if the green transformation is worth the investment for the firm at all. The respondent reveal that they have acquired a supplier ‘fiber glass production’ with a switch to the latest innovation technology, to create a better environment for the workers and also eliminate harmful material in terms of chemical release.

The respondent continues to express the benefit of a long-term investment, which can be translated into opportunities to pursue sustainability.

‘I have to start my own production to control the risk and I know what products I'm buying, and out of what and how my products are made. So, I have fully control over my products. You know the value exist

when I tell my customers why I'm doing all the work according to the standards. And then I know that process is going through’

Ishwar, CEO

-An interest is built to see if respondent may see advantages of being a small entity or disadvantages and whether they have any kind of impact on the relation to the suppliers.

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The questions seek to uncover the power of purchasing for a small entity, and their power to push innovation forward.

From here, the authors wonder if there could be other solutions instead of acquiring entire company and demand better safety system. The respondent sees that the safety standard of the country in which the fiber glass production is situated is not at the same level as in Sweden, so it is better to take over and introduce superior standard to new market. The respondent continues on saying that as a long-term investment, the return profit cannot be seen right away to gain the control of the product and firm value.

‘You notice when you ask for this green supply or environmental sustainability or good things like that, everything costs money...This is an additional feature on the company. This is a long-term investment … I

know that some of the production quality is much better now, the environment is completely different for the workers today and they are having a good health, … I'm having that now, as I’m taking care of my

people working there’ Ishwar, CEO

-The authors want to know if the company would have a great commitment and invest in other suppliers as well, and what other strategy could keep the value in the supply chain. The respondent explain that it is not needed to do anything for suppliers who already have a good standard and share the same environmental value with the standard according to the regulator.

However, suppliers that supply products from third countries are asked about a data sheet on their material which being evaluated. Some products are over the respondents control and must rely on the contract, but firm believe that the supplier offers the best product in the market. The criteria to purchase for these products on the other hand has been by looking at their other procurer and the company’s policies, and that their customers are also Swedish or European.

This response indicates for a goal to maintain a long-term relationship with the current supplier. But when asked about the position of the firm, if the firm have a small purchasing power and might not have the power to demand changes in the supplier’s decision or

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quality of the product, they would then evaluate the price. Whether the total cost push the price for the customers or not.

From here on, the authors want the respondent to look beyond just the inner network, as the respondent earlier mentioned, the standards set by regulator is keeping the supply chain in environmental conscious frame and so asking about other external influences.

‘We are trying to attend a lot of different seminars in the year from the government or maybe from the different organizations to just get the more ideas. We are networking a lot with other companies. They are

at a little bit more advanced level in this procedure, so, we get some ideas ‘ Ishwar, CEO

-When asked if the influence to have green approach can come from the customers, the respondent responds:

‘The push i think is not from the customer perspective...But I think as a production company in manufacturing, I have a moral responsibility to buy my products according to this policy. So, I know that

what I'm delivering to the market is nearby to a green product.’ - Ishwar, CEO -

The respondent adds that the customers have reliability on the firm’s standard and it is up to the firm to choose the material products and to set environmental thinking in the product design without the customers interference. Although the respondent has expressed that the customers show appreciation continuing to purchase the products. The respondent ends the meeting with:

‘I think the responsibility is more on the manufacturer on the kind of product they're manufacturing, and because this product will go to the market.’

Ishwar, CEO

-After certain time, authors realize the need for more information on policy, code of conduct, and contact the CEO to retrieve more information through email. The code of conduct is not currently available to be published, contract is confidential, to subtract important information to be analyzed. For in-depth data available at Appendix 3.

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Purchase/sale manager and co-owner

After the interview with the CEO, the authors want to learn about another decision maker’s view on sustainability and GSCM that have the potential to change the organization and learn more in-detail about the barriers within supply chain. By asking the respondents sustainability stance, an evaluation the degree of commitment of interest of sustainability can be made. The respondent does not show much consideration on personal stance, however he shares the firm's stance.

Sustainability is not the main focus for the company at this stage, but recognizes changes in the industry, where the supplier offers improved material, which is a response to the demand from another major procurer.

‘I think a lot of larger companies are asking our suppliers to go greener. So, they push harder, and we sort of get something into it.’

- Joacim, Co-owner/Manager -

The respondent admits seeing increasing demand of the green products, and how it is important for firms and its potential to improve the condition of the world.

‘One part is to the client to present more green companies and also if it's can affect the world in some better way. It's good in both circumstances. I think a part of everything is important. Like transport is one

part. Yeah, to use sustainable production. I think it's good. If you can use good material use it.’ - Joacim, Co-owner/Manager -

The respondent expresses that GSCM is an uneasy path for the firm and seeking to apply easier tasks such as waste management by recycling and see this to be a good start for the firm. This example of task means cost-saving for the firm. The sustainable action can lead to environmental and economic benefit for the firm, however to adopt more action and plan into the management, the respondent perceives sustainable act as an economic burden which is the first barrier expressed by him.

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‘Well, if we invest in some changes, it's good that we have a return on investment within recent times. So, if it's a cost now, and we sort of see a return within a couple of years for the investment, it's a good

investment, I think’

Despite of no personal interest in sustainability, the respondent admits having a plan to pursue sustainable business and to acquire more knowledge to develop the business. But still expresses to have economic burden with the change.

‘We're thinking about going like an ISO certification in some way. We're still looking into that. So, in it goes for that within a couple of years. I'm sure all the parts will be involved. So, not for now. We're not

thinking about doing something specific.’

‘it's not only the cost[saving] it also takes time. Time and you have to read up, read about the subject. So, it's time, and time and money.’

The authors want to know the respondent’s opinion, if the size of the firm could have advantages when adopting green strategy and influence on suppliers. The respondent admit that it can be both an advantage in the process for decision making and a financial barrier to adopt GSCM. But did not think that the purchasing power would have any influence on the demand for changes to become greener.

‘Yes, it’s quicker to take decisions if you are a small firm, but we also need to have the economical ability which can be difficult.’

‘I can ask suppliers for things that we think is important. And perhaps they can do it or perhaps they say not now or Maybe later so.’

This indicate for a good relationship with supplier, but the size of the firm has an influence on the ability to demand.

‘I don't think they willing to change sort of, for example, to change the product to another color just for us for 100 pieces that they manufacture like 100,000 every month. So, sort of those changes I think will be

hard, but some changes will be easier.’ - Joacim, Co-owner/Manager -

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Despite the small personal interest expressed at the beginning of the interview and the stage of the commitment of the firm in sustainability, the respondents see future in sustainability for the firm.

‘I think if you're going to push this vision, and it has to highlight that it's economically sustainable, that makes this will actually make money for the company in some way. So, it's not just a burden, it's will

actually be a good thing, both economic and environmental.’ - Joacim, Co-owner/Manager -

Marketing developer

This respondent has an influence on the company’s design as a marketing developer for one of the focal firm’s supplier which is also part of the focal firm’s holding company. The authors consider him as a valuable resource in knowledge on sustainability based on rich experiences. The authors find this respondent to be appropriate for the study because of the relationship hold with the parent company, with ability to recognize the value throughout the holding organization.

On Green supply chain, the respondent refers to the business closest to his heart. Through this perspective, the personal stance on the sustainability in business revealed.

‘it's all about transparency and finding the right way to work sustainable and create a sustainable environment… a lot of the business companies in the business are moving towards green supply chain and

sustainability by thinking on source for materials where they come from, how they're produced, which chemicals are used, are they going to be delivered with which kind of transport, is the transport eco-friendly, or no. Is it too far away and how also about social support, how our products are developed, in which country they are developed and so on. So, there is a long line on to take care of if you want to be a sustainable company of course, in the textile industry. So, to put it simply, we choose the materials right,

we show who does the production how it will be delivered to the customer’ - Ernesto, Marketing developer -

The respondent express that the environmental value of the business is to be communicated, and it must come from the firm, not the customer always but must also be valuable for them as well.