Exploring the Adoption of Sustainable Supply Chain Practices in Australia: Current Practices and Adoption Motivations

Organizations worldwide are developing an awareness of the importance to adopt sustainable practices within their supply chain operations. Many forward looking organizations have even already begun implementing these practices in consultation with their supply chain partners. However, adoption of these practices is not straightforward and is reported to be slower than expected despite the enormous benefits these practices can bring when they are successfully adopted. Currently, there is limited understanding of what motivates organizations adopting SSCM practices and how adoption motivations affect the adoption level and benefits obtained. In this study, we explore the adoption of SSCM practices by selected Australian organizations and investigate their adoption motivations. For the study purpose, we apply the organizational adoption motivation framework discussed in the literature of inter-organizational systems (IOS) and propose a framework that differentiates four SSCM adoption motivation scenarios. Using the proposed framework, we have conducted a series of interviews with four Australian organizations that are currently engaged in SSCM practices. The preliminary study finding highlights the existence of multiple types of SSCM adoption motivation types originating from internal and external sources. This finding helps direct future research efforts in exploring the impacts of adoption motivations on SSCM implementation and benefits.