Understanding Sustainable Supply Chain Coordination: a review of publications in Brazilian journals

Abstract

Supply chain coordination is focused on managing the activities of the partners involved in the relationship. The introduction of sustainability in supply chains introduces more complexity to coordination. Thus sustainable supply chain coordination is the organization, integration and control of all supply chain activity and business aiming to achieve environmental, social and economic objectives. This study aims to analyze how the sustainable supply chain coordination is understood in papers published in Brazilian journals. We conducted a bibliometric analysis and content analysis of national publications on the topics of supply chain, sustainability and coordination. Results pointed to a total of 61 papers that contribute to the understanding of sustainable supply chain coordination. According to paper analysis, sustainable supply chain coordination is understood as a control mechanism of the focal firm. In general, supply chain coordination is highlighted as a benefit for focal companies to maintain control of sustainable strategies and operations. Moreover we verified that most of the papers emphasized discussions about economic benefits of coordination mechanisms used by focal companies, even if these papers propose to discuss environmental and/or social issues. This study contributes to identify the evolution of Brazilian publications related to sustainable supply chain coordination, as well as to support Brazilian researchers to explore gaps and research opportunities.