In an era where environmental and social pressures on companies are increasing, sustainable supply chain management is essential for the efficient operation and survivability of the organizations (members of the chain). Digital transformation and the adoption of new technologies could support the development of sustainable strategies, as they support supply chain processes, decrease operational costs, enable control and monitoring of operations and support green practices. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between sustainable supply chain management and digital transformation through the adoption of specific technologies (Blockchain technology, big data analytics, internet of things). It aims at theory building and the development of a conceptual framework, enabling the explanation of under which circumstances the above combination could lead to the development of sustainable performances. It also aims to examine how companies can increase their competitive advantage and/or increase their business performance, contributing both to academics and practitioners. After conducting a literature review analysis, a significant gap was detected. There are a few studies providing theoretical approaches to examining all three pillars of sustainability, while at the same time analyzing the impact of big data analytics, internet of things and blockchain technology on the development of sustainable supply chains. Aiming to address this gap, this paper primarily conducts a literature review, identifies definitions and theories used to explain the different pillars of flexibility, and examines the effect of different technologies. It then develops a theoretical conceptual framework, which could enable both academics and practitioners to examine the impact of the adoption of different technologies on sustainable supply chain management. The findings of this research reveal that digital transformation plays an important role to companies, as the combination of different technologies may lead to the development of significant capabilities, increasing sustainable performances and enabling the development of sustainable strategies, which can improve companies’ position in the market.
Sustainability, information systems (IS), and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) are the main research areas of this study. In an era where environmental and social responsibility is becoming increasingly more important, SSCM is very significant for the survivability and competitiveness of organizations. Information systems may facilitate sustainable practices, as they support supply chain processes, decrease costs, and enable the control and monitoring of operations. The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between information systems and SSCM and explain under what circumstances they could lead to competitive advantage or increase internal business performance. To analyze the above, the methodology comprises a literature review enabling the understanding and conceptualization of the main research constructs and revealing the gaps of previous research. It also comprises qualitative research based on a single-case study allowing an in-depth examination of the subject of study. The findings reveal that the use of information systems, combined with strong interorganizational relationships and collaboration, can support SSCM practices. They can bring important business advantages, such as improved business performance and increased customer loyalty, but not necessarily competitive advantage. The results of this research show that SSCM is a promising field of study, with prospects for future research.
This paper examines blockchain technology and food waste management in the hospitality industry. Food waste prevention is an important issue for hotels, as food consumption is difficult to estimate, often leading to huge amounts of waste. Food waste occurs at each stage of the food supply chain and represents a big percentage of hospitality waste. Although many studies examine the difficulties of food waste management, only a limited number of studies examine the stages of food waste inside food supply chains. The coordination of food supply chains can be supported by blockchain technology, which can break the supply chain into smaller parts and help managers to better mitigate food control. To address these issues, this paper conducts an extensive literature review, firstly to clarify the concept of food waste management in the hospitality industry and secondly to examine the benefits of the use of blockchain technology in food supply chains. Combining the obtained knowledge, this study aims to analyze the relationship between blockchain and food waste management practices. It also aims to examine how this combination boosts hotels to increase their performance and gain customers’ loyalty. Therefore, this paper analyses food waste management in the hospitality industry makes propositions on how blockchain technology could support food waste management in the food supply chain and forms the base for future research. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This study examines the use and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics (BDA) in the tourism industry (TI). The digital age has brought a lot of changes transforming the business environment. The extensive use of the internet combined with the recent technological advances have greatly affected tourism companies, which need to face increased competition, changing tourists' needs and quick development of customer services. Furthermore, due to the widespread digitization, the tourism industry is overwhelmed by a huge amount of data that needs to be processed and analysed. AI is a rapidly evolving set of technologies, which can to some extent replace the analytical ability and decision-making capabilities of human beings. It can thus enable the development of innovative services and the intelligent processing of large amounts of data. Although AI is a widely known technology, it is still not widely used in the tourism industry. However, the adoption of AI is accelerated during the last 3 years, which is also reflected in the literature. By conducting an extensive literature review, this study aims to examine the level of adoption of AI applications in different sectors of the tourism industry and to discuss their role in big data analytics and in smart tourism (ST). It also aims to examine under which circumstances the adoption of these applications and technologies could enable tourism companies to obtain a competitive advantage. To explain this, the paper develops a conceptual framework using the resource based view theory. Based on the proposed framework, it shows that the adoption of the above combination may enable tourism companies to increase their business performance, achieve economic results and potentially attain a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, this research discusses the strategic role of AI and BDA in ST, makes propositions of implementation and forms the base for future research.
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