Analysis of critical barriers in the sustainable supply chain of MSMEs: a case of Makhana (Foxnut) industry

Abstract

PurposeSustainability is a very important factor to be considered in the supply chain (SC) of any industry. Agricultural industry needs to be addressed even more importantly with the tools of sustainability as it concerns the life of millions. This paper explores the critical barriers (CBs) in the sustainable supply chains (SSCs) of makhana industry located in the northern part of India and seeks to design a model for the researchers and the managers who want to work in this industry.Design/methodology/approachInitially, the CBs were identified with the help of an extensive literature review of sustainability in SCs for agri-industry and discussion with makhana industry experts (consisting of managers and senior managers) and academicians (consisting of professors and research scholars). The study uses the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique, namely interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and fuzzy ISM to develop the model. The study finally validates the model using Matrice d'impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment (MICMAC) analysis.FindingsThe obtained results indicate that, in the SSC of makhana industry, the role of “Lack of adoption of organic agricultural management techniques” (CB2), “Lack of modern techniques (CB4)”, “Multiple intermediaries” (CB5), “Weak socio-economic conditions” (CB7) and “Lack of proper knowledge” (CB1) are very significant. These barriers are needed to be addressed first as they have the highest driving power and other barriers are directly driven by these CBs.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper has included seven experts, and the interrelationship between CBs has been developed on the basis of their knowledge and discussion, so the results may be a little bias. Moreover, the paper has obtained the results using the ISM and fuzzy ISM by considering ten CBs; the researchers can explore this research by including more CBs and validate the results using other MCDM techniques like fuzzy-decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), fuzzy-Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Best Worst Method (BWM).Originality/valueThis study is unique as per industry point of view and may help the researchers and managers to explore the field of makhana.

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“…Other enablers are associated with e-commerce endorsement, a customer-focused assortment of items and flexible store operations. Kashyap and Shukla (2023) explored the critical barriers in the sustainable supply chains (SSCs) of the makhana industry in northern India. They sought to design a model for the researchers and the managers who want to work in this industry.…”

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“…The potential sectors that are less explored and can be targeted to analyze the challenges and drivers can be listed but not limited to are as follows: foxnut industry (Kashyap and Shukla, 2022), food SC, textile industry (Srinivasan et al, 2022), leather industry (Moktadir et al, 2020), construction industry and service sector.…”

Investigation of the critical success factors in the implementation of the lean industry 4.0 in manufacturing supply chain: an ISM approach

“…Initially, it was developed by Warfield and since then a lot of researchers from different fields have used this technique in decision making (Gorane and Kant, 2015). Kashyap and Shukla (2022) have applied the ISM and fuzzy-ISM for the analysis of critical barriers in the sustainable supply chain of MSMEs. The work uses the MICMAC analysis for the validation of the results.…”