Application of fuzzy methods in green and sustainable supply chains: critical insights from a systematic review and bibliometric analysis

Abstract

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive review and critical insights of the application of fuzzy methods in modeling, assessing and understanding the various aspects of green and sustainable supply chains (SSCs).Design/methodology/approachThe present study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis of 252 research articles. This study employs various tools such as VOSviewer version 1.6.10, Publish or Perish, Mendeley and Excel that aid in descriptive analysis, bibliometric analysis and network visualization. These tools have been used for performing citation analysis, top authors' analysis, co-occurrence of keywords, cluster and content analysis.FindingsThe authors have divided the literature into seven application areas and discussed detailed insights. This study has observed that research in the social sustainability area, including various issues like health and safety, labor rights, discrimination, etc. is scarce. Integration of the Industry 4.0 technologies like blockchain, big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) with the sustainable and green supply chain (GSC) is a promising field for future research.Originality/valueThe authors' contribution primarily lies in providing the integrated framework which shows the changing trends in the use of fuzzy methods in the sustainability area classifying and consolidating green and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature in seven major areas where fuzzy methods are predominantly applied. These areas have been obtained after the analysis of clusters and content analysis of the literature presenting key insights from the past and developing the conceptual framework for future research studies.

GSCM practices, financial and environmental performance of food industries in China: Basis for sustainable supply chain management framework

“…This method combines Activity-based costing and performance evaluation indicators into the value chain structure, which is conducive to enterprises to better monitor changes in enterprise performance. Nirmal, et al, (2023) mainly discussed the performance discrimination method of GSCM. This focuses on the core performance that plays an important role and introduced Data envelopment analysis into the evaluation system.…”

Mapping the Evolution of Multi-Attributive Border Approximation Area Comparison Method: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…They analyzed the articles published in Scopus between 2013 and 2023. Nirmal et al [31] conducted bibliometric research focusing on Fuzzy MCDM and green supply chain study. They analyzed the articles published in Scopus between 2010 and 2023.…”