Managing the environmental adaptation process in supplier–customer relationships

Abstract

This paper details the results and managerial implications from four case studies, which examine how the environmental adaptation process (EAP) is managed within business‐to‐business relationships. The research uses models of supplier–customer interaction and inter‐organization cooperation in order to explore inter‐firm relationships and the process of adaptation. The research findings show that either party might pursue adaptations and also establishes features of the process itself as well as identifying factors that can facilitate or hinder the introduction of environmental changes. Arriving at a satisfactory outcome to the adaptation process can be determined by individual company and relationship characteristics, as well as the behaviour and experience of those managers involved in the process. Guidelines for the management of the process of environmental adaptation are proposed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

“Green” supply chain management: The role of trust and top management in B2B and B2C markets

“…Focusing specifically on the credibility aspect of trust and the "expectancy that the partner's word or written statement can be relied on", it has been shown that credibility improves the adaptation of green practices in the buyer-supplier relationship, because it allows managers to make a judgment of the reliability and willingness of suppliers to adhere to environmental requirements (Canning & Hanmer Lloyd, 2001;p.1076). Similarly Tate, Dooley, and Ellram (2011) propose that as long as the adoption of the buyer's environmental requirements are perceived as an additional cost to maintaining the ongoing -and long-term -relationship, then suppliers are more likely to adhere to these requirements.…”

Do stakeholder groups influence environmental management system development in the Dutch agri‐food sector?

“…For instance, if clients consider environmental factors in their purchase decisions, companies will probably improve their EMSs (Green et al, 1998;Canning and Hanmer-Lloyd, 2001). Also, if environmental impacts aggravate the risk of bankruptcy/closure, financial institutions may influence corporate environmental policy, whereas under normal circumstances they would possibly be ambivalent.…”

The road to cooperative supply‐chain environmental management: trust and uncertainty among pro‐active firms

“…A major difficulty in the transition to green supply chains occurs because environmental information processing and decision-making are particularly uncertain and complex (see, e.g., Canning and Hanmer-Lloyd, 2001; Lempert et al, 2000;Lewis and Harvey, 2001) and many environmental questions are not easily answerable. When firms faced only legal compliance, meeting the standards set by regulatory bodies was adequate.…”