The role of network structural properties in supply chain sustainability: a systematic literature review and agenda for future research

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of our paper is to systematically review and assess the current status of research on supply chain sustainability from a network structural perspective and provide an organising framework for future scholarship in this area. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting an evidence-based approach, this study conducts a systematic review of 73 articles from 18 peer-reviewed journals published between 2000 and 2020. Findings – Adopting a social network analysis approach, our review identifies specific nodelevel (i.e. degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality) and network-level (i.e. network density, network sub-groups, network diversity) structural properties that play a role in supply chain sustainability. Our results reveal that structural properties determine the extent of perception of sustainability risks, the diffusion of sustainability targets, introduction of sustainable innovations, development of sustainability capabilities, adoption of sustainability initiatives, as well as the monitoring of sustainability performance throughout the supply chain. Originality/value – Distinguishing between supply network and sustainable supply network types, our study extends the existing understandings of the role of network connectivity patterns in supply chain sustainability through synthesising and evaluating the extant literature. Our study further clarifies the role of these network structural properties in supply chain sustainability by describing their impact on a set of sustainable supply chain management practices through which firms achieve sustainability goals across their supply chains.