Hindawi

Mathematical Problems in Engineering

Volume 2017, Article ID 7274565, 14 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7274565

Research Article
Analysis of Success Factors to Implement Sustainable
Supply Chain Management Using Interpretive Structural
Modeling Technique: A Real Case Perspective

Mengke Yang,1 Mahmood Movahedipour,2,3 Jianqiu Zeng,2

Zhou Xiaoguang,1 and Ludi Wang1
1
School of Automation, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China
2
School of Economic and Management, Beijing University Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China
3
Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran 14155-4364, Iran

Correspondence should be addressed to Mahmood Movahedipour; mahmood.movahedipour@yahoo.com

Received 11 May 2017; Revised 12 July 2017; Accepted 29 August 2017; Published 10 December 2017

Academic Editor: M. L. R. Varela

Copyright © 2017 Mengke Yang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Sustainability draws increased supply chain management (SCM) attention. This article analyzes critical success to the assessment,
evaluation, and attainment of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), assessed through critical-success identification and
qualitative data analysis. Namely, a literature review selected of 188 articles, published between January 1994 and November 2016,
helps identify the most influential success factors. The qualitative data analysis pertains to fifteen such successes, identified in the
literature review and through our collaboration with other academic researchers and industrial specialists. Notably, the study’s
qualitative data analysis, interpretive structural modeling (ISM), unconceals the mutual impact among the most prominent SSCM
success factors. The economic benefits and environmental awareness of suppliers are recognized as the most significant success
factors, which could allow business enterprises and other organizations to implement a SSCM framework, with intentionality and
the sustainability in their business. The article concludes with suggestions for future research directions.

1. Introduction 20% of global greenhouse gases emissions are made by

about 2500 largest global companies, and their supply chains
Nowadays, with people’s higher and higher consideration take the main responsibility for emissions resulting from
about environmental protection, many companies have corporate operations [7]. Moreover, developing nations gen-
shifted their focus to SCM to achieve a sustainable compet- erally lack an implementation of technologies that promote
itive gain [1, 2]. Supply managing in a sustainable behavior lower pollution as well as measures to cut down emission
becomes an increasing awareness for organizations in differ- resulting from industrial activities [8]. Concerning social and
ent sizes and wide scope of industries [3]. environmental impacts, along with all stages, easier reactive
There are a number of serious, social, economic, and approach can seem to have more responsibility for external
environmental issues that are highly interconnected which pressure from nongovernmental organizations, consumers,
need higher attention from industrial executives [4, 5]. and governments [9]. This study was conducted in electrical
Besides, human population is also rising exponentially and it power supply manufacturing that is located in the northern
seems that there may be an increase in the natural resources part of Iran.
consumption by nearly 170% of the earth’s capacity by 2020 However, one of the most critical issues for industries
[6]. Also from the perspective of a developing and emerging of different types in recent global market is the increasing
nation, one of the major problems is the high level of carbon requirement for integrating eco-friendly practices into
emissions (CO2 ). It is an interesting fact that more than sustainable supply chain [10, 11]. But the main point is to
2 Mathematical Problems in Engineering

familiarize the concept of knowledge on the management

point of view and make participations in the industries’
sustainable supply chain network more cost effective,
environmentally friendly, and socially practical [12]. For
this order, it calls for the need to identify different types of
success to implement SSCM and to extend a hierarchy of
ISM to apply SSCM to sustainable practices.

Purposes and Forms of This Study. This study has some

purposes, shown as follows:
(i) To undertake a systematic literature review to distin-
guish key critical success factors in SSCM practices to
implement SSCM towards sustainable practices from
industrial point of view Figure 1: Geographical locations of all contributing organizations.
(ii) To identify the mutual relationships between identi-
fied success factors of SSCM practices by ISM and
MICMAC analysis environmental resources management, and (11) sustainable
(iii) To confer the research managerial implications. development. This reduced the number of relevant articles
to 1,780. The search results were stored in RIS4 format to
The rest of the research is arranged as follows: in the second include all the essential article information such as article
chapter we outline our systematic literature review. In the title, authors’ names and affiliations, abstract, keywords, and
third part we show the theoretical framework for the solution references.
method of this research. Section 4 presents the outline of our
SSCM theoretical framework as the outcome of the MICMAC 2.2. Refinement of the Search Results. BibExcel allows mod-
analysis. Then we relate this to literature in the discussion, ifying and/or adjusting the data imported from various
Section 5, and in Section 6, we conclude our research and databases including Scopus and Web of Science. The data
provide suggestions for further research directions. output can be exported to Excel or any program that takes
tabbed data records. This high degree of flexibility makes
2. Literature Review BibExcel a powerful tool, yet relatively difficult to work
with especially in performing the initial setups. We use
2.1. Initial Data Statistics. The concepts of supply chain man- BibExcel to perform some initial bibliometric and statistical
agement and environmental management as strategic orga- analysis and to prepare the input data for additional network
nizational practices to gain competitive advantage have been analysis in Gephi. The data source that we use as input into
receiving increased attention especially during the period of BibExcel is in RIS format (Scopus output) containing the
the late 1980s and early 1990s [13]. Identifying the appropriate bibliographic information of the articles. Our analysis focuses
search terms and keyword structure was completed through on the following data fields: authors, title, journal, publication
several trial and error attempts. year, keywords, abstract, affiliations, and references. These
We used the following iterative multistep process to analyses require reformatting of the RIS file into a number
design an effective keyword structure: of different formats and hence producing several file types.
(i) Defining initial set of keywords and search structure Now, the data transfer to Bib Excel software is possible
for future process. After this stage the analyzed data conduct
(ii) Checking the resulting articles and journals to ensure to Global Positioning System (GPS) visualizer web site for
the appropriate coverage (whether key articles and building multiple geocodes. For this purpose we used the
major journals are appearing in search results) and “http://www.gpsvisualizer.com” web site. It is a free GPS
updating the keywords accordingly visualizer online to make maps from geographic data. There
(iii) Looking for irrelevant articles and research areas, is some limitation to draw a map for multiple geocodes but
identifying the “exclusion keywords,” and updating with asking keyword mapping from “Google Map” or “Bing
the keyword structure accordingly Map” website we could create our geographical map with
(iv) Looking for irrelevant subject areas to narrow down large numbers of cities. Figure 1 shows the map which is
the search space and updating the keyword structure created by “GPS visualizer” [15] (GPS 2003–2016 Visualizer)
accordingly. online website. It shows the institutions’ location which works
on different branches of sustainable supply chain network.
The following subject areas were found to be irrelevant to The large numbers of literatures are located in some western
our review scope: (1) sustainable, (2) sustainability envi- countries in Europe and then west states in USA. Also the
ronmental, (3) sustainability environmentally, sustainable number of publications in western Asia is impressive. In
environmentally, (4) sustainable supply chain managements, Figure 1 the diameter of each circle expresses the relative
(5) green, (6) green supply chain management, (7) ecological degree of each institution to the contribution. In general view,
sustainable, (8) ecological economics, (9) gas emission, (10) in the map, the geographical distribution of these institutions
Mathematical Problems in Engineering 3

250 affecting strategic planning in SSCM practices adoption in

any country [17, 18]. Organizations need to respond to
200 the government policies and regulations of the concerned
countries towards greening the firms.
150
2.3.3. State Government Legalizations (S3). The authors in
100 [19] believe that state regulatory framework plays significant
importance in promotion environmental sustainability [20].
50
Again there are several cells, boards, and units under them
to look after the issues. In state level, there are similar
“bodies” for promoting green practices. State government
0
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 regulation has been identified as an important success factor
to implement SSCM practices.
Figure 2: Publication trend in the area of SSCM.
2.3.4. Societal Issues (S4). Societal issues are product/process
related aspects of operations that influence human safety, wel-
expresses that sustainable supply chain network has attracted fare, and community development [21–23]. Strong business
many researchers around the world. ethics is an essential factor for the success of sustainability ini-
Our map on the national collaborations statistics shows tiatives in an organization. Some subthemes are important in
that the United States holds the highest national collaboration this section: rights, ethics, poverty, and increasing sustainable
rate. There are 229 affiliations belonging to USA, followed by development to consider major contributions and promise
70 affiliations with UK. This could be most likely encouraged fields to further the area. References [24, 25] examined briefly
by the many top authors and organizations within the the conceptualizations of SSM and of social responsibility, to
United States. While still in its early growth and expansion show the understanding of topics.
period, the area of sustainable supply chain managements
is attracting a geometric growth in the number of academic 2.3.5. Encouragement from Customers (S5). Organizations
publications. This significant growth is more noticeable after should design and manufacture products by considering
2010. The details of a number of publications are illustrated in environment properties of products/services which must
Figure 2. meet customers’ requirements and expectations to obtain
most sustainable solution [23]. The customer is the essence
2.3. Sustainable Supply Chain and Success Factors. Sustain- of any business. Businesses must design and manufacture
able supply chain concerns the management of material, products and provide services that meet customers’ needs and
information, and capital flows as well as cooperation among expectations. Environmental consciousness of consumers is
companies along the supply chain while taking goals from one of the most significant driving forces for companies to
all three dimensions of sustainable development, that is, engage in environmental management [26, 27].
economic, environmental, and social, into account which
are derived from customer and stakeholder requirements. 2.3.6. Motivation of Suppliers and Vendors towards Green
Therefore, SSCM can be understood as SCM focusing on Practices (S6). Perception of an organization of taking steps
maintaining environmental, economic, and social stability towards environmental good-will is not their responsibility.
for long-term sustainable growth. We focused on 188 articles Lack of appropriate organizational structures and widespread
which are more compatible with our topic. From these ignorance of supply chain philosophy are also success factors
literatures we classified the key success of SSCM. Fifteen identified for implementation of GSCM [28]. Companies
themes arose, as explained in the following subsections. could find they are not fully familiar with the real risks and
costs and connected to their investments over time.
2.3.1. Initiation and Commitment of Top Management (S1).
Top management commitment and support is a fundamental 2.3.7. Economic Benefits (S7). There is a lack of funds for
requirement for a company to manufacture environmentally environmental projects or the consideration that Return on
friendly products, and a primary decision rests on which Investment (ROI) period after implementing green supply
supplier will enhance the green supply chain of a company chain management is very long. Taking over GSCM initiatives
[16]. Initiation and commitment of top management are needs additional endeavors and also higher cost and it has
necessary for any organization to allocate adequate techno- less visible economic benefits from these initiatives [29, 30].
logical, financial, and human resources for adopting SSCM In this situation, the value of national money will decrease
concepts, ideas, and strategy development. Top manage- and prices will increase, which empowers hesitation between
ment commitment helps in achieving resources for effective customers and investors. Reference [31] explained that weak
implementation of organizational sustainable supply chain economic performance could lead to government collapse
management initiatives. and diplomatic unrest.

2.3.2. Strategic Planning (S2). Domestic government legisla- 2.3.8. Scarcity of Natural Resources (S8). Industrial pro-
tions and environmental regulations are of the major drivers fessionals need training to adopt SSCM system in their
4 Mathematical Problems in Engineering

industries and need training to maintain and monitor growth conducts to be lower than related community costs [45].
[32]. The growth of gross domestic product has been raised. Due to high attention to the environmental protection and
Effective employees’ training offers several potential advan- sustainable development, such as pressures from NGOs
tages in real life. Most social benefits, derived from the and stakeholder groups, organizations are being pushed to
accumulation of human skills, such as good health, more effectively incorporate sustainability issues into their supply
urban employment, reduction of crime, and increase in social chain network managing program [46].
correlation, will affect the economic growth in the long term.
2.3.14. Measure and Monitor the Environmental Practice of
2.3.9. Firm’s Competitiveness (S9). Organizations implement- Suppliers (S14). Metrics misalignment is thought to be a
ing green innovation can enjoy the first mover advantage and, primary source of inefficiency and disruption in supply
at the same time, improve their corporate images, develop chain interactions [47]. It means sustainability practice or
new markets, and gain competitive advantages [33]. Supply- environmental protection is one of the goals that exist in
ing must pay high attention to supply chain sustainability organization. The good summary of the aims with a sus-
issues, while the environmental benefits may hold them tainability keeps focusing the organizations on track during
responsible for unsustainable supply chain behaviors. Mostly, adverse times and leads to fighting the inner battle among
unsustainability obstacles occur upstream at the different commercialization and esteemed values.
subsupplier stages [34].
2.3.15. Maintaining the Environmental Awareness of Suppliers
2.3.10. Information Quality and Sharing (S10). An efficient (S15). Industries are unable to maintain the environmental
interorganizations/intraorganization communication, shar- conscious suppliers and suppliers also are concerned to
ing of innovative ideas, and developing healthy organiza- maintain the environmental concepts in their industries [48].
tional culture in implementing of SSC activities can be The growing recognition of the contribution of local areas
achieved through information sharing among industries [35, to energy and environmental policies has led to important
36]. Sustainable technologies are cleaner and reconfigurable initiatives for the reallocation of planning actions [49].
and even recyclable, which do not harm the nature but need
high investment [37, 38]; also waste treatment is another 3. Research Gap
important area that needs attention in the sustainable devel-
opment strategy. Thus, we argue that enabling advanced Adopting sustainable concepts in traditional supply chain
technologies and information should be taken into consid- management is very difficult, and there are many obstacles to
eration as an enabler in the strategic framework formulation integrating environmental consciousness in traditional SCM.
of sustainable supply chain. Based on our systematic literature, it is found that in this field
many researchers worked on performance and enablers for
2.3.11. State Government Legalizations (S11). There is a lack of the adopting of SSCM in different branches [50–52] and that
number of laborers in the organization and/or the quality of only a handful of researchers address the analysis among the
the employees. Basically, a fundamental obstacle to improv- critical success for implementation of SSCM in organizations
ing environmental performance of the SME sector is a lack [14, 53]. One serious issue in industries is environmental
of state government legalizations [39]. But among the item contamination. The manufacturing industries have started
mentioned above, the task of developing human resources to adopt sustainable concepts in their SCM in order to
in both developed and developing industries is accepted as retain their customers. This study is helpful for industries to
a vital need in the societies [40]. analyze the success for SSCM and to find the key success;
industries will also be able to improve their sustainable
2.3.12. Fearlessness of Failure (S12). The fear of failure is performance by identifying the leading or dominant success
involved while adopting sustainable supply chain which for adopting sustainable supply chain management. It is
could lead to monetary losses for the firm or the fear of difficult for industries to eradicate all the success in the initial
failure of the product, hence leading to losing the competitive stage of adopting sustainable concepts in traditional SCM.
advantage [41]. Sustainable development approach reflects
on the role of information as a strategic resource in supply 4. Solution Methodology
chain [42]. Reference [43] further emphasized the need to
develop reverse logistics networks, to increase the utilization 4.1. Interpretive Structural Modeling. The ISM is a qualitative
of resources and for the reuse and recycling of the product. data analysis which was proposed by [54]. Firstly it was used
as a solving method to basically understand and identify the
2.3.13. Pressure from Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) interrelationships of the components in sophisticated systems
Lobby (S13). Legislation and regulation are the instruments or condition [55]. Also ISM is based on group decision-
very much necessary for the proper governance of business making, social sciences, discrete mathematics, graph theory,
enterprises including the environment in which they oper- and computer assistance [56]. The ISM methodology is
ate. Environmental laws and regulations are an important started by separately or group mental types in order to
framework, within which the companies must operate [44]. calculate binary matrices, to explain the individual/mutual
In the large scale, environmental pollution caused by factory relations of the elements. In some references this matrix is
production processes in the other side costs of production nominated as relation matrix too [38].
Mathematical Problems in Engineering 5

The relation matrix may be shaped by considering this Step 4. Reachability matrix is developed from the SSIM and
question “regarding this feature will 𝑒𝑖 effect 𝑒𝑗 ?” Following the matrix is checked for transitivity. The transitivity of the
the reply, if it is “no” then 𝜋𝑖𝑗 = 0; otherwise 𝜋𝑖𝑗 = 1. The contextual relation is a basic assumption made in ISM. It
relation matrix, in general form, is shown as follows: states that if a variable 𝐴 is related to 𝐵 and 𝐵 is related to
𝐶, then 𝐴 is necessarily related to 𝐶.
𝑒1 0 𝜋12 ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ 𝜋1𝑛
𝑒2 𝜋21 0 ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ 𝜋2𝑛 Step 5. The reachability matrix obtained in Step 4 is parti-
𝐷= . ( . tioned into different levels.
.. .. .. .. ) . (1)
. d .
Step 6. Based on the relationships given above in the reach-
𝑒𝑚 𝜋𝑚1 𝜋𝑚2 ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ 0 ability matrix, a directed graph is drawn and the transitive
links are removed.
Here “𝑒𝑖 ” is the same as “𝑖th” variable in the framework. “𝜋𝑖𝑗 ”
also reveals the connection among “𝑖th” and “𝑗th” variables. Step 7. The resultant digraph is converted into an ISM, by
𝐷 is the relation matrix. replacing variable nodes with statements.
𝑀 = 𝐷 + 𝐼, (2)
Step 8. The ISM model developed in Step 7 is reviewed to
∗ 𝐾 𝐾+1 check for conceptual inconsistency and necessary modifica-
𝑀 =𝑀 =𝑀 , 𝐾 ≥ 0. (3)
tions are made. The above steps and necessary modifications
In (2), “𝐼” is nominated as the unit matrix, and in (3) “𝐾” are made [18] which are indicated in Figure 3.
express the powers. Also in (3) 𝑀∗ presented the reachability
matrix. Keep in mind that this matrix runs under the 4.3. Interpretive Structural Modeling. The ISM technique is a
“Boolean operation” (e.g., 1 × 1 = 1 and 0 × 0 = 0; see as follows) well-known methodology for identifying and summarizing
relationships between specific elements. In the first step
1 0 to develop the theoretical framework, we use ISM to rec-
𝑀=( ),
1 1 ognize the mentioned fifteen successes of SSM based on
(4) our systematic literature review in the previous sections.
1 0 This methodology allows an interactive learning practice
𝑀2 = ( ). and helps to understand the complex relationships among
1 1
variables of systems. To find experts we identified practition-
Now, we are ready to calculate the reachability matrix and ers who have implemented sustainability initiatives within
priority matrix, respectively, as follows: their supply chains. They have suitable experience and are
working at tactical operation in different levels of supply
𝑅 (𝑡𝑖 ) = {𝑒𝑖 | 𝑚∗ 𝑗𝑖 = 1} , (5) chain. The experts were consulted to verify the drivers that
were stemmed from the literature review in the context of
𝐴 (𝑡𝑖 ) = {𝑒𝑖 | 𝑚∗ 𝑖𝑗 = 1} . (6) manufacturing. The wording of the variables was verified but
we did not drop or add new variables.
“𝑚𝑖𝑗 ” explains the value of the “𝑖th” and “𝑗th” in row and
column, respectively. 4.4. Sampling Design and Data Collection. In our study, 12
Now, based on (7), the interrelationships among the manufacturing firms were identified from various sectors
elements could be discovered and the arrangement of the including electrical power supply, UPSs and battery charger
relationship of elements could be explained by the graph consumer goods, and batteries. The targeted experts have
twenty plus years of experience and were working in the
𝑅 (𝑡𝑖 ) ∩ 𝐴 (𝑡𝑖 ) = 𝑅 (𝑡𝑖 ) . (7)
tactic level of supply chain operations. Ten academics from
reputable engineering and management institutes were also
4.2. The Main ISM Steps. The various steps involved in the consulted for the survey of the SSCM drivers. The use of
ISM methodology are described as follows. professional networking sites made our efforts much easier.
The questionnaire was emailed to a total of 24 experts out of
Step 1. Variables (criteria) considered for the system under
which 32 exploitable responses were considered for the study.
consideration are listed.
Thus, we achieved a response rate of 75%. The flow chart or
Step 2. From the variables identified in Step 1, a contextual our research is illustrated in Figure 4.
relationship is established among the variables in order to
identify which pairs of variables should be examined. 4.5. Structural Interpretive Matrix. As per ISM technique,
we used the survey to establish the contextual relationships
Step 3. A structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM) is devel- between the drivers identified earlier, and the structural self-
oped for variables, which indicates pairwise relationships interaction matrix (SSIM) emerged [14, 57]. The relationship
among variables of the system under consideration. among the variables in the survey is denoted by 𝑉, 𝐴, 𝑋,
6 Mathematical Problems in Engineering

List of barriers for SSCM Literature review

Establish contextual relationship

Experts’ opinion
(Xij) between barriers (i, j)

Develop a structural self-interaction Develop reachability matrix

matrix (SSIM)

Partition the reachability matrix into different levels

Develop the reachability matrix in its conical form

Remove transitivity from the diagram Develop diagraph

Is there any Yes

Replace variable nodes with conceptual
relationship statements inconsistency?

No
Represent relationship statement
into model for the barriers to SSCM
adoption

Figure 3: ISM diagram modified from [14].

Literature review on barriers for the implementation of SSCM

and ISM

Review of electrical power supply industries in Iran

Collection of successes factors from literature and

discussion with industrial experts

Questionnaires development (SSIM) and

data collection

Results, discussion, and conclusion

Figure 4: Flow chart of the research work.

and 𝑂. Using the symbols 𝑖 and 𝑗 to denote columns and rows, 𝑂: if 𝑖 and 𝑗 are not related each other.
the relationships between nodes are shown as follows:
In Table 1, structural self-interaction matrix is shown.
𝑉: if 𝑖 leads to 𝑗 but 𝑗 does not lead to 𝑖
𝐴: if 𝑖 does not lead to 𝑗 but 𝑗 leads to 𝑖 4.6. Structural Model. The SSIM (Table 1) is further con-
𝑋: if 𝑖 and 𝑗 lead to each other verted into initial and final reachability matrices (see Tables
Mathematical Problems in Engineering 7

Table 1: Structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM).

Success factor S15 S14 S13 S12 S11 S10 S9 S8 S7 S6 S5 S4 S3 S2

S1 𝑋 𝑉 𝑉 𝐴 𝐴 𝑋 𝑉 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 𝑉 𝐴 𝐴
S2 𝐴 𝐴 𝑂 𝑂 𝑋 𝑂 𝑂 𝐴 𝐴 𝑉 𝑋 𝑉 𝑋
S3 𝑂 𝐴 𝑂 𝑋 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 𝑋 𝑂 𝑋 𝐴
S4 𝑂 𝑋 𝑉 𝑉 𝑋 𝑉 𝑂 𝑉 𝑉 𝑋 𝑉
S5 𝐴 𝐴 𝑂 𝑉 𝑋 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 𝑂
S6 𝑋 𝑋 𝑂 𝑂 𝑂 𝑂 𝑂 𝑂 𝑉
S7 𝑋 𝐴 𝑂 𝑂 𝑉 𝐴 𝑂 𝑋
S8 𝑉 𝑂 𝑉 𝑉 𝑉 𝐴 𝐴
S9 𝑂 𝐴 𝑋 𝑉 𝑂 𝑋
S10 𝑉 𝑉 𝑉 𝑉 𝑉
S11 𝐴 𝐴 𝑂 𝑂
S12 𝑂 𝐴 𝑋
S13 𝐴 𝑉
S14 O

Table 2: Initial reachability matrix.

Success factor S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15

S1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
S4 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
S5 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
S6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S7 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
S8 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
S9 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
S10 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S11 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
S12 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1
S13 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1
S14 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
S15 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

2 and 3). The initial reachability matrix emerged when we 4.7. Structural Final Reachability Matrix. The transitivity
converted the SSIM by substituting 𝑉, 𝐴, 𝑋, and 𝑂 by 1 and principle can be explained with an illustrative example: if 𝑎
0; as per the following rules SSIM becomes binary format, for leads to 𝑏 and 𝑏 leads to 𝑐, the transitivity property implies that
example, 0 or 1; the instruction for substitution is mentioned 𝑎 leads to 𝑐. The transitivity property helps to remove the gaps
as follows based on [58]. among the variables if any. By adopting the above criteria, the
final reachability matrix is prepared and is shown in Table 3
(i) If the (𝑖, 𝑗) relationship in SSIM is 𝑉, the correspond- based on [14].
ing binary relationship is 1 for (𝑖, 𝑗) and is 0 for (𝑗, 𝑖).
(ii) If the (𝑖, 𝑗) relationship in SSIM is 𝐴, the correspond- 4.8. Level Partitioning. The fifth step involves extracting of
ing binary relationship is 0 for (𝑖, 𝑗) and is 1 for (𝑗, 𝑖). a hierarchical ordering from the reachability matrix by level
partitioning [59]. The reason for this step is to make easy
(iii) If the (𝑖, 𝑗) relationship in SSIM is 𝑋, the correspond- construction of the digraph from the reachability matrix.
ing binary relationship is 1 for both (𝑗, 𝑖) and (𝑖, 𝑗). From the final reachability matrix, the reachability and
(iv) If the (𝑖, 𝑗) relationship in SSIM is 𝑂, the correspond- antecedent sets for each success factor are established. The
ing binary relationship is 0 for both (𝑗, 𝑖) and (𝑖, 𝑗). level partition related to this research is shown in Table 4.

As the above rules, the initial reachability matrix is shown in 4.9. ISM Model. Based on final reachability matrix, the
Table 2. structural model is introduced as follows.
8 Mathematical Problems in Engineering

Table 3: Final reachability matrix.

Success factor S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15

S1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S3 1∗ 1∗ 0 0 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 0 0 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 0 1
S4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S6 1∗ 1∗ 0 0 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 0 0 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 0 1
S7 1 1 1∗ 0 1 1 1 1 1∗ 0 1 1 1 0 1∗
S8 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1∗
S9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S10 1∗ 1∗ 0 0 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 0 0 1∗ 1∗ 1∗ 0 1
S11 1 1 1∗ 0 1 1 1 1 1∗ 0 1 1 1 0 1∗
S12 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1∗
S13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S14 0 1∗ 0 0 1 0 0 1∗ 0 0 1 0 1∗ 0 1∗
S15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
∗
Entries are included to incorporate transitivity.

Table 4: Level partition.

Success factor Reachability set Antecedent set Intersection set Level

S10 7 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15 1 I
S14 9 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 13 II
S13 8 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15 2 II
S2 14 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 6 II
S12 4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15 12 II
S3 4, 7, 8, 10, 14 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15 3, 5, 11, 15 III
S9 4, 8, 9, 10, 14 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15 3, 5, 11, 15 III
S8 4, 8, 10 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15 3, 5, 11, 15 III
S4 4, 7, 8, 10, 14 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15 3, 5, 15 III
S5 1 3, 5, 11, 15 7 IV
S11 13 3, 5, 11, 15 9 IV
S1 2 3, 5, 11, 15 8 IV
S6 6 3, 5, 11, 15 14 V
S7 12 3, 5, 11, 15 4 VI
S15 10 3, 5, 11, 15 10 VI

If there is any interrelationship among the successes 𝑗 indicators are “stand-alone” ones in their impacts, which
and 𝑖, an arrow is used to show this relationship. The output ones do not hold true, and which ones generate secondary
result is named as “digraph.” With the replacing of nodes, and higher order impacts. Cross impact matrix multiplication
the “digraph” will convert to an ISM model. In Figure 3, we applied to classification (MICMAC) can be used as the
illustrated ISM model structure. As this ISM model, the 15 best tool to meet the purpose. Based on this research, all
success factors are categorized in six levels. In the top level, successes are categorized into four modules: independent,
two successes appear, which are “information quality and autonomous, linkage, and dependent. Also it is divided into
sharing (S10)” in minimum level, and economic benefits (S7) two main parts: dependence power and driver power, which
and “maintaining the environmental awareness of suppliers are given in Figure 5:
(S15)” are found as maximum level illustrated in Figure 6. (i) Success factors in autonomous quadrant: in this
section, successes do not have strong driving power
4.10. MICMAC Analysis. Based on dependence power and and also weak dependence. Usually they keep discon-
driving power matrix (Table 5), it is desirable to seek a nected from the system life cycle, but in some parts
method by which we can draw up the hierarchical relation- they have a few connections, which could be strong.
ship among them and also establish which of the myriad These types of success are appointed in quadrant I.
Mathematical Problems in Engineering 9

15
Independence success
Linkage success factors (III)
factors (IV)
14
(2), (3), (8), (11)
(6), (5), (13) 13 (7)

12 (12) (15)

11 (4) (1)

10
Deriving power

7
Autonomous success factors (I) Dependence success factors (II)
6

5 (9) (10)

3 (14)

1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Dependence power

Figure 5: MICMAC analysis towards implementing SSM, a case industry under study.

Information quality and

sharing (S10)

Measure and monitor the Pressure from non-

environmental practice of Strategic Fearlessness of
government organizations
suppliers (S14) planning (S2) failure (S12)
(NGOs) lobby (S13)

State government Firm’s competitiveness Scarcity of natural Societal issues

legalizations (S3) (S9) resources (S8) (S4)

Encouragement from Initiation and commitment of

State government legalizations (S11)
customers (S5) top management (S1)

Motivation of suppliers & vendors towards green practices (S6)

Problem in maintaining the environmental

Economic benefits (S7)
awareness of suppliers (S15)

Figure 6: ISM based model for success factors.

10 Mathematical Problems in Engineering

Table 5: Dependence power and driving power.

Success factor S4 S3 S5 S6 S11 S9 S13 S12 S15 S2 S8 S7 S14 S1 S10 Driver power
S1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
S11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
S2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
S5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
S12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
S3 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 8
S6 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8
S13 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 8
S4 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 8
S9 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 8
S10 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 8
S8 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 11
S14 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 11
S15 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 11
S7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 14
Dependence power 3 10 10 6 10 10 10 10 11 5 7 3 4 1 2

(ii) Success factors in dependent quadrant: this quadrant capabilities needed to achieve SSCM, as determined by the
includes the success which has weak driving power proposed drivers. During the production, customer service,
but in the other side has strong dependence power consumption, post-disposal disposition, and entire supply
and is represented in Section 2. chain, the local optimization of environmental factors will be
(iii) Success factors in linkage quadrant: in this section, considered [60].
the successes at the same time have strong driving Although industrial development in Iran is acceptable,
power and strong dependence. They are represented the consequences of this growth towards ecology should also
in Section 3. These successes are unstable and any be considered. Environmental issues are vital for industries,
reaction on them will make an impression on the and for both managers and executive engineers, implemen-
other successes. tation of SSCM is challenging. However, the establishment of
SSCM is not a simple job and it needs accurate analysis. The
(iv) Success factors in independent quadrant: in this output of this research demonstrates that Iranian industrial
section, the successes have enough strong driving top level managers have begun to arrange sustainability
power but very weak dependence power. These are concerns in sustainable development and environmental
placed in Section 4. science. But the point is not only that they are in the initial
phase but also that they have to get rid of the barriers step by
5. Discussions of Findings step.
The dependence and driving power demonstrate the 15
Our study has implications for SSCM managerial practice, in
success positions in 4 sections (Figure 5). The outcome of
terms of offering guidelines on those factors that managers
this research of success analysis with the ISM approach is
should pay attention to in order to adopt SSCM practices
presented as the following clarification:
in their organizations and supply chains. In particular, our
study underlines the role of institutional pressures on internal
(i) In autonomous success factors, just one success factor
pressures and commitment. Therefore, managers should be
S(9) appears in this section. Generally, autonomous
aware on how to “translate” these pressures into appropriate
successes are not strong drivers but are weak depen-
strategies and strategic collaboration with suppliers in order
dent and these success factors do not have much effect
to achieve sustainability. The role of green product design
on the approach. This graph shows that nearly all
as enabled by continuous improvement is important, and
successes play a significant role in the match on the
information needed for this purpose could be provided by
SSCM in electrical power supply industries.
appropriate information technologies. Logistics and ware-
housing should be also improved, and particular changes (ii) In dependent success factors area, there are two
in these operations will enable organizations and supply success factors S(10) and S(14). This section is men-
chains to become more environmentally friendly and will also tioned as dependent quadrant, and the success in
help them become economically viable and stable. Paying this section does not have strong driving power
attention to these drivers means acquiring and cultivating and also high dependence power. Considering the
particular employee skills; hence, this study proposes that information quality and sharing in industries will
managers should also attend to the different skills and drive power for these success factors [56] and also
Mathematical Problems in Engineering 11

high dependence power is indicated as the absence of SSCM practices. In second stage, we applied ISM and MIC-
corporative social obligation as a significant barrier MAC analysis to understand the relationships of 15 success
to the implementation of SSCM approach. These factors in the implementation of sustainable supply chain
point out that those industries are giving minimum management. It is impossible to reach all kinds of success;
attention to social issue and governmental regulation. therefore, companies need to know the most obtained success
So, in our research case, we need the government to factors based on their policy. This research summarizes the
build proper framework to draw special attention to data analysis of success factors and categorizes success factors
social responsibility for Iranian industries. Following with ISM and MICMAC support.
these points, the Iranian industries are not specially
In Figure 6, ISM diagram indicates the connection
motivated to social responsibility participation with-
between the success factors. There are six levels in this
out outside pressure [61].
diagram. One success factor drops in the first level, which is
(iii) Six success factors, S(1), S(2), S(3), S(8), S(11), and “information quality and sharing” (S10). This success factor is
B(15), fall in linkage success factors section. These less influential for the implementation of sustainable supply
success factors are organized into one group. Main-
chain management in electrical power supply industries. In
taining the environmental awareness of suppliers is
the middle levels, the four success factors appeared. In the
the main issue in this quadrant. The success factors
end, (S10) and (S15) that occur in the lower level play an
which are placed in this section have both strong
driving and at the same time strong dependence influential role in adopting sustainable supply chain manage-
power and they are unstable too. Any reaction on ment. Industries need to give more attention to these success
these successes will have an action on the other factors. The ISM outcome identifies the most significant
success and will also provide feedback. Also they success in electrical power supply industries which can easily
might agitate all system specifications [58, 62]. help to process for the implementation of sustainable supply
chain management.
(iv) S(4), S(5), S(6), S(7), S(12), and S(13) are given in
dependent success factors in section. These suc- Based on MICMAC analysis (Figure 5), one barrier (S6)
cess factors have a strong driving power but weak has been reported as autonomous. The success factor “firm’s
dependence power and this may be known as “key competitiveness” has little link to the system, with low
successes.” Among these success factors S(12) “fear- driving power and minimum dependency. It mentions that
lessness of failure” and S(7) “economic benefits” key variables are nominated as the success factor with a
are in top levels. The suppliers always are fighting very strong driving power. They are independent or linkage
to avoid recession in their workplace and practice criteria. We can call (S15) “problem in maintaining the
to implement the appropriate sustainability model, environmental awareness of suppliers” the high impact key
because they are faced with high investments and barrier, which also is dominated by (S1), (S2), (S3), (S8), and
low profit. Supply chain management contributes to (S11), respectively.
the overall accomplishment of a supply chain, and In this study we have not used a structured questionnaire
one poor supplier activity affects very quickly the to further test the framework. Instead we relied completely
performance of the whole chain [61]. S(5), S(6), and on a survey of the perceptions of experts for developing
S(13), “encouragement from customers,” “motivation the theoretical model, which alone may not be sufficient to
of suppliers and vendors towards green practices,” statistically test the framework, and this is a limitation of the
and “pressure from non-government organizations ISM method. For future research, a structured questionnaire
(NGOs) lobby,” are also in the same layers. Growing could be prepared and a survey must be conducted by
human skill in a company will supply goal attainment, targeting highly experienced supply chain professionals, who
being employee-oriented, and quality in productivity
embrace sustainability thinking in their operations to test
[59].
the framework. We believe that our study provides useful
thoughts for those who would like to further engage in theory
6. Conclusion building on the drivers of SSCM. In addition, Fuzzy ISM
In the era of globalization, industries are facing pressure to (FISM) [63, 64], which could be a progress over normal ISM,
greening their supply chain from intentional and domes- has been advised to expand ISM in fuzzy environment. It
tic levels. It is because the environmental concerns have could specify the several network structures in the principles
been gaining more attentions recently among organizations, and practices.
and an adequately significant number of factors related
to environmental and sustainable issues still need to be Conflicts of Interest
recognized from industrial viewpoints. In present work, we The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
make an attempt to recognize the major critical success
factors that facilitate successful implementation of SSCM Authors’ Contributions
practices towards sustainable development. At first, based
on systematic review (Section 2) we focused on some high Professor Jianqiu Zeng made precious editorial contributions
prestige scientific journals to investigate dominant success in to improving the presentation of this paper.
12 Mathematical Problems in Engineering

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Nature and Society
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Function Spaces
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Stochastic Analysis
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Optimization
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