Internal barriers

The overarching literature regarding sustainability barriers has confirmed that increased costs, limited resources (Alzawawi, 2014), lack of information and knowledge (Al Zaabi et al., 2013), lack of strategic

18 prioritization, and organizational factors (Oelze, 2017) are all major barriers to the implementation of SSCM practices. These and a host of other internal barriers identified in the literature can be classified as either financial barriers or strategic and structural barriers.

Financial barriers

Many studies have revealed that it is expensive to integrate sustainability in the supply chain (Alzawawi, 2014; Narimissa et al., 2019; Oelze, 2017). Implementing an SSCM strategy is likely to increase the cost of operations through the development of necessary supply chain infrastructure, systems, and processes (Sajjad et al., 2015). Furthermore, Oelze (2017) found that high implementation costs associated with sustainable supply chain management hinder organizations from focusing on sustainability. Thus, many organizations will struggle to initiate SSCM practices due to financial constraints (Sajjad et al., 2015). For the most part, the implementation of SSCM practices is expected to yield very few benefits in the short term. The implementation of SSCM practices therefore requires a long-term approach. Still, many organizations struggle with a long-term view of SSCM (Devaux et al., 2019; Esfahbodi, Zhang, & Watson, 2016). Studies have shown that many organizations may see SSCM practices as yet another cost, while they fail to see the potential benefits associated with it (Al Zaabi et al., 2013; Alzawawi, 2014).

Al Zaabi et al. (2013) revealed that the costs of environmentally friendly materials, parts, and products are a significant barrier to SSCM. This was also identified as a major barrier to SSCM implementation by Movahedipour et al. (2017). Furthermore, Al Zaabi et al. (2013) identified costs associated with hazardous waste disposal as a significant barrier to SSCM in some industries. A study done by Alzawawi (2014) concluded that 73% of respondents agree that higher costs are among the major obstacles to SSCM implementation (Alzawawi, 2014). However, (Ni & Sun, 2019) argues that increased cost can be avoided by implementing a more proactive SSCM approach. Hence, they recommend a strategy that involves working with supply-side and demand-side partners while delivering outcomes to create customer value (Ni & Sun, 2019).

Strategic and organizational barriers

Factors such as organizational strategy, size, structure, and incentive and reward systems can all influence the organization’s decision to adopt SSCM practices, and can in certain situations make it difficult for companies to implement SSCM effectively (Sajjad et al., 2020). There are also function-related issues that can hinder SSCM engagement, a lack of necessary management skills, sufficient training, knowledge, and incentives constitute internal barriers (Oelze, 2017).

A lack of strategic prioritization of sustainability issues, corporate structures, and processes are among the internal barriers organizations may encounter (Oelze, 2017). Al Zaabi et al. (2013) found that

19 discrepancies between short-term and long-term strategic goals can be a barrier to SSCM implementation. Oelze (2017) claims that a lack of certain corporate structures and processes hinders an organization’s ability to handle sustainability issues effectively. A centralized structure with a unified sustainable procurement policy will generally have an easier time executing and managing SSCM than an organization with a more fractured structure, divided divisions, and insufficient coordination (Sajjad et al., 2020). Company size is often one of the most important firm characteristics expected to influence the adoption of sustainable practices. Larger organizations are more likely to engage in SSCM (Tay et al., 2015), while smaller firms may struggle to engage in SSCM due to a lack of available resources (Oelze, 2017).

A lack of knowledge and information is frequently cited in the literature as a significant barrier to SSCM implementation (Al Zaabi et al., 2013; Alzawawi, 2014; Oelze, 2017; Sajjad et al., 2015). A lack of information and knowledge regarding sustainability issues increases the likelihood for organizations to keep the status quo. Insufficient knowledge and information could be related to laws and environmental management (Al Zaabi et al., 2013), or it could mean that employees, top management, and supply partners are not aware of the importance and benefits associated with the integration of sustainability practices (Alzawawi, 2014). Sajjad et al. (2015) showed that a lack of awareness, understanding and negative perceptions act as substantial internal barriers to SSCM implementation.

A lack of knowledge related to the measurement and assessment of social and environmental impact is also an important barrier to SSCM practices (Al Zaabi et al., 2013). Inadequate and inconsistent performance measures have been identified as barriers to SSCM implementation (Narayanan, Sridharan, & Ram Kumar, 2019). This is further supported by (Al Zaabi et al., 2013), who found that a lack of effective evaluation measures concerning sustainability can obstruct SSCM implementation.

Alzawawi (2014) found that 70% of employees agreed that a lack of knowledge and experience about sustainable development was a barrier. Comparably, 75% of employees admitted to facing major problems at the start of the implementation (Alzawawi, 2014).

Another significant barrier frequently mentioned is a lack of top management commitment (Al Zaabi et al., 2013; Alzawawi, 2014; Narayanan et al., 2019; Sajjad et al., 2020). Just like top management commitment can be a driver for SSCM, insufficient top management commitment can also hinder the implementation of SSCM practices (Alzawawi, 2014). Lacking leadership support can be attributed to negative sustainability perceptions (e.g., Sustainability practices increase business costs or lack of perceived benefits stemming from SSCM initiatives) (Sajjad et al., 2020). Negative perceptions and issues related to organizational culture can often make it difficult for management to introduce and implement SSCM practices (Sajjad et al., 2015). Al Zaabi et al. (2013) stated that many industries do not have a clear picture of the goals and benefits of sustainability. However, many organizations may

20 recognize the importance of a sustainable strategy but shy away from it due to a lack of management skills, experience, and essential tools to execute SSCM practices (Sajjad et al., 2015).

Previous research has also revealed that employees could potentially obstruct the adoption of SSCM practices (Al Zaabi et al., 2013). Alzawawi (2014) claim that employees are generally not informed and unaware of the importance of implementing sustainability practices in the supply chain. A lack of qualified personnel, training programs for employees, and resistance to change are considered considerable barriers to implementing SSCM practices (Al Zaabi et al., 2013). A lack of training was also identified as a big obstacle by Alzawawi (2014), where they revealed that 75% of the participants faced major difficulties during the initial phase of SSCM implementation. Thus, employees may need more motivation to work towards sustainability and eventually realize its importance (Alzawawi, 2014). In relation to this Al Zaabi et al. (2013) showed that a lack of motivation towards employees (incentives) could be a barrier to the implementation of SSCM. Incentives could be used to decrease the obstacles that organizations face, and incentives could be financial, ease of implementation, and recognition (Al Zaabi et al., 2013). On the other hand, Emamisaleh and Rahmani (2017) found that employee motivation has no direct effect on strategic sustainability orientation (Emamisaleh &

Rahmani, 2017).

This sub-chapter has examined the existing literature regarding internal barriers to SSCM. The identified literature shows that implementing SSCM practices is likely to increase costs and that financial constraints are a major barrier to the adoption of SSCM practices for many organizations.

Additionally, many suppliers appear to struggle with a long-term view of SSCM. Among the external barriers, a lack of information, negative perceptions, and top management commitment are frequently mentioned as significant barriers and are expected to impact the adoption of SSCM practices negatively. Organizational factors such as structure, size, and strategic prioritization could also affect how likely organizations are to engage in SSCM practices.