Internal barriers to SSCM

Internal barriers consist of two higher-order constructs, namely, financial barriers and organizational restrictions. These constructs are composed of multiple variables, and this sub-chapter examines the average importance that each variable has for adopting SSCM practices. The statistical data is presented in conjunction with relevant information and citations from the transcribed interview data.

Financial barriers

Prior studies have shown that increased costs are a major barrier to the adoption of SSCM practices.

This is reflected by our findings, where financial barriers are identified as the biggest obstacle. This barrier group has an average importance score of 4, making it the most important limitation by a rather large margin. Comparatively, the second most important barrier group is demand-side barriers, with a score of 2,99. Financial barriers consist of two variables, the cost of implementation and the cost of products/materials. The two variables have an equal mean score of importance, presented in Figure 13.

Figure 13: Financial barriers, presented in average

During the interviews, the informants emphasized that implementing sustainability practices often leads to increased costs.

«We cannot always produce a product in the most environmentally friendly way possible since it will often lead to higher costs because it is often more expensive to use recyclable materials.” - Retailer

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64 The informants also emphasize the importance of economic sustainability. It is highlighted that investing in sustainability initiatives must be profitable and that increased costs are not inconsequential just because something is linked to sustainability.

“We cannot use unlimited amounts of money because something is related to sustainability, it still has to be healthy and thoughtful investments.” - Retailer

“Many of the things that we can do today to become greener costs money. It requires time, money, and effort to invest in the latest technology, and such investments are not justifiable from a financial standpoint in some cases. We cannot spend significantly more money than our competition to save the planet” - Oil and Energy

Strategic and organizational barriers

Previous research suggests that numerous aspects of strategy and organizational factors influence organizations' decisions to adopt SSCM practices. The empirical data shows a rather large spread in importance for the variables that constitute strategic and organizational barriers. Combined, this barrier group is considered as the least influential, with an average importance score of 2,51. However, some variables are ranked significantly higher than that. The variables that constitute the construct strategic and organizational barriers are illustrated in Figure 14 with their mean importance score.

Figure 14: Strategic and organizational barriers, presented in average

As we can see from the bar chart, the importance of the variables varies from 2,11 to 3,28, where negative attitude and misconceptions are the least important variable, and capacity is the most important variable. The informants from the interviews indicated that top management might be hesitant to commit to sustainability initiatives since it will often require a longer-term approach.

0,00 0,50 1,00 1,50 2,00 2,50 3,00 3,50

Strategic and organizational barriers

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“Sustainability requires a great deal of patience, and it can be difficult to work with the necessary mindset in a results-oriented company.” - Retailer

“What hinders many corporations from taking the necessary actions is that many of the actions that are required to operate in a more sustainable way dictate that you have to abdicate short-term profit for a long-term advantage. That is something that can be difficult for top management to commit to and communicate to the owners and investors.” - Manufacturing

Furthermore, a few of the informants indicated that change could create friction among employees and that a lack of motivation among employees makes it challenging to implement the necessary measures. Additionally, the qualitative data indicates that there is a lack of incentive systems aimed towards increasing employee motivation for to the adoption SSCM practices.

“People sometimes need to be convinced that this is the right path for the future. And in some instances, the employees feel like we are turning our back on them when vi implement changes that affect them and force them to change with us. This is something that we struggle with, getting people to contribute to new areas.” - Oil and Energy

«We do not use incentives towards employees to increase sustainability as it is challenging to develop concrete and quantifiable goals related to sustainability performance.” - Retailer

From the interview data, it is also indicated that the size and structure of the organization increase complexity and bureaucracy, which makes it challenging to implement sustainability practices.

“We are a rather large organization with quite a few employees globally, this means that we cannot meet the consumers' expectations immediately. It takes time for us to adjust to the consumers’ needs and expectations, and cooperating with various actors and governments across many countries to find the right solutions is extremely challenging” - Retailer

The qualitative data demonstrates the importance of information and knowledge. All the informants emphasize that a lack of information and knowledge makes it challenging for them to determine the appropriate measures to ensure a sustainable operation. The qualitative data generally suggests that many struggles to determine what the long-term effects of specific measures are going to be.

«Sustainability is a very abstract concept, and it requires a great deal of competence to determine which measures that are actually effective. I think we would benefit from better competence to be able to think critically around which practices that are really going to make a difference and then focus on them.” - Retailer

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“Something that makes environmental issues challenging is that it is very difficult to formulate concrete goals and document what we are doing or not doing. It is hard to find answers that are good enough to make the well-informed and correct decisions.” - Manufacturing

Lastly, informants also expressed that a lack of information and knowledge, and capacity hinders them from implementing certain sustainability practices and reaching their sustainability goals.

“We have ambitious goals within sustainability, but we do not currently have all the tools that are needed to reach them.” - Retailer

“We definitely do not have all the necessary knowledge, and there is a lot of trial and error.” - Manufacturing