Management innovation driving sustainable supply management

Although research in the area of sustainable supply management (SSM) has evolved over the past few decades, knowledge about the processes of emergence and innovation of SSM practices within organizations is surprisingly limited. These innovation processes are, however, important because of the considerable impact they may have on resulting sustainable practices and because of SSM's complex societal and intra-firm challenges. In a process study on management innovation, the sequences of SSM innovation processes in two exemplar case companies are studied to address: ‘What are the sequences through which SSM emerges within exemplar organizations?’, and ‘In what way do management innovation processes influence resulting SSM practices?’.

We build on literature regarding firstly management innovation and secondly communities and internal networks of practice. An SSM innovation model and propositions are developed, proposing how the process of management innovation affects SSM practices and firm performance in a broader perspective.