Supply chain followership: the case of Tetra Pak’s recyclers in China
Supply chain followership: the case of Tetra Pak’s recyclers in China
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore an under-researched topic of supply chain followership (SCF) in the context of recycling chains. Design/methodology/approach: Following a multiple case study approach, the authors conducted interviews with Tetra Pak senior managers and recyclers who recycle used beverage cartons (UBCs) in China. Findings: Based on the dimensions of critical thinking and active engagement, the authors classify SCF into four types. Focal companies could evaluate their suppliers’ behaviours and followership types to initiate corresponding strategies to better manage their relationships. In addition, the authors found SCF to be a dynamic concept, which can be constantly evaluated. Originality/value: This study is one of the earliest efforts to empirically explore the concept of SCF. The paper extends the followership concept from an individual level to an organizational level in the recycling chain context and presents a useful concept of followership for companies seeking to manage their supply chain relationships.
Followership, Recycling chain, Supply chain, Supply chain followership
699-719
Gong, Yu
86c8d37a-744d-46ab-8b43-18447ccaf39c
Jia, Fu
0ce1dfc4-54f9-469a-81f8-9e55f9164770
Brown, Steve
223fc552-5505-4271-8ec8-5c91d14cdf9c
28 April 2023
Gong, Yu
86c8d37a-744d-46ab-8b43-18447ccaf39c
Jia, Fu
0ce1dfc4-54f9-469a-81f8-9e55f9164770
Brown, Steve
223fc552-5505-4271-8ec8-5c91d14cdf9c
Gong, Yu, Jia, Fu and Brown, Steve
(2023)
Supply chain followership: the case of Tetra Pak’s recyclers in China.
The International Journal of Logistics Management, 34 (3), .
(doi:10.1108/IJLM-03-2022-0144).
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore an under-researched topic of supply chain followership (SCF) in the context of recycling chains. Design/methodology/approach: Following a multiple case study approach, the authors conducted interviews with Tetra Pak senior managers and recyclers who recycle used beverage cartons (UBCs) in China. Findings: Based on the dimensions of critical thinking and active engagement, the authors classify SCF into four types. Focal companies could evaluate their suppliers’ behaviours and followership types to initiate corresponding strategies to better manage their relationships. In addition, the authors found SCF to be a dynamic concept, which can be constantly evaluated. Originality/value: This study is one of the earliest efforts to empirically explore the concept of SCF. The paper extends the followership concept from an individual level to an organizational level in the recycling chain context and presents a useful concept of followership for companies seeking to manage their supply chain relationships.
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TP SCF mian text 20221118 clean version final
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10-1108_IJLM-03-2022-0144
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Accepted/In Press date: 17 December 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 January 2023
Published date: 28 April 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The authors thank the Guest Editor Dr. Abraham Zhang, and the reviewers for a constructive and developmental review process. Sepcial thanks to all the interviewees including Angela Mou, Rendy Ren, Terry Long, Jiayu Wan, Guanxiong Tian, Jun Yang, and Zhenqi Guo.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Keywords:
Followership, Recycling chain, Supply chain, Supply chain followership
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 475201
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/475201
ISSN: 0957-4093
PURE UUID: 0b3cccc2-3be3-45f4-b096-dcf3e7aa0b88
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Date deposited: 14 Mar 2023 17:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:45
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Author:
Fu Jia
Author:
Steve Brown
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