Table 7.2 Characteristics of each segment in the sustainable suppliers segmentation model
Segment
Description
The performance of each dimension
Economic Social Environmental
Economic
Suppliers of the economic segment
focus on creating a profit-driven supply
chain and show no interest in other
social and environmental aspects.
These suppliers emphasize on longterm economic sustainability through
increasing market share and valueadded profits rather than short-term
profits (Björklund et al. 2012), creating
new markets and products (Kannan and
Tan 2002), improving quality (Wang
et al. 2009, 2015), reducing costs
through improved efficiency, reducing
energy and raw materials consumption
(Faisal et al. 2017)
High
Low
Low
Social
Suppliers in social segment focus on the
promotion of social justice. The actions
taken by these suppliers emphasize on
diversity in the workforce, human rights
requirements, and nondiscrimination of
the employees (ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and social background) and
employees’ health and safety that are
based on the standard quality of life
(Faisal et al. 2017; Marshall et al. 2015)
Low
High
Low
Environmental Environmental suppliers focus on the
efficient use of natural resources and the
reduction of waste, pollution, and
greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover,
these suppliers emphasize on the use of
renewable raw materials, the elimination of toxic substances, the reduction
of energy consumption, and the elimination of destructive waste, with the
goal of reducing the negative impacts of
raw materials on people’s health (Bai
and Sarkis 2010; Ortas et al. 2014)
Low
Low
High
Economicenvironmental
(viable)
In the economic-environmental segment, suppliers with environmental
achievement goals consider the economic aspect. Unnecessary costs reduce
through the efficient use of energy and
natural resources. These suppliers also
spend part of their income on providing
creative solutions to achieve economic
environmental goals. Suppliers of this
segment are also called viable
High
Low
High
(continued)
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129
Segment
Description
The performance of each dimension
Economic Social Environmental
Economic
Suppliers of the economic segment
focus on creating a profit-driven supply
chain and show no interest in other
social and environmental aspects.
These suppliers emphasize on longterm economic sustainability through
increasing market share and valueadded profits rather than short-term
profits (Björklund et al. 2012), creating
new markets and products (Kannan and
Tan 2002), improving quality (Wang
et al. 2009, 2015), reducing costs
through improved efficiency, reducing
energy and raw materials consumption
(Faisal et al. 2017)
High
Low
Low
Social
Suppliers in social segment focus on the
promotion of social justice. The actions
taken by these suppliers emphasize on
diversity in the workforce, human rights
requirements, and nondiscrimination of
the employees (ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and social background) and
employees’ health and safety that are
based on the standard quality of life
(Faisal et al. 2017; Marshall et al. 2015)
Low
High
Low
Environmental Environmental suppliers focus on the
efficient use of natural resources and the
reduction of waste, pollution, and
greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover,
these suppliers emphasize on the use of
renewable raw materials, the elimination of toxic substances, the reduction
of energy consumption, and the elimination of destructive waste, with the
goal of reducing the negative impacts of
raw materials on people’s health (Bai
and Sarkis 2010; Ortas et al. 2014)
Low
Low
High
Economicenvironmental
(viable)
In the economic-environmental segment, suppliers with environmental
achievement goals consider the economic aspect. Unnecessary costs reduce
through the efficient use of energy and
natural resources. These suppliers also
spend part of their income on providing
creative solutions to achieve economic
environmental goals. Suppliers of this
segment are also called viable
High
Low
High
(continued)
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