A peer-reviewed journal article by Professor Linda Hendry, along with co-authors Dr Maysara Sayed and Dr Marta Zorzini Bell, has been selected by the editorial team of Supply Chain Management: An International Journal as an Outstanding Paper in the 2018 Emerald Literati Awards. The article, entitled 'Institutional complexity and sustainable supply chain management practices', was chosen as a winner as “it is one of the most exceptional pieces of work the team has seen throughout 2017”.

The paper focuses on three tiers of the food supply chains of Universities, including: the customer/consumer tier; focal public sector UK universities; and private sector suppliers/contractors. The case study research design therefore enabled a comparison of factors influencing the private versus the public sector in their adoption of sustainability initiatives. Institutional theory was used as a theoretical lens through which to assess: the institutional pressures at play at each tier; the logics affecting their involvement in sustainability; and the overall complexity of these pressures and logics across the supply chain. In terms of practical implications, the study concludes that managers need to develop an understanding of the prevailing, often conflicting, logics and pressures at different tiers of the supply if they are to succeed in implementing sustainability initiatives.

Professor Linda Hendry said “We are all delighted to receive this award. Environmental and social sustainability are really important topics for organisations at present, and we hope that our research will be influential in aiding organisations and supply chain to address their sustainability agendas”.