Manufacturing strategy: the missing link between sustainability in corporate strategy and sustainable production

Paper in proceeding, 2014

This paper provides insights into integration of sustainability into manufacturing strategy definition and implementation process. While literature argues that manufacturing strategy can be defined via top-down or bottom-up processes, and implementation is conducted via manufacturing improvement programs, companies struggle to successfully implement sustainability as a part of manufacturing strategy. Based on explorative multi case study research, the study shows that (i) the competitive priority choices are not the distinguishing factor whether sustainability is included in the manufacturing strategy, (ii) there is a mismatch between what firms think about sustainability and what they actually do.