Product chain collaboration for sustainability – A business case for life cycle management
Journal article, 2019

Life cycle management (LCM) is frequently described as a holistic sustainability perspective along the product chain. It has mainly been a company internal practice, however, recent developments reveal a new type of LCM, where companies collaborate in product chain specific initiatives. This raises questions concerning why corporations extend corporate LCM towards product chain LCM. Here, we explore rationales and challenges for corporations engaging in one such coalition: The Sustainable Transport Initiative. The study covers five companies in different product chain positions and practitioners in different corporate functions. The results show a broad range of rationales for engaging in product chain LCM, related both to self-interest and a shared interest in the product chain. The importance of the ‘business case’ both for the individual companies, and the product chain, is identified. The importance of sustainability managers, as actors as facilitators in discussions in-between managers from different corporate functions is also identified.

Life cycle management (LCM)

Rationales

Sustainable business

collaboration

Business case

Challenges

Author

Hanna Lindén

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Environmental Systems Analysis

Magnus Rosén

University of Gothenburg

Henrikke Baumann

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Environmental Systems Analysis

Business Strategy and the Environment

0964-4733 (ISSN) 1099-0836 (eISSN)

Vol. 28 8 1619-1631

Organisational Capabilities for Life Cycle Management

SKF (SKFUTC), 2011-01-08 -- 2017-08-31.

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Subject Categories

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Transport Systems and Logistics

Environmental Management

Business Administration

Environmental Sciences

DOI

10.1002/bse.2388

More information

Latest update

5/20/2020