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Analysis of flexible decision strategies for

sustainability-focused green product recovery system
a b c
Sachin Mangla , Jitendra Madaan & Felix T.S. Chan
a
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , Indian Institute of Technology ,
Roorkee , India
b
Department of Management Studies (DMS) , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz
Khas , New Delhi , India
c
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering , The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University , Hong Kong
Published online: 23 May 2013.

To cite this article: Sachin Mangla , Jitendra Madaan & Felix T.S. Chan (2013) Analysis of flexible decision strategies for
sustainability-focused green product recovery system, International Journal of Production Research, 51:11, 3428-3442, DOI:
10.1080/00207543.2013.774493

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 International Journal of Production Research, 2013
Vol. 51, No. 11, 3428–3442, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2013.774493

Analysis of flexible decision strategies for sustainability-focused green product recovery system
Sachin Manglaa, Jitendra Madaanb and Felix T.S. Chanc*
a
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India; bDepartment of Management
Studies (DMS), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India; cDepartment of Industrial and Systems
Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
(Received 25 May 2012; final version received 2 February 2013)

Identifying and analysing key decision variables that an organisation can opt for in order to initiate resource recovery
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from return activities and improve overall performance is a challenge. Therefore, to assist organisations which are
involved in or about to initiate an effective recovery process, this paper provides guidelines to establish flexible decision
strategies using the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach. This study has identified interrelationships between
green variables such as supplier commitment, cost, regulations, etc. and has categorised relevant enablers. Further, vari-
ables such as capacity utilisation, customer satisfaction, energy consumption reduction, etc. are recognised as outcomes
or results. After statistically verifying these variables, it has been inferred that driving enablers aid in promoting
performance variables, while the result variables represent outcomes achieved via the driving variables. Further, using
MICMAC analysis, a graphical categorisation of the variables is done on the basis of the impact on performance. Later
prioritisation of variables having high driving power and low dependence is conducted. Inputs in the proposed model are
taken through a case study conducted in the paper industry. The proposed model can be quite helpful and can act as a
generic tool to achieve the desired performance improvement of green product recovery systems.
Keywords: green product recovery system (GPRS); interpretive structural modelling; sustainability; recovery process

1. Introduction
With recent developments and growing awareness in preserving the environment, manufacturing enterprises have begun
to concentrate on production methods and distribution channels to recapture the value of used products. Moreover, due
to the shortened life of products, modernisation, environmental considerations, collaboration and effective use of inputs
in supply chains are also becoming more important. Product and material flows in a world where various recovery oper-
ations are used also change considerably. Ilgin and Gupta (2010) state product recovery is an essential step in the broad
area of sustainable development and emphasise reducing waste in supply chains. Further, to manage solid wastes which
are otherwise dumped, the process of recapturing the value of products and materials by means of various re-operations
(including repair, recycling, remanufacturing and reuse of materials) is defined as product recovery (Gungor and Gupta
1999). Many countries have initialised certain rules and regulations or incentive programmes towards the controllable
disposition of solid and electronic waste (Callahan, Dunne, and Stanaback 1997). This example shows why, in recent
years, the rate of product recovery operations in the electronic industries has increased further, according to a survey
conducted in America, and the volume of goods recovered is expected to increase at an annual rate of 18%. Jayaraman,
Guide, and Srivastava (1999) and Guide, Kraus, and Srivastava (1997) demonstrated a product recovery system (PRS)
and explained various strategies in scheduling the life cycle of a product through reuse, remanufacturing, repair and
recycling.
Due to the above-stated environmental responsibilities, organisations are trying hard to successfully recover used
products to reduce their negative effects on the environment and gain economic benefits (Georgiadis and Vlachos 2004;
Cruz 2008). In general, operations anchored under a green product recovery system (GPRS) can be studied as the col-
lection of products from the ultimate users, later values accessed by sorting/inspection teams and finally, depending
upon the value to be captured, a suitable recovery process (e.g. repair, recycling etc.) is opted to encounter environmen-
tal concerns. However, it has also been stated that sustainable product development is strongly influenced by recovery
operations. In today’s world, a firm’s supply chain requires environmental consideration to compete under governmental
legislation, and changes include the introduction of sustainable methods and processes in design as well as in production

*Corresponding author. Email: mffchan@inet.polyu.edu.hk

Ó 2013 Taylor & Francis
 International Journal of Production Research 3429

(Bonney, Ratchev, and Moualek 2003; Chung and Wee 2008; Wadhwa, Madaan, and Chan 2009). In the present paper,
interesting findings about the paradigm shift in design and development in the paper sector is presented as shown in
Figure 1. Raw material constraints and stringent ecological regulations have made paper industries accommodate consid-
erable changes over time. Initially, wood was used as a raw material and the focus was on controlling toxic and green-
house emissions. In the late nineties, the recycling of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste was done just to
make a cleaner image of environmentally friendly processes. Later, due to the growth in environmental concerns and
the need to preserve natural resources, especially forests, it was realised that it is important to maintain an ecological
balance. This calls for stakeholder agreement to supply eco-friendly raw material and extended producer responsibility
towards green production. Enterprises started to concentrate on newer paper production and distribution methods to
recapture value from used paper as a substitute for sustainability. As of now, we are using innovating advancements in
information technology, i.e. e-tablets and smart phones, to reduce the consumption of paper and conserve the environ-
ment. In this paper, our focus is to best utilise available paper resources and channel their use and reuse in the most
effective and efficient way.
Interestingly, the recovery process is quite complex because of the unpredictability in terms of the quantity and qual-
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ity of the returns (Guide and van Wassenhove 2002). To effectively implement recovery operations, a thorough exami-
nation of various associated variables is required. This study examines and analyses the various variables for initiating
and implementing product recovery processes in Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM). In this work, we first
design and develop identified variables through statistical techniques and thereafter propose an interpretive structural
modelling (ISM)-based model to improve the overall performance of the system under study.

1.1. Green supply chain management and product recovery

In the present scenario, sustainability and green considerations have become essential for every organisation. To better
achieve sustainability, emphasise return processes and minimise environmental influences, there are a series of articles
that refer to green supply chains and hence GSCM.' The environmental and ecological concern in the supply chain,
from product design to the end of the life cycle for recovering value, is said to be the greening of supply chains (Sarkis
2003, 2006; Srivastava 2007). It focuses on conserving energy and preventing the disposal of dangerous materials into
the environment by eliminating or minimising the wastes within the industrial system (Bansal and Roth 2000; Shalishali,
Tseng, and David 2009). Also, the GSCM can be described as the combination of major elements of the operational life
cycle such as environmentally friendly procuring and purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, packaging and marketing,
and reverse logistics channels, reverse flow and return activities (Hervani, Helms, and Sarkis 2005). The purchasing of
materials that are easily disposed of, are recyclable, or are reusable, and the selection of vendors and suppliers are also
a crucial decision for any supply channel (Zhu, Dou, and Sarkis 2010). The greening of the supply chain is influenced
greatly by the manufacturing process, and the distribution of products and transportation channels also significantly
affect the implementation of GSCM (Vachon and Klassen 2006; Atasu, van Wassenhove, and Sarvary 2009). Reverse

Figure 1. Paradigm shift in design and development of paper segment.

 3430 S. Mangla et al.

logistics is the base of product recovery management, and it is the process of recapturing or recovering the value of the
products and proper disposal of used products as well (Carter and Ellram 1998; Rogers and Tibben 2001; Tsoulfas and
Pappis 2008).
Sheu (2008) explains that, along with the network for the logistics collection process, a number of systems and
recovery processes need to exist at the various stages in the reverse channel. Moreover, the requirements may vary with
the kind of product and organisation. Now, companies also realise and are thinking about the benefits such as value
maximisation and competitive edge via applying green considerations in the supply chain (Zhu, Sarkis, and Lai 2008,
2011; Subramanian, Talbot, and Gupta 2010). More interestingly, if recovery activities are managed efficiently, it is a
long-term investment and results in promising future benefits.
The research methodology along with a definition of the problem and the design and development of data is
described in Section 2. The use of ISM as a multi-objective decision-making tool and model development is explained
in Section 3. The final Section 4, comprises discussion and conclusions and possibilities for future work.
2. Identification of variables for green recovery process
An organisation engaged in the manufacturing of various kinds of paper in northern India was used for the case study.
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It produces various kinds of writing and printing paper as well as kraft paper. The kraft paper is extensively used to ful-
fil various types of packaging requirements, has high tensile strength and can sustain heavy loads while, on the other
hand, writing and printing paper has less strength and is used for multiple purposes. The finished product is shipped
through a channel of distributors. However, increasing environmental awareness, regulations and competitiveness
demand. enterprise focus on and implementation of green recovery activities. Here, the focus is on a sustainable and
green supply chain involving a product recovery process, and consists of the following order: supply of raw material,
paper production, packaging and distribution of products, ultimate users within the forward channel, handling and col-
lection of used products, and inspection and sorting operations for the recovery process within the reverse channel (see
Figure 2). Interestingly, the sustainable and green focused supply chain may be described as a combination of both for-
ward and reverse channel operations and is responsible for management at the end of the life of the product considering
environmental issues at each operation. With concern for environmental issues, the recovery process may be initiated by
any suitable process such as remanufacturing, recycling, repair, reconfiguring, reprocessing, etc. but we focus on recy-
cling in this work. It is one of the most widely used recovery strategies and is significant for the purpose of managing
waste over many years (Gungor and Gupta 1999). Waste papers like magazines, newspapers, jute bags and corrugated
boxes are recycled and used as raw material for further production. Precisely, recycling denotes material recovery with-
out conserving any product structures. Figure 2 shows the recovery of products as well as components while disposing
the waste in an eco-friendly manner.

Figure 2. Sustainable and green focused supply chain for product recovery.
 International Journal of Production Research 3431

Table 1. List of performance focused enablers in GPRS.

Serial. No. Enablers Sources

1 Supplier commitment
2 Cost
3 Regulations
4 Environmental issues
5 Industry-specific barriers
6 Market edge
7 Customer redundancy
Zhu and Sarkis (2010), Zhu, Sarkis, and Lai (2008), Vachon and Klassen (2008)
Carter, Ellram, and Kathryn (1998)
Green, Morton, and New (1998), Beamon (2005), Walker, Di Sisto, and McBain (2008)
Hall (2000), Srivastava (2007)
Wei (2004), Srivastava (2007)
Georgiadis and Vlachos (2004)
Wells and Seitz (2005)

It is also noted that, in comparison with forward channels, the recovery channels are more complicated because
return flows in the form of products and materials may enter from several return points. The identification and design of
the major variables considered in this study are explained below.
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2.1 Categorisation of green variables

The observed data is obtained through responses from managers in the Indian pulp and paper industries. To collect
responses, we targeted middle or higher management-level skills and knowledge in managing supply chains, decision-
making and information applications. The targeted respondents in this study are also supported by Carter, Ellram, and
Kathryn (1998) and Bowen et al. (2001), demonstrating the importance of mid-level managers in decision making. The
response covered the effectiveness and importance of the considered variables which affects the implementation of
recovery activities with the objective of improving the overall performance of the GPRS. Further, replies were collected
and categorised on a seven-point Likert scale (e.g. 1 = extremely unimportant, 2 = unimportant, 3 = slightly unimpor-
tant, 4 = neutral, 5 = slightly important, 6 = important, 7 = extremely important).
Sometimes, questions may lead to confusion and misunderstanding (Synodinos 2003), so a pre-test was conducted and
the questionnaire was further modified to make it more consistent. In addition, supplemented data on the pulp and paper
industries was obtained from Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) and Indian Agro & Recycled Paper Mills
Association (IARPMA). The questionnaire was sent to more than 450 registered organisation representatives and 146
responses were received. The response rate was above 30% which is sufficient for our purposes (Malhotra and Grover
1998). For conformity, we applied descriptive and kappa statistics to initially check the effectiveness and quality of consid-
ered variables and thereafter the consistency between the experts’ or raters’ judgments. However, after reviewing the litera-
ture and the opinion of the experts targeted, 14 important performance-focused variables of GPRS have been identified and
are listed in Tables 1 and 2and below:
Cronbach’s alpha, a test for reliability, was 0.929 (if α > .70, it is reliable) which significantly shows the effectiveness
and validity of the considered variables (see Table 3). Further, the mean and standard deviation for each variable are calcu-
lated and are listed in Table 4 as shown below. However, some variables such as performance and effectiveness, cost, sup-
plier commitment and industry-specific barriers have greater mean values in comparison to the others, which shows the

Table 2. List of results/outcome in GPRS.

S. No. Results Sources

8 Green products Zhu, Sarkis, and Lai (2008), Zhu and Sarkis (2006)
9 Capacity utilisation Dimitrios, Patroklos, and Eleftherios (2006)
10 Customer satisfaction Zhu, Sarkis, and Lai (2008), Vachon and Klassen (2008)
11 Environmental benefits Green, Morton, and New (1998)
12 Energy consumption reduction Rao and Holt (2005), Paulraj (2009)
13 Processing time Fleischmann et al. (2001)
14 Productivity and effectiveness Hall (2000), Dimitrios, Patroklos, and Eleftherios (2006)

Table 3. Reliability statistics for the considered variables.

Cronbach’s alpha (α) Cronbach’s alpha based on standardised items No. of items (variables)

0.929 0.928 14
 3432 S. Mangla et al.

Table 4. Item statistics for the 14 variables (when N = 146).

S. No. Variable description Mean Std. deviation

1 Supplier commitment 4.6164 1.23322

2 Cost 4.6575 1.39179
3 Regulations 4.8219 1.28484
4 Environmental issue 4.4384 1.34919
5 Customer satisfaction 4.7123 1.43339
6 Industry-specific barriers 4.5205 1.53227
7 Capacity utilisation 4.3356 1.36598
8 Green products 4.5479 1.27621
9 Processing time 4.3219 1.31797
10 Environmental benefits 4.3288 1.15734
11 Energy consumption reduction 4.2123 1.21035
12 Market edge 4.2945 1.02498
13 Customer redundancy 4.4658 1.30867
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14 Productivity and effectiveness 4.7123 1.23153

importance of these variables in initiating and implementing the recovery process in sustainable and green focused supply
chains.
Generally, the rationale part of any model is complex because it doesn’t solely depend on a particular technique and
could be of a logical, structural, conceptual, operational or data type. For classification systems that produce categorical
results, such as the name of a medicine or defect, or categorical measures, such as poor, bad, good, etc., some categori-
cal scales were initially used to determine the consistency between the raters or experts. The consistency measures
proved to be a significant tool when the system and result outcomes were the same, or an expert/rater considered them
as two independent bodies. The consistency measures are discussed and explained in detail by Fleiss (1971, 1981) and
this case also uses the same measures. In 1960, Cohen developed kappa statistics to determine the consistency measure
for a single category. The statistics measure, known as the weighted kappa, measures the consistency among judgments
across all categories and was also given by Cohen (1968). The Cohen kappa can apply only when we want to assess
the agreement between two raters, and for more than two experts or raters the Fleiss kappa is used. This statistical index
provides access to measure the degree of agreement among a numbers of experts who participated in the session.
The kappa (k), may be defined as an index of an exact and true consensus assessment; it shows quantitatively rated
agreement rather than that anticipated by chance; and it is given as the ratio of difference of observed theoretical and
chance agreement to the beyond by chance agreement and is written as below:

observed theoretoical agreement  chance agreement P  Pe

k¼ ¼ : (1)
1  chance agreement 1  Pe

2.2 Analysis of green variables

In general, the total number of identified variables to be considered from the previous section is represented by N, the
number of ratings or judgments given by experts per variables is denoted by n, and the categories, i.e. environmental,
customer, economic, value, etc. used to make judgments are denoted and subjects are further categorised into j = 1... m
and i = 1... N, respectively. Initially, the percentage of all assignments made to the jth category is calculated as pj and is
given below:

1 XN
1X k
pj ¼ nij ; 1¼ nij (2)
N j1 n j1

Later we calculate Pi ; the degree to which raters or experts involved in a judgment agree for the ith subject, and the
equations used to calculate their values are given below:
 International Journal of Production Research 3433

1 Xm
1 X
k
pi ¼ (nij  1) ¼ (n2ij  nij ) (3)
n(n  1) j1 n(n  1) j1

Then, compute P and Pe , which are the averages of the Pi value, and the summation of the squares of all pj . The
equations are given below:

1 Xm
p¼ p (4)
N j¼1 i

X
k
pe ¼ p2j (5)
j¼1
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For the presented case calculation, the values of n, K and N are considered as 20, 5 and 14, respectively. Next, the
subjects are represented by rows, while the categories are represented by columns, as shown in Table 5. The filled num-
bers in each cell represent the number of experts or raters who agreed that a particular subject or variable belongs to a
particular category. The five categories are classified below:
A = environmental perspective; B = customer perspective; C = economic perspective; D = supplier and stakeholder
value perspective and E = organisational value addition.

(0:3778  0:203)
k¼ ¼ :174=:79 ¼ :221 (6)
1  :203

Now, to interpret the significance of the final overall kappa statistics, Landis and Koch (1977) provide a scale by
which to measure the strength of agreement between different raters (see Table 6).'
In this case, the overall kappa (K) value comes out at 0.221. Therefore signifying that the conformity among the 20
raters in analysing and categorising the identified 14 variables associated with the PRS under study is reasonable. Fur-
thermore, in case the considered number of people or experts assigns numerical ratings to consider the variables and

Table 5. A summary of 20 experts evaluating 14 variables.

S. No. A B C D E pi

1 1 0 0 19 0 .90
2 2 0 16 0 2 .642
3 15 2 0 2 1 .563
4 12 2 2 2 2 .368
5 2 10 2 0 6 .326
6 4 0 3 6 7 .236
7 2 0 8 0 10 .389
8 6 5 3 1 5 .20
9 3 6 2 4 5 .184
10 5 5 2 3 5 .179
11 4 8 4 2 2 .221
12 0 3 2 3 12 .384
13 1 2 13 1 3 .431
14 2 6 5 0 7 .247

Table 6. A Scale to interpret strength of kappa statistics.

Kappa statistics values <0 0.1 – 0.20 0.21 – 0.40 0.41 – 0.60 0.61 – 0.80 0.81 – 1.00

Interpretation for the kappa Poor Slight Fair Moderate Substantial Almost perfect
values consensus consensus consensus consensus consensus consensus
 3434 S. Mangla et al.

items, kappa provides a fair amount of agreement to check the consistency among the ratings. Now, for the organisa-
tional perspective and decision making, these statistically confirmed variables are required to be further analysed. We
have used ISM methodology, a qualitative measure, to study the interactions among variables. This leads to proposing a
model, with further details below.

3. Flexible multi-objective decision modelling

In this section, we explain the rationale and importance of the flexible multi-objective decision modelling approach
using ISM methodology. Dynamic issues that involve human factors and decision making become complex when multi-
ple criteria are available, therefore flexible decision making is required. Further, these types of flexible decision making
can be stated under either multi-objective decision making (MODM) or multi-attribute decision making (MADM). The
MADM procedure is discrete and can be applied when there are limited or finite numbers of predetermined alternatives
as available (Yoon and Hwang 1985). These methods involve both intra and inter variable comparisons, and the results
show how the considered variables should be processed to achieve the desired objective (Ravi, Shankar, and Tiwari
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2005). MODM is continuous and involves a large number of choices of variables and prioritises them in order of their
relative importance. In this paper, 14 variables are identified for the GPRS and are studied to analyse the inter-relation-
ships using a flexible modelling approach like ISM.
Interpretive structural modelling can be taken as an interactive learning procedure in which a set of directly and indi-
rectly linked elements are structured into an inclusive systemic model (Warfield 1974; Sage 1977).The method is inter-
pretive since the judgment and opinion of the experts decide the inter-relationships among variables (Ravi and Shankar
2005). Primarily, ISM is proposed as a group knowledge process, but it can also be used single-handedly. An edge by
ISM is that it transforms complex and feebly sketched problems/models into clear, realistic and definite solutions. As
explained above, ISM can be used effectively to draw and analyse the interactions/interrelationships among the elements
involved in a system. Besides this, an application of ISM in studying the various barriers and the development of a
model for investment for a city was explained by Malone (1975), and Kannan and Haq (2007) applied this methodology
to describe the importance of various criteria and sub-criteria to select an appropriate supplier. Whereas, carefully utilis-
ing graphics as well as words, the developed model depicts the structure of a particular problem. In this work, we focus
on improving the performance and effectiveness of a recovery process in a GPRS. Diabat and Kannan (2011) explain
that the productivity and effectiveness of an organisation depend upon a number of variables, and from the management
point of view, the final developed model should include key variables needed to focus on the desired objectives. Further,
the ISM process suits such situations and extracts a comprehensive model for the system on the basis of the interaction
between the variables. Here, the ISM method is used, accomplishing the following broad objectives:

(1) Deriving the interactions among the variables for the case.
(2) Classifying the variables on the basis of the respective driving impact and dependence power.
(3) Arising managerial implications of the study.

There are certain variables linked with the considered system that have inter-relationships, and by knowing those
relationships, an ISM-based model for a system may be sketched. Briefly, ISM demonstrates a modelling method to ana-
lyse the detailed interactions among the considered variables, whereas the general structure of a system/problem is
depicted through a digraph model.

3.1 ISM methodology

The development of the methodology and necessary details of the ISM model is described in this sub section. Figure 3
depicts the flow chart for the implementation of the ISM-based modelling process. As every process needs certain oper-
ations and techniques to be firmly executed, the same case applies with the ISM methodology.
Kannan et al. (2008) demonstrated the various steps involved in ISM methodology. Step 1: Identify and enlist
the variables to make a decision to initiate and implement recovery activities in GPRS. Step 2: Establish and ana-
lyse the contextual relationship between each pair of green variables identified. Step 3: Develop a structural self-
interaction matrix (SSIM) depicting pairwise interactions between variables of the GPRS. Step 4: Develop an initial
reachability matrix on the basis of SSIM which further checks transitivity relations between variables. According to
this transitivity rule, if a variable X is linked to Y, and Y is linked to Z, then X is necessarily linked to Z. There-
after develop final reachability matrix from initial one. Step 5: Partition the reachability matrix into different levels
 International Journal of Production Research 3435
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Figure 3. Representation of flow diagram for ISM methodology.

of hierarchy. Step 6: Sketch a directed graph from the reachability matrix followed by removing the transitivity
interactions. Step 7: Build a final ISM model from the resulting digraph after substituting the variable nodes with
statements. Step 8: Review the proposed ISM model for conceptual irregularity, and call for necessary modifica-
tions.
Now, we use the ISM to propose a model for this case. A detailed description of the steps in using the ISM method-
ology stated above is given in the following sub-sections.

3.2 Identification and development of contextual relationship among green variables

The identification and design of the considered variables have already been explained above. In this paper, the identified
14 variables are categorised into enablers and result in outcomes to implement the recovery process. The enablers act as
drivers to enhance the implementation of recovery activities in GPRS while the outcome variables represent the final

Table 7. Development of structural self-interaction matrix.

S. No. Variables 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 Supplier commitment V O V O V O V O V O A A A
2 Cost V V V O O V V V V V A O
3 Regulations V V V V O V V O O O A
4 Environmental issues V V V V V V V V V V
5 Customer satisfaction V O V O A O O O O
6 Industry-specific barriers V V O O O O A V
7 Capacity utilisation V O V A A O A
8 Green products V O V A V V
9 Processing time V O V O V
10 Environmental benefits V O V A
11 Energy consumption reduction V O O
12 Market edge V O
13 Customer redundancy V
14 Productivity and effectiveness
 3436 S. Mangla et al.

Table 8. Development of initial reachability matrix.

S. No. Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1 Supplier commitment 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
2 Cost 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
3 Regulations 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1
4 Environmental issues 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
5 Customer satisfaction 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
6 Industry-specific barriers 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
7 Capacity utilisation 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
8 Green products 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
9 Processing time 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
10 Environmental benefits 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
11 Energy consumption reduction 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
12 Market edge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
13 Customer redundancy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
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14 Productivity and effectiveness 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

outcome in terms of the productivity and effectiveness of the system. The interpretive structural modelling is initiated
with the identification of variables followed by analysing and summarising the contextual relationships to make a deci-
sion.
On the basis of the contextual relationship, we developed a structural self-interaction matrix as shown in Table 7.
This matrix represents the pairwise interaction between the variables affecting the returning and recovery initiatives for
the system under study. Next, a detailed description of the various symbols used to represent the directions of the inter-
action among the variables is given as below:
If the variables under consideration are denoted as i and j, subsequently V means that variable i will aid in the direc-
tion of variable j, and A means variable j will aid in the direction of variable i. X means that both variables i and j will
aid in the direction of each other and, finally, O means that the variables i and j are not related to each other. Further-
more, the subsequent statements demonstrate the use of symbols V, A, X and O in the SSIM matrix.

• Environmental issue variables will help to achieve environmental benefit variables (V).
• Environmental benefit variables will be achieved by energy consumption reduction variables (A);
• Energy consumption reduction variables and processing time variables are unrelated to each other (O).

Table 8 depicts the reachability matrix derived using the SSIM on the basis of certain rules as described below:

• The (i, j) and (j, i) entry as 1 and 0 in the reachability matrix correspond to the (i, j) entry V in the SSIM;
• The (i, j) and (j, i) entry as 0 and 1 in the reachability matrix correspond to the (i, j) entry A in the SSIM;
• The (i, j) and the (j, i) entry as 1 and 1 in the reachability matrix correspond to the (i, j) entry X in the SSIM;
• The (i, j) and the (j, i) entry as 0 and 0 in the reachability matrix correspond to the (i, j) entry O in the SSIM.

Now, after determining the driving impact and dependence power of the variables, we derive the final reachability
matrix from the already constructed initial reachability matrix, as shown in Table 9.

3.3 Level partitioning of reachability matrix

In this step, the developed reachability matrix is further partitioned into different levels, as shown in Table 10. The 14
identified variables are categorised into various levels, from level 1 to level 14, on the basis of their driving impact and
dependence power. The variables with high driving impact and low dependence power are positioned at low level vari-
ables and vice versa. The identified level helps in structuring the digraph and final ISM-based model. In addition, the
antecedent and reachability set are also described for each variable. The antecedent set is categorised as a combination
of its own variables and other identified variables that might aid in achieving it. The reachability set is categorised as a
combination of its own variables and the other identified variables which that variable might aid in achieving.
 International Journal of Production Research 3437

Table 9. Development of final reachability matrix.

S. No. Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Driving impact power

1 Supplier commitment 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 6
2 Cost 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 10
3 Regulations 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 8
4 Environmental issues 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 14
5 Customer satisfaction 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3
6 Industry-specific barriers 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4
7 Capacity utilisation 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3
8 Green products 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 7
9 Processing time 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 4
10 Environmental benefits 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 5
11 Energy consumption reduction 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 5
12 Market edge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2
13 Customer redundancy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
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14 Productivity and effectiveness 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Net Dependence power 4 2 2 1 4 5 7 6 5 6 3 10 5 14

Table 10. Level partition of variables – Iteration 1.

Variables Reachability set Antecedent set Intersection set Level

1 1,6,8,10,12,14 1,2,3,4 1 Level 11

2 1,2,5,6,7,8,9,12,13,14 2,4 2 Level 13
3 1,3,8,9,11,12,13,14 3,4 3 Level 12
4 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 4 4 Level 14
5 5,12,14 2,4,5,10 5 Level 4
6 6,7,13,14 1,2,4,6,8 6 Level 7
7 7,12,14 2,4,6,7,8,10,11 7 Level 5
8 6,7,8,9,10,12,14 1,2,3,4,8,11 8 Level 9
9 9,10,12,14 2,3,4,8,9 9 Level 8
10 5,7,10,12,14 1,4,8,9,10,11 10 Level 6
11 7,8,10,11,14 3,4,11 11 Level 10
12 12,14 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,12 12 Level 2
13 13,14 2,3,4,6,13 13 Level 3
14 14 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 14 Level 1

Furthermore, the intersection set for the antecedent and reachability set are also determined for each variable. Now, if
the antecedent and intersection sets are the same for any variables assigned as a low-level variables, and if the reachabil-
ity and intersection sets are then assigned as top-level variables (Warfield 1974), to reduce redundancy the top-level
positioned variables are eliminated from the overall list of variables. Further, Table 10 depicts that productivity and
effectiveness (variable 14) occupy level 1 and are so positioned at the apex of ISM hierarchy. For iteration 1, the pro-
ductivity and effectiveness variable is found to have the same reachability and intersection sets, and so qualifies to hold
level 1. The iterations get repeated to determine the levels of each variable. As there are no common variables in the
intersection set other than the considered variable itself, iteration 1 is sufficient to build an ISM model for the variables
associated with GPRS.

3.4 Formation of ISM model

After the formation of the final reachability matrix and the level portioning exercise, a digraph is drawn to show the
transitivity relations between the variables. After removing these transitivities among the variables, the digraph is trans-
formed into the ISM-based model. This preliminary model' does not consider transitivity relations between variables,
therefore an ISM-based model is framed after partitioning their levels. The proposed ISM model is sketched as shown
 3438 S. Mangla et al.
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Figure 4. Proposed ISM model for the GPRS.

in Figure 4, and depicts the contribution of the environmental issue (variable 4) and forms the base of the ISM hierar-
chy to implement the returning process in GPRS. The ISM hierarchy describes a relationship of various variables in
order of their preference while moving from level 14 (environmental issue) towards the desired outcome level 1 (pro-
ductivity and effectiveness). In addition, the ISM hierarchy infers that a variable positioned at a certain level does not
help to achieve any other variable above its own level.
Productivity and effectiveness (variable 14) appear at the top of the hierarchy and is the desired outcome that repre-
sents the successful implementation of the recovery and returning operations in GPRS. The government policies and
environmental issues (variable 3), and the consideration of cost (variable 2) insist on the effective implementation of
return and collection regulations (variable 3) to enhance the recovery process. Also, the economical aspect variable leads
to relationships with the suppliers and their commitment (variable 1) to implement recovery operations with an eye on
the overall cost of the process. The regulations lead to eco-friendly products and designs to reduce the consumption of
energy (variable 11) and the supplier’s commitment (variable 1) for implementing a successful product recovery and
return process. The commitment of vendors and suppliers in supplying environmental materials has vertical interaction
and leads to green products (variable 8). Further this green product variable leads to processing time (variable 9)
required for completion of the process and industry-specific barriers (variable 6) associated with it. These industry-spe-
cific barriers lead to capacity utilisation decisions within a system. The processing time (variable 9) leads to ecological
and environmental benefits (variable 10) generated after implementing a recovery process. These environmental benefits
(variable 10) in turn result in customer satisfaction (variable 5) which finally yields a competitive market edge (variable
12) for the system under study in comparisons to competitors. However, in some cases, customers don’t want to change
their taste to new environmentally concerned products which have been marked as customer redundancy (variable 13),
resulting in collective action of environmental benefits (variable 10), industry-specific barriers (variable 2) and capacity
utilisation (variable 7) effectiveness in a system. Productivity and effectiveness (variable 14) lie at the top of the hierar-
chy, which is the desired outcome. The market edge and customer redundancy together increase the productivity and
effectiveness of the recovery processes.

3.5 MICMAC analysis

The driving impact and dependence influence of the variables are analysed through microscopic-macroscopic
(MICMAC) analysis. The dependence power of the variables shows degree of dependency over other variables, whereas
 International Journal of Production Research 3439

Figure 5. Driving impact and dependence influence diagram for GPRS.

the driving impact power shows the influence of the variables to achieve the desired objectives. The final reachability
matrix depicts the net driving impact and dependence power of the variables. The variables such as environmental issue,
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cost, regulations and supplier commitment have higher driving impact power than other variables which illustrate their
importance in achieving final outcome variables. The variables, such as productivity and effectiveness, market edge,
capacity utilisation and environmental benefits, have high dependence power and dependency on other variables to
achieve them. In addition, variables such as green products, environment issues, regulations, energy consumption reduc-
tion and environmental benefits are crucial for the return and recovery perspective. However, initiating and implement-
ing the return and recovery process is complex due to uncertainties in regulations, economic aspects and customer
behaviour toward GPRS. This complexity reduction and cumulative behaviour can well be estimated via understanding
of the relative significance of the variables in terms of mutual driving and dependency. As explained, the case study
identified 14 variables, categorised into four sectors, as shown in Figure 5.
Further, Figure 5 depicts that sector 1 consists of variables that have weak driving as well as dependence impacts
over other variables, categorised as ‘autonomous elements’. Sector 2 is composed of variables that have weak driving
along with strong dependence impact powers over other variables, categorised as ‘dependent elements’. However, sector
3 is composed of variables with both strong driving and dependence impact powers, termed as ‘linkage elements’. These
variables are highly unstable and sensitive by nature. Therefore, a stable system should have fewer of these variables as
linkage elements. Furthermore, in the case study, none of these variables have been found in sector 3 and hence all
identified variables are stable.
Sector 4 consists of variables that have strong driving but weak dependence powers and may be categorised as inde-
pendent elements (Kannan and Haq 2007). These variables have strong driving power, i.e. they strongly affect other sec-
tor variables, and weak dependence power, i.e. they don’t much depend on other sector variables.' These variables need
great focus to achieve the desired outcome and result variables, which appear at the apex of the ISM-based hierarchy.
However, the impacts of the variables, shortened life cycles of products and environmental consciousness, collaboration
and smart use of resources in various processes are becoming more important. Today, every organisational supply net-
work aims to satisfy customer needs as well as to improve their ecological and economic performance. With government
pressure and customer awareness, products should be eco-friendly and at the end of the product life should be returned
to regain their value again. If reuse of the products is not possible, at least the products should be properly disposed of
in an eco-friendly manner. Reverse logistics and sustainable development is thus becoming essential in today’s supply
chain.

4. Discussions and conclusion

In this work, a GPRS influenced by various variables has been studied in order to improve the performance and effec-
tiveness of return and recovery operations, to recapture the value of used products with the help of an ISM-based
model.
The research emphasis is on the importance and implementation of the recovery process in a case study along with
sketching the inter-relationships among the associated variables. It gives a hierarchy of actions on the basis of driving
and dependence power to implement the recovery process successfully in terms of high productivity and performance.
The proposed ISM model can help top management to plan sets of specific actions to conduct product recovery opera-
tions along with the maximisation of market share. The developed driving-power-dependence matrix, as shown in Fig-
ure 5, provides a clear illustration of the relative importance of the variables. Furthermore, the study also raises certain
managerial implications in the recovery process:
 3440 S. Mangla et al.

• Environmental benefits, processing time, capacity utilisation, customer redundancy, industry-specific barriers,
energy consumption reduction and customer satisfaction are categorised as autonomous variables for improving
the performance and effectiveness of the GPRS. These sector variables have little importance because of their
weak driving impact and dependence powers. Further, they do not have much influence on the other sector
variables.
• The variables listed under sector 2, i.e. market edge and productivity and effectiveness variables, have little
driving tendency but strong dependency on other variables, such as environmental benefits, cost, regulations,
green products, processing time, capacity utilisation, customer redundancy, industry-specific barriers, supplier
commitment, energy consumption reduction and customer satisfaction. Finally, productivity and effectiveness
and market edge variables are positioned at the first level in the ISM hierarchy. These variables denote that the
desired outcomes/results of the study need high attention to implement returning activities in a sustainable and
green focused supply chain.
• One more categorisation of the variables (sector 3), i.e. having strong driving as well as dependence powers, is
called unstable/linkage elements. Within a system, any action on these sector variables has strong dependence
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and great impact on other sector variables. In the case study, no variable is found to be unstable.
• The independent variables of the GPRS, such as environmental issues, supplier commitment, cost, green prod-
ucts and regulations occupied lower levels in the developed ISM model. These variables have strong driving
impact power, i.e. they strongly affect other sector variables, and have weak dependence power, i.e. don’t much
depend on other sector variables. These sector variables form the base of the ISM hierarchy that focus on
desired objectives. Summarising, there must be some planning and strategy towards effective allocation of the
independent variables which helps in the successful implementation of the recovery process.

As stated earlier, the increasing environmental consciousness and awareness will force the introduction of new laws
and policies, which further drives business decisions in a new competitive world. In the case study, the proposed model
may be used to obtain estimates on system performance for specific recovery process policies. Importantly, the proposed
model may be proven as an investigational tool, which with the proper selection of various variables may help to ana-
lyse and answer questions about the implementation of reprocessing activities in the long-term operation of sustainable
and green focused supply chains. However, in the context of other segments of the manufacturing industries, the ISM
model can be used and developed but would slightly differ in the judgments of experts regarding the inter-relationships
between the variables. The model can be adopted and used not only to recover components but materials as well. There-
fore, the model may prove useful to policy and decision makers dealing with the management of return and recovery
processes in supply networks. Finally, the model may also be of interest to researchers in environmental management.
There are, however, possibilities for further improvements in the domain. Moreover, the kappa statistics confer fair
information about the consistency of the variables required to effectively implement the recovery process, but is not sat-
isfactory for assessing the extent of agreement between experts. When using kappa, the categories should be clearly
defined. Rating among expert pairs should be constant and independent, or else it might mislead results. Furthermore,
with variations in cases, calculated kappa values may vary considerably even when the overall per cent agreement is
similar. The ISM methodology primarily depends on the experience and judgment of the decision makers and needs to
be carefully used. However, structural equation modelling (SEM), a statistics-based approach, can be used to test the
validity of the ISM-developed theoretical models. Though, SEM can’t be used to seed models,' it can be used to statisti-
cally validate an already existing model. Hence, there is a scope which may result in some interesting findings in this
multi-criteria decision-making domain. Therefore, ISM can successfully be applied to initiate and develop a model, and
the consequences yielded are remarkable and helpful in achieving desired goals.
Acknowledgements
The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, China (project number PolyU 510311). The authors would like to thank The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University Research Committee for the financial and technical support. The authors also thank the editor and reviewers for their
valuable comments and suggestions that have led to the substantial improvement of this paper.

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