A Delphi Study on Green Supply Chain Management In Indian Industries:

Evidence For A Research

Vishwanath V. Siddhanti
Research Scholar
Department of International Business, School of Management
Pondicherry University, Pondicherry

Dr. Yarlagadda Srinivasulu

Associate Professor
Department of International Business, School of Management
Pondicherry University, Pondicherry

ABSTRACT

Objective: This research paper is bifurcated in two parts. The first conducts an enquiry with the experts
in the field GSCM through exchange of ideas and discussion in isolation. In the second part the
responses so collected are analyzed and ranked to asses the present status of Green Supply Chain in the
Indian manufacturing sector, with special emphasis on export oriented manufacturing firms.
Subsequently, an effort has been made to assort various factors which could be considered to measure
the GSCM performance of a export oriented firms.
Research Methodology/ Design/ Approach: Delphi approach (Expert Opinion) has been used for
collecting the response. Delphi tool seeks experts to contribute their opinions. Further it allows and
aggregation of these responses to indentify the underlying critical factors in a structured manner for
prioritizing issues consequently in conducting a valid study or research.
Research Sampling: Okoli and Pawlowski (2004)1 had discussed three factors on the basis of which the
panelists are selected for this study- knowledge, expertise and experience. 25 Respondents (Delbecq et
al., 1975, p. 11) 2 were contacted for the study. The sample respondents consisted of Academic
Researchers (AR) (on the basis of publications and years in research and academics), Experts (E) from
Governmental and Non- Governmental organizations, Proprietors and Managers (PM) from the
companies who are registered with CLE (Council of Leather Exporters).
Time duration for response: 4 to 5 weeks (Jan 2013 to Mar 2013)

Key words: Green Supply Chain Management, Delphi survey method

1. A NOTE ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Environmental procedures have emerged as one of the major market force in view of changes in
environmental regulations, consumer demand in terms of more environmental friendly products and
services, firm’s internal and external environmental strategies. Major part of India's exports constitute
sectors like processed food & allied products, textiles & garments, leather and leather garments and
semi finished engineering goods. These are the exports sectors where new environmental requirement
have emerged, and export businesses from the developing country like India has to find new
investments in the areas of production process, materials, testing and certification/labels to retain and
expand export market shares.
In view to strike a balance between the export growth and environmental hazards, it becomes very
significant to identify exact status of environmental compliance in the Indian industries and also to
identify a proactive factors approach in measuring the environmental performance of the firms in
question. This study assumes that greening the firms supply chain is the only long term solution to
reduce the harm on the environment. Because, any firms supply chain represents all those activities
which stretch out between the suppliers and customers.

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2. GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (GSCM)- A PRELUDE
The concept of environmental quality was more or less did not exist in India years ago. It was only in
1980 and after, the revolution of quality management in terms of products, services and supply chain
became prevalent and came to be called as ‘best practices’ to integrate environmental management
with ongoing operations management (Srivastava, 2007) 3. This also called for the necessity for
manufacturing firms to interact further with extreme end components in a supply chain namely -
suppliers and customers. It was during this phase the concept of ‘Green’ started gaining more
importance among manufacturers with due pressure from environmentalists, governmental agencies
and the customers. This pressure was in view of increased awareness of world’s environmental
problems such as global warming, toxic substance usage and decrease in non-replenish resources such
as water, air and soil (Toke.et.al, 2010) 4.
As a result of this a new philosophy was poised which took shape of a term “Green Supply Chain
Management (GSCM)”. GSCM was amalgamation of Supply Chain Management (SCM) and its
concurrent relationship with the natural environment. Accordingly GSCM recognizes the
disproportionate impact on environment by the organizations SCM operations and activities. The scope
of GSCM in the prior literature ranges from green procurement, green manufacturing, green logistics
and reverse logistics. Conversely, Srivastava (2007)3 has viewed GSCM in a more integrated approach
and thus defines it as “integrating environmental thinking into supply chain management, counting
product design, material procurement and selection, manufacturing processes, delivery of final product
to consumers as well as end-of-life management of the product after its useful life”.

3. OVERVIEW OF DELPHI RESEARCH METHOD

The Delphi method originated in a series of studies that the RAND Corporation conducted in the
1950s. The objective was to develop a technique to obtain the most reliable consensus of a group of
experts (Dalkey & Helmer, 1963)5. According to Linstone and Turoff (1975)6 “Delphi may be
characterized as a method for structuring a group communication process so that the process is
effective in allowing a group of individuals, as a whole, to deal with a complex problem. To
accomplish this ‘‘structured communication’’ there is provided: some feedback of individual
contributions of information and knowledge; some assessment of the group judgment or view; some
opportunity for individuals to revise views; and some degree of anonymity for the individual
responses”.

3.1 Research Sampling

The most important study aspect of Delphi method is to select the appropriate experts. This study is
based on the guiding principles being developed by Delbecq.et.al (1975) to select the experts for
Delphi study, because Delphi does not depend on a statistical sample for any response. It is a group
discussion process of set of experts who has deep understanding of the issues involved and hitherto
possible solutions. This study has selected the experts on the following factors- knowledge, expertise
and experience.
The respondents mainly comprised of Academic Researchers (AR), Experts (E) from the field who
belonged to Governmental and Non-governmental organizations and Proprietors and Managers from
the export oriented manufacturing firms.
o Academic Researchers (AR): This study has populated these experts almost entirely on the
basis of literature survey in articles, journals, etc, carried out by the researcher.
o Experts (E): These experts are been populated through referrals and consequently snow ball
approach was used to freeze the panelists.
o Proprietors and Managers (PM): The study has used Yellow pages directory and the online list
of exporters published by Council of Leather Exports (CLE) to populate these experts.
Once the panelists of experts were populated, the experts were given cold call through phone, followed
by an email giving them the information about the survey and its related procedures. The experts were
then asked to confirm their participation in the survey through email or SMS.

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o First Round Survey: Once confirmed the first round of questionnaire were being sent to the
experts seeking there responses. The experts were required to tick the multiple choice questions and
write views for semi-open and open ended questions. The time frame given for the experts was one
week. Once the responses were received, suitable statistical analysis followed to identify any extreme
opinions.
o Second Round Survey: Each expert was communicated the results of the first round and the
same questionnaire was re-fed in the second round to see k a new answer and to rationalize it, if it
differs from general tendency
o Third Round Survey: The third round questionnaire was intended only for those experts whose
answers were "extreme" or “non-contrast” in the first two rounds of survey.
As per the guiding principles of Delbecq.et.al (1975) a maximum of 25 experts can be considered for a
Delphi study. 25 questionnaires were sent to the experts, out of which 17 complete questionnaires were
considered for the study, which reflects 68% acceptance. 8 experts were Academic Researchers (AR),
3 experts were Experts (E) and 8 were Proprietors and Managers (PM) of the firms. The experts were
asked to rate every question on a scale of 1 to 5 viz., 1 being ‘low’, ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 being
‘high’ or ‘strongly agree’ as applicable in the sense of the questions asked.

3.2 Research Design

This study was administered using a structured questionnaire, consisting of multiple choices, semi-
open ended and open ended questions. The questionnaire was designed on Google doc to cater easy
access; turnaround time would be faster and also it ensures maximum reciprocation from the experts.
The lineage of questions was so designed that the first line of questions trigger the thought process of
the experts (brainstorming), the center is more aligned towards narrowing down to more latent factors
(narrowing) and last part is inclined in ranking the most important factors (Schmidt,1997)7.

4. FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY

S.No PARAMETERS Mean Mean

Round 1 Round 2
I. GENERAL OPINION ON ‘GREEN’
A1 Importance of Greening to you 4.94 NC *
A2 Importance of Green factor to the businesses across all sectors 4.88 NC
today
A3 Urgent necessity for all the businesses to go ‘green’ for long 4.23 NC
term sustenance and growth
A4 Green is another marketing tool or fad 2.11 2.36
A5 Green is short tool to get access to international market 2.64 NC
A6 Businesses adopting green philosophy will achieve a 4.47 NC
competitive edge in international market
A7 Extent to which businesses in India do follow green 2.29 NC
philosophy
II. PERCEIVED OUTCOMES OF GOING GREEN
B1 Increased Public Demand & Customer relations 4.64 NC
B2 Cost Savings and Healthier Work Place 4.52 NC
B3 Reduced Carbon Foot Prints 4.35 NC
B4 Waste management 4.35 NC
B5 Sustainable Sourcing 4.35 NC
B6 Optimal Water Usage 4.11 NC
B7 Conscious Energy Consumption 4.35 NC
B8 Eco-conscious Employees 3.70 NC
III. PRESSURES (INTERNAL & EXTERNAL)

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C1 All businesses sectors are facing pressures to go green 4.76 NC
C2 Only Manufacturing is facing the pressure to go green 1.88 NC
C3 Only Service sector is facing the pressure to go green 1.47 NC
C4 Neither of the sectors are facing the pressure to go green 1 NC
C5 India’s Domestic Environmental regulations is exerting 3.35 NC
pressure businesses across all sectors
C6 International Environmental regulations exert pressures on 4.41 NC
businesses across all sectors
C7 Indian Businesses proactively involve in ‘greening’ activities 1.88 NC
C8 Indian businesses face pressures from customers, suppliers to 1.82 NC
go green
IV. GREEN COMPLIANCE
D1 Select the top three priorities for increasing the business
environmental performance
Adhering to Domestic Environmental Policies 12 NC
Adhering to International Environmental Norms 10 NC
Environmental Certifications 8 NC
Extending Production Responsibility 7 NC
Greening the entire Supply Chain (from cradle to grave 14 NC
approach)
D2 Extent to which businesses in India are moving towards 2.64 1.30
greening of their supply chain
D3 Greening the supply chain is the first step towards social and 4.70 NC
environmental responsibility of a business
V. INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT
E1 Do you witness any linkages between International Trade and 4.76 NC
Domestic Environment
E2 Do you agree that free trade gives boost to a lot of polluting 4.88 NC
industries in developing countries
E3 Do you agree that there exists a trade-off relationship between 4.47 NC
exports and environment
E4 Do you agree there exists a strong relationship between 5 NC
Environmental Quality and Volume of Exports
VI. INDIAN LEATHER INDUSTRY & EXPORTS
F1 Indian Leather industry is good foreign exchange earner and 4.52 NC
has good future prospects of growth by 2020
F2 Indian leather industry is employment intensive sector 4.58 NC
F3 Impact of leather industry on environment 5 NC
F4 Contributions to the three types of pollutions
Solid Waste 4.47 NC
Liquid Waste 4.23 NC
Gaseous Waste 4.05 NC
F5 Environmental Awareness and Environmental Work in this 2.88 NC
industry
F6 Exporters awareness of International environmental 3.64 NC
requirements
F7 Exporters awareness of National environmental requirements 3.64 NC
F8 Rate the advantages of application of GSCM in Indian Export
oriented Leather Industry
Long term beneficial for sustainable environment and 5 NC
economic development

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 Short term environmental benefits 1 NC
Waste resources 1 NC
Potential to acquire mutual benefits 4.11 NC
F9 Green Supply Chain Performance of any firm can be measured
on the basis of following factors
F9i Size of the firm 0.04 (4%) NC
F9ii Firm’s Green Management system and tools 0.13 (13%) NC
F9iii Firm’s association with government and non-governmental 0.08 (8%) NC
agencies
F9iv Firm’s Innovation and Performance in reducing harm to the 0.14 (14%) NC
environment
F9v Firm’s business destinations 0.05 (5%) NC
F9vi Stake holders influence and motivation in green policies 0.14 (14%) NC
F9vii NC
Firm’s Domestic Environmental Compliance 0.12 (12%)
F9viii Firm’s International Environmental Compliance 0.12 (12%) NC
F9ix Firm’s Green Competitiveness 0.1 (10%) NC
F9x Cost of Green Compliance 0.11 (11%) NC
F9xi Firm’s Public Green Policy 0.09 (9%) NC
F9xii Quality Certifications 0.07 (7%) NC
Table 1: Findings and Mean Scores in 1st and 2nd Round of Survey
*No Change (NC)

After the analysis of the first round responses from the experts, same questionnaire was re-fed to the
respondents with the analysis report of the first round data. This was done in view to check if there
respondents would show inclination and/or retain the same response. The response for parameters A4
and D2 were consequently changed and the changed means are declared under the column ‘Mean
Round 2’
The third round questionnaire is intended only for those experts whose answers were "extreme" or
“non-contrast” in the first two rounds of survey. The surveyor found no such extreme or contrasting
views on the Delphi questions. Hence the necessity of conducting third round interview was ruled out.

5. ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION

As far as the general opinion of the experts are concerned the parameters A1, A2, A3 and A6 were
ranked top (4.94, 4.88, 4.23 & 4.47 respectively), reflecting the experts are concerned about the
importance of Greening and strongly feel that there is an urgent necessity for all businesses to adopt
‘Green’ philosophy to achieve competitive advantage in the international trade. On the other hand, the
parameters A4 and A5 scored less (2.11 & 2.64 respectively) reflected that experts strongly disagree
with the idea that Greening is another marketing tool or fad to get access to international market.
However, all the experts think that the penetration of green philosophy in Indian industries is very low
(2.29).
The experts were quite positive as far as the perceived outcomes of going green are concerned. All the
parameters but B8 scored more than ‘4’ which scores fairly more than ‘agree’. The parameter B8
scored a rank of 3.70, which is quite less as compared to other parameters under the head. The experts
thought that creating the right orientation is very important to create eco-conscious employees.
Therefore the experts were incertitude in quoting this as the outcome of going green.
In so far as the external and internal pressures are concerned majority (4.76) of experts felt that all
businesses irrespective of the type are facing the pressure to take green initiatives. Domestic
environmental regulations are moderately exerting pressure across all sectors (3.35) but International
regulations are exerting more pressure in view of WTO agreements and environmental databases.
Experts opined that a proactive approach (1.88) towards greening initiatives is missing in Indian

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businesses. One may get to see and witness few examples of successful greening initiatives in large scale
and medium scale businesses, but the same trend is missing in small scale and ancillary businesses, as they
form a major chunk of the Indian economy. Even the two extreme components of the supply chain namely
the customers and suppliers does not score high (1.82) in exerting pressure on businesses to go green,
reason being less customer awareness and threat to suppliers of increased cost and governmental vigil.
The top priorities selected by the experts to increase business environmental performance are concerned -
Greening of supply chain scored the maximum (14), adherence to domestic environmental policy ranked
2nd (12) and adhering to international environmental policy ranked 3rd (10). Indian businesses moving
towards greening their supply chain scored low (2.64). Majority (4.70) of experts felt that greening the
supply chain naturally results in the extension of social and environmental responsibility by businesses.
The results show that there exist a very strong linkage between International Trade and Domestic
Environment (4.76). Economic profits at the cost of environmental damage form the basis for the question
E2 where, experts strongly agree (4.88) that polluting industries will increase in developing countries with
free trade. The factor trade-off relationship between export and environment was strongly supported by the
experts (4.47). Also there exists a strong relationship between domestic environmental quality and volume
of exports (5).
All the experts agreed that the leather exports are a good foreign exchange earner (4.52). The leather export
sector being a employment intensive sector was strongly agreed with 4.58 ranks. All the experts strongly
agreed that leather sector is highly polluting industry (5) and contributes to all the types of wastes- solid,
liquid and gas, generated during manufacturing process (4.47, 4.23, 4.05 respectively). The awareness and
thw works related to environment of the sector scored the lowest (2.88). The awareness and orientation of
leather exporters of domestic and international scored moderate (3.64 each). The experts felt that if GSCM
is applied in the leather sector the firm could reap long term sustainable and mutual benefits combined with
economic developments (5, 4.11 respectively). The 12 prominent factors on the basis of which one can
measure the GSCM performance for a firm were also being ranked by the experts considering the scope of
the factor.

6. CONCLUSION
At the end of this Delphi study, 8 factors were ranked by the experts to measure GSCM performance of a
firm, representing the priorities of a firm to achieve economic growth with environmental consciousness in
view of Indian industries. This rigorous process assures that the factors in the list are very important and
the rankings given hitherto are valid indicators of the importance of the factors. Based on these Delphi
results, one can reassess the content of past theoretical literature related to GSCM and offer new
proposition for measuring the Green Supply Chain Performance of a firm/industry.

REFERENCES
1) Okoli and Pawlowski (2004), “The Delphi method as a research tool: an example, design
considerations and applications”, Information and Management 42 (2004) 15-29. Available on
www.sciencedirect.com.
2) A.L. Delbecq, A.H. Van de Ven, D.H. Gustafson (1975), “Group Techniques for Program
Planning: A Guide to Nominal Group and Delphi Processes”, Scott Foresman and Company, Glenview,
Illinois.
3) Srivastva, S. (2007), “Green supply State of the art Literature Review”, International Journal of
Management Review, 9(1), 53-80.
4) L. K. Toke, R. C. Gupta, Milind Dandekar (2010), “Green Supply Chain Management; Critical
Research and Practices”.
5) N. Dalkey, O. Helmer (1963), “An experimental application of the Delphi method to the use of
experts”, Management Science 9 (3), pp. 458–467.
6) H.A. Linstone, M. Turoff (1975), “The Delphi Method: Techniques and Applications”, Addison-
Wesley, London.
7) R.C. Schmidt (1997), “Managing Delphi surveys using nonparametric statistical techniques,
Decision Sciences”, 28 (3), pp.763–774.

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