Aims and scope

Production Planning & Control is an international journal that brings together research papers on the management of operations in all industries. The journal focuses on research that stems from an industrial need and can guide the activities of managers and future researchers. With the aim of developing the research community in operations management, pictures and bios of authors together with their contact details are provided with each paper. Where possible, reviewers provide guidance for the improvement of papers including those being rejected. 

Production Planning & Control welcomes papers that describe research based on the emerging needs of industry, making clear the nature of the industrial problem. Any appropriate research methods may be used and each paper should justify the method applied. Case studies are welcome where they illustrate research needs or application problems that have significance at the international level. Writers should relate their work to the existing knowledge in the field, especially with regard to the implications of the work for management practice and setting the agenda for future research.

Papers based on surveys tend to be broad and descriptive and often fail to develop useful new knowledge that can guide the activities of managers.

Production Planning & Control is not the appropriate journal for theoretical papers in operations research, OR/MS, optimisation or simulation based on invented scenarios or other numerical experiments or examples that are only tested in the laboratory, even when the test data comes from a company.

To be published in Production Planning & Control, a paper will have been reviewed and accepted by at least two competent experts in the field. Reviewers are drawn from the Editorial Board and a list of occasional reviewers who have been nominated for their expertise. Reviewers’ comments are based on relevance to the field, particularly applicability in industry, besides originality and scientific rigour.

Production Planning & Control is subscribed to by a wealth of universities and industry libraries and readership includes researchers in the field of operations management, supply chain management, and business improvement, consultants dealing with manufacturing and service industries, operations managers, business improvement specialists, and other managers in industry.

Special Issue on The Role of Technology in Improving Supply Chain Social Sustainability
Submission Date: 2025-07-31

Special Issue Editor(s)

Fu (Jeff) Jia, University of York, UK
fu.jia@york.ac.uk

Yang Cheng, Aalborg University, Denmark
cy@mp.aau.dk

Background

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) has garnered significant attention both from academics and practitioners, as the need for sustainable practices continues to grow. Companies across the globe are actively redesigning their business operations to prioritize the creation of eco-friendly products and services, while also incorporating sustainability considerations into their supply chains (Anisul Huq et al., 2014). Particularly, there are mounting social issues that need to be addressed by companies in their production and supply chains, such as the fair treatment of workers, ethical labor practices, the well-being of local communities and optimization of resource usage (Agyemang et al., 2022; Chaudhuri et al., 2023). Consequently, the social pillar of SSCM has gained prominence among diverse stakeholders, compelling organizations to tackle with these pertinent social challenges (Grybauskas et al., 2022; Shet and Pereira, 2021). It is crucial to recognize that poor management of social sustainability can lead to damaged reputation, reduced employee morale and motivation, ultimately affecting efficiency and effectiveness (Golicic et al., 2020; Macchion et al., 2018). Against this backdrop, integrating social sustainability into SSCM becomes an appealing concept, offering strategic coordination within the traditional business framework to enhance the well-being of employees, suppliers, and all other stakeholders involved throughout the supply chain (Sodhi and Tang, 2018). By adopting a holistic approach encompassing social aspects, SSCM contributes to creating positive social outcomes, while aligning with sustainable business objectives.

Social sustainability takes into account the human aspect of sustainability, focusing on improving quality of life and compelling decision-makers to carefully consider the potential social impacts of their choices (Mani et al., 2016). It plays a vital role in attaining sustainable objectives within supply chains and enhancing competitive advantage (Grybauskas et al., 2022; Chaudhuri et al., 2023). Certain countries have taken significant steps to address socially unsustainable practices within supply chains through strengthened regulations. A notable example is the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in the UK and the California Supply Chain Transparency Act in the US, which aim to curb such practices (Han et al., 2022). These regulatory measures have had far-reaching effects, spurring other nations to respond as well. One noteworthy development is Canada's Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, which recently receives royal assent and is scheduled to become law on January 1, 2024 (Phung and LeBaron, 2023). These regulations have created substantial pressure for companies to proactively address social risks within global supply chains, ensuring avoidance of issues like forced labor, unethical procurement, and illegal recruitment. Such attention to social risks is crucial in order to maintain ethical business practices and uphold the dignity of workers involved. By prioritizing social sustainability, organizations can foster equitable supply chains that reflect responsible and conscientious approaches to sourcing and production.

Meanwhile, as the discussions surrounding digital technologies and Industry 4.0 gain traction, researchers are increasingly examining the link between technology and social sustainability within SSCM (Bag et al., 2018). Scholars, such as Khan et al. (2021), suggest that incorporating emergent technologies, such as Big Data Analytics (BDA) (Roßmann et al., 2018), Internet of Things (IoT) (Song et al., 2019), RFID, sensors, social media (Orji et al., 2020), and Blockchain Technology (Kamble et al., 2020), into SSCM represents a natural extension from their existing application in the economic and environmental domains. Generally speaking, the integration of technology into supply chain management has demonstrated considerable value in fostering socially sustainable practices (Khan et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2023). Past studies have identified various technology-enabled SSCM strategies focus on the social pillar, encompassing ethical sourcing, robust non-financial reporting, and responsible recruitment (Chaudhuri et al., 2023; Sharif and Ghodoosi, 2022). One such example is the adoption of blockchain technology by LVMH Group (the parent company of Louis Vuitton) to trace the origin of its luxury goods supply chain. By using blockchain, each step of the manufacturing process can be securely recorded and verified (Choi, 2023). This helps ensure that products are ethically sourced, which, in turn, improves the well-being of workers involved in mining or harvesting these raw materials. Furthermore, it is also contended that digital technologies can improve corporate social performance by enhancing working environments, preventing accidents, and facilitating remote work arrangements, particularly amid the ongoing pandemic (Ambrogio et al., 2022). Overall, leveraging these technological advancements holds great promise in promoting positive social outcomes while concurrently advancing sustainability objectives within supply chains.

Although numerous scholars have discussed the influence of technologies on SSCM, research on social sustainability is far less extensive than environmental and economic sustainability, indicating that this field remains in its nascent stages and requires more attention (Lim et al., 2021). Notably, most existing studies are exploratory and conceptual in nature, empirical evidence (e.g., real implementation case) that focuses on social sustainability are missing in the SSCM literature. Thus, there is a need to gain more insights regarding how to tackle with social challenges in SSCM through advancing the applications of emergent technologies.

Motivated by this consideration, the aim of this Special Issue is to bring together original research, conceptual, and review articles that highlight the role of technology in SSCM with a special focus on social sustainability. We welcome papers encompassing the full range of empirically based research methodologies including (but not limited to) surveys, and secondary data analysis (e.g., event study and panel data analysis) and experiments. Papers adopting mixed methodology are also welcomed. However, pure modelling and simulation papers or literature reviews including conceptual papers are beyond our consideration.

Potential Research Topics

Contributions are welcomed in various topic areas that include, but are not limited to, the following:

    What is the role of various digital transformation (e.g., Gen AI, blockchain, IoT, RFID, cloud computing, machine learning) in enabling social sustainability in supply chain?
    What are the roles of different stakeholders within the supply chain in enabling technology-related social sustainability practices?
    What are the potential barriers and enablers for the technology adoption to achieve supply chain social sustainability?
    Trade-offs between social sustainability and supply chain efficiency.