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- Alayón, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Barriers and Enablers for the Adoption of Sustainable Manufacturing by Manufacturing SMEs
- 2022
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In: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 14:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have inherent characteristics, which require specific solutions for improving the sustainability performance of their operations. The purpose of this paper is to increase the knowledge on barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing by manufacturing SMEs and to provide insights into what enablers can be used to overcome existing barriers. Taking, as a starting point, a systematic literature review, this paper presents a categorization of barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing by manufacturing SMEs. In total, seven categories for classifying the barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing within SMEs were identified: organizational, managerial and attitudinal; informational; governmental; financial; training and skills development; market and business context; and technological. Additionally, this study elaborates on what barriers could be mitigated through the enablers. This study found specific enablers with the potential to mitigate a significantly higher number of barriers and referred to them as ‘critical enablers’. SMEs aiming to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices or improve their sustainability performance are encouraged to focus on the enablers in these categories. This paper synthesizes and facilitates interpretation of the existing body of evidence on barriers and enablers for adopting sustainable manufacturing in SMEs.
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- Alayón, Claudia
(author)
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Exploring sustainable manufacturing principles and practices
- 2016
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The manufacturing industry remains a critical force in the quest for global sustainability. An increasing number of companies are modifying their operations in favor of more sustainable practices. It is hugely important that manufacturers, irrespective of the subsector they belong to, or their organizational size, implement practices that reduce or eliminate negative environmental, social and economic impacts generated by their manufacturing operations.Consequently, scholars have called for additional studies concerning sustainable manufacturing practices, not only to address the paucity of related literature, but also to contribute to practitioners’ understanding of how to incorporate sustainability into their operations. However, apart from expanding the knowledge of sustainable manufacturing practices, it is first key to understand the ground set of values, or principles, behind sustainable manufacturing operations. For that reason, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the existing body of knowledge regarding sustainable manufacturing principles and practices.The results presented in this thesis are based on three studies: a systematic literature review exploring sustainability principles applicable to manufacturing settings, and two empirical studies addressing sustainable manufacturing practices.In general, it is concluded from the literature that there is a little knowledge about sustainability principles from a manufacturing perspective. In relation to the most common sustainable manufacturing practices, it is concluded that these practices mainly refer to energy and material management, and waste management. Similarly, the study of the adherence of sustainable manufacturing practices to sustainable production principles concluded that the principles concerning energy and materials conservation, and waste management were found to create the highest number of practices. Although most manufacturers still engage in reactive sustainable manufacturing practices driven by regulatory and market pressures, some industrial sectors were found to be more prone to develop proactive sustainable manufacturing strategies than others. Furthermore, SMEs were found to lag behind large organizations regarding adherence to sustainable manufacturing principles.
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| 5. |
- Alayón, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Implementation of sustainable production principles within Swedish manufacturers
- 2014
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In: Proceedings of The 6th International Swedish Production Symposium 2014. - Göteborg : Chalmers university. - 9789198097412
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Both, a common understanding on sustainable production principles and the identification of sustainable production practices within manufacturers constitute key starting points when the aim is to study how Swedish manufacturers are working towards sustainable production. Using an interview guide based on the sustainable production principles by the Lowell Center of Sustainable Production (LCSP), this paper provides an overview of how Swedish manufacturers comply with these set of principles.
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| 6. |
- Alayón, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Sustainability in manufacturing: A literature review
- 2013
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Increased sustainability awareness among consumers and other stakeholders has created a challenging environment for manufacturers. In order to remain in current markets it is expected from manufacturer's operations to be conscious about their impact on sustainability issues. The paper reports on a systematic review which examines sustainability practices in manufacturing companies. The systematic review aims to identify empirical-based papers to pinpoint sustainability issues addressed within manufacturing industry. To do so, trending topic categories were identified for each sustainability dimension (environment, people and profit). This paper provides further direction for future research.
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| 7. |
- Alayón, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Sustainable production adoption by surface treatment SMEs : Challenges and enablers
- 2015
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The adoption to sustainable production is a continuous but necessary strive for manufacturing operations, including small and medium enterprises, SMEs. Meeting the future needs of the economic, social and environmental dimensions provides challenges for SMEs. In order for these challenges to be met understanding of internal and external enablers is required. Studies focusing on the enablers for sustainability amongst SMEs are rare; hence these companies are important players in the supply chain to focal companies. In order to enhance the understanding of the adoption of sustainable production for the sector surface treatment SMEs, an explorative study has been conducted. In this study, the focus has been placed in the identification and analysis of the challenges and enablers for adoption of sustainable production. Two stages of empirical data collection were undertaken: a focus group session and an online questionnaire. The findings present challenges based on the limitations of the surface treatment process but also where enablers for the social, economic and environmental for meeting those challenges are strongly linked. The results showed that these SMEs face challenges in their way towards sustainable production, mainly due to: low economic profitability, need for improvement in old working procedures, lack of fully understanding regarding environmental legislation, difficulty in ensuring workforce, lack of technology development and resistance towards change. These challenges could be faced through internal and external enablers, where the support of large-size customers and other stakeholders is critical for these SMEs.
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| 8. |
- Alayon, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Sustainable production adoption by Surface Treatment SMES : challenges and enablers
- 2015
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In: Global Cleaner Production & Sustainable Consumption Conference 2015 GCPC2015.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The adoption to sustainable production is a continuous but necessary strive for manufacturing operations, including small and medium enterprises, SMEs. Meeting the future needs of the economic, social and environmental dimensions provides challenges for SMEs. In order to meet these challenges, understanding of internal and external enablers is required. Studies focusing on the enablers for sustainability among SMEs are rare; hence these companies are important players in the supply chain to focal companies. In order to enhance the understanding of the adoption of sustainable production for the sector surface treatment SMEs, an exploratory study has been conducted. In this study, the focus has been placed in the identification and analysis of the challenges and enablers for adoption of sustainable production. Two stages of empirical data collection were undertaken: a focus group session and an online questionnaire. The findings present challenges based on the limitations of the surface treatment process but also where enablers for the social, economic and environmental for meeting those challenges are interrelated. The results showed that these SMEs face challenges in their way towards sustainable production, mainly due to: low economic profitability, need for improvement in old working procedures, lack of fully understanding regarding environmental legislation, difficulty in ensuring workforce, lack of technology development and resistance towards change. These challenges could be faced through internal and external enablers, where the support of large-size customers and other stakeholders is critical for this sector.
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| 10. |
- Allert, Anna-Lena, 1959-, et al.
(author)
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Business Support Agencies introducing Lean Production in SMEs - Does it make any difference?
- 2014
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many SMEs are implementing lean production in collaboration with a business support agency in order to improve their competitiveness. This research investigated whether improvement initiatives had the intended effect in some companies. A questionnaire was answered by employees in 26 SMEs. The result indicated experienced effect concerning leadership, communication and employee commitment, areas considered important for success in improvement initiatives, and also progress in areas that characterise development towards lean. The result also indicated differences in experienced effect between managerial and non-managerial functions and between companies.
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