Identifying critical risk factors of sustainable supply chain management: A rough strength-relation analysis method

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is gradually becoming a strategic imperative for companies. Different sources of risk factors may appear in SSCM due to its complex nature. Most of the previous studies consider less about the effect of strength of each risk factor on the interdependencies. To solve the problem, a rough weighted decision-making and trial evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is proposed. Both internal strength and external influence of risk factors are simultaneously considered to fully reflect the priority of risk factors. The novel approach also has merit in flexibly manipulating the vagueness and ambiguity involved in risk analysis. The applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method are validated by applying it to a company providing telecommunications products. The results show that failure to select the right suppliers is the most prominent risk factor for SSCM, because supplier selection plays an important role in achieving the social, environmental, and economic benefits of SSCM. The proposed method can be used as an effective tool to identify critical SSCM risk issues and interrelationships between different risk factors.