Managing Risk, Performance and Sustainability in Textile & Apparel Supply Chains

The thesis at hand analyzes sustainability prerequisites, practices, risk and performance in textile and apparel (T&A) supply chains (SCs). Given the growing awareness of sustainability risks by various stakeholders, T&A firms are required to implement and adapt sustainability practices along their SCs, while at the same time measuring their performance to counteract the (re)emergence of risks. Appropriate management strategies are therefore needed to ensure sustainable transformation in T&A SCs. While the state of research on the topics of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices, performance and risk is advanced in general, different aspects are not fully explored and warrant further investigation from a research perspective. The dissertation addresses these gaps by seeking answers to the following three overarching research questions (ORQs): ORQ 1: How are textile and apparel SCs structured and which sustainability requirements and challenges arise in the segments of these SCs? ORQ 2: What current practices for managing SSCM performance and risk in the textile and apparel industry? ORQ 3: Which sustainability risks exist in textile and apparel SCs and how are they measured and managed?

To answer the ORQs, this dissertation uses four methodological approaches. They provide theoretical and managerial insights into sustainability prerequisites, practices, risk and performance in T&A SCs. The conceptual research introduces particularities of SCM in Africa including effects of regulations and resilience building in the face of a global pandemic. The content analysis illustrates a taxonomy presenting respective TBL effects in the process steps along the T&A SC. The systematic literature review conceptualizes a framework for SC risk & performance management in the T&A industry. Based on the insights from T&A industry experts from Germany and Ethiopia, the case study frames sustainability prerequisites & practices for T&A SCs. The second case study provides in-depth empirical evidence and broadens the sustainability prerequisites & practices framework by risk & performance. The third case study is based on German industry experts’ view and elabo ates on chain liability imposed by the German SC Due Diligence Act. The conceptual research, though not focusing on a particular industry sector, answers ORQs 2 and 3 with a generalized perspective regarding practices to manage SSCM performance and analyzing the management of risk in global SCs.The content analysis lays the groundwork for the later subsequent chapters by presenting a taxonomy of T&A SCs and identifying sustainability aspects. Thus, the chapter answers ORQ 1 by illustrating the T&A SC and its sustainability challenges along the process steps. The systematic literature review contributes to answering the three ORQs by following a thorough content analysis and conducting a contingency. It provides a framework conceptualizing risk identification, assessment and evaluation in T&A SCs and lays bare a divide for scholars to further research. The case study answers the ORQs 1 and 2 by adapting a framework from the chemical industry to derive general sustainability prerequisites and practices and such particular to the T&A SC. It empirically investigates and confirms the requirements, means and interrelationships that promote sustainability in T&A. The multiple-perspective empirical evidence-based framework developed in the second case study contributes to answering the ORQs by showing the prerequisites, practices, risks and performance related to SSCM in the T&A. The results are of practical relevance for scholars and practitioners alike, given the growing importance of SSCM and risk management. The third case study contributes to answering ORQ 2 and 3 with an empirical-based framework on expected risks, opportunities and performance regarding the German due diligence act. It gives first empirical insights into a research field with growing relevance since an EU-wide legislation for SC due diligence is under way. Regarding managerial implications, this dissertation highlights the importance of having a comprehensive set of performance indicators to measure and manage the sustainability impacts of SC risk management (SCRM) in an integrated manner. Moreover, it contributes to SCRM theory and practice by applying existing conceptual models in different empirical settings and illustrating the validity of these models in the geographically complex T&A SC. The dissertation has limitations that point to future research possibilities. Investigating the sustainability impacts of sourcing from emerging markets and integrating these markets into (sustainable) SCs are promising areas for future research. In addition, the proposed conceptual frameworks could be validated through analytical or empirical statistical research.