THEORETICAL INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY PSM FRAMEWORK
The theoretical innovation and sustainability PSM framework focuses on the needed competences for innovation and sustainability regarding the field of purchasing and supply management. The term sustainable PSM is defined “as the consideration of environmental, social, ethical and economic issues in the management of the organization’s external resources in such a way that supply of all goods, services, capabilities and knowledge that are necessary for running, maintaining and managing the organization’s primary and support activities will provide value not only to the organization itself, but also to the whole of society and the economy (Miemczyk et al., 2012)”. This definition implies that sustainability is a fundamentally new way of thinking about PSM professionals’ knowledge and skills, requiring innovation in terms of practices and the development of new PSM models.
Sustainable development concerns are high on the agenda of governments, academics and business organizations around the world. For example, new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on the document “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Global Action” of United Nations (United Nations, 2015), points out, the relevance of higher education in endeavors toward a better future (Márquez-Ramos & Mourelle, 2016). Taking the UN SDGs into account it will support the development of future-oriented competences on PSM with focus on sustainability and innovation. Developing topics such as sustainable sourcing, green supply chain management, supplier involvement in green or sustainable product design, ethical sourcing and responsible purchasing are the main concerns on the agenda of the PSM academics and professionals with special interest on how to prepare future PSM managers for sustainable and innovation issues. This theoretical innovation and sustainability PSM framework is the first intellectual output (IO1) of the PERISCOPE project dedicated to report on the PSM competences covering state-of-the art literature reviews and an analysis of current job adverts and consultant reports. Thus, this framework served as a foundation for discussing current purchasing competences, skills and knowledge requirements for innovation and sustainability. Our findings are of particular value for the research community by providing a first theoretical framework focuses on innovation, sustainability and PSM. This framework could be used also in practice as an orientation guide for the identification and composition of future and competence-oriented role profiles of employees and for designing qualification programs for industry.
Download the IO1 white paper here