Document Type : Scientific Paper
Authors
1
Master’s Degree, Faculty of Management and Economics, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
In recent years, environmental challenges such as greenhouse gas emissions and high resource consumption have become major concerns in the dairy industry. Organizations have increasingly adopted sustainable approaches to enhance customer satisfaction and gain competitive advantage. Despite numerous studies, there remain gaps in identifying specific pollutants in the dairy industry and analyzing the relationships among them. Previous research has mostly focused on general aspects of green supply chain management. This study, using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods, aims to identify and prioritize the factors influencing environmental sustainability in the dairy industry. The research is applied in purpose, cross-sectional in time, and descriptive-survey in methodology with a quantitative approach. The statistical population consists of managers and experts in the dairy industry with more than ten years of work experience and academic education in management and supply chain fields. A purposive sampling method was employed, including 10 industry experts, and 60 dairy industry professionals completed the questionnaire. The adequacy of sampling was assessed using the KMO index and Bartlett’s test. Data were collected through a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using statistical and MCDM techniques. This research was conducted through a four-stage process between 2023 and 2024 (1402–1403 in the Iranian calendar): (1) Identification of environmental pollutants in the dairy supply chain; (2) Extraction and screening of factors influencing green supply chain management through literature review and expert interviews; (3) Analysis of causal relationships among criteria using the DEMATEL method; and (4) Prioritization of criteria using the ANP method. Like any scientific study, this research faced several limitations. These include possible human error in expert evaluations and questionnaire responses, challenges in obtaining accurate data from dairy industry stakeholders across Iran, and the inherent constraints of MCDM techniques such as DEMATEL and ANP in fully capturing the complexity of interrelationships among criteria. Findings revealed that the main environmental pollutants in the dairy supply chain (soil, water, air, noise, and light pollution) were identified and categorized into 21 sub-criteria. Based on literature review and field data, five main criteria and 25 sub-criteria for implementing a green supply chain were extracted. The causal relationships among these criteria were analyzed, and their priorities were determined. Results indicated that waste management and recycling had the greatest influence on green supply chain management in the dairy industry, followed by internal environmental management, green production and operations, green warehousing, transportation, and distribution, and green purchasing and procurement. These findings emphasize the importance of waste reduction, process optimization, and the adoption of green technologies.The novelty of this study lies in developing a hybrid model integrating the DEMATEL and ANP methods to simultaneously analyze causal relationships and prioritize criteria. Unlike previous models, this approach aligns more closely with the actual conditions of Iran’s dairy industry, utilizing up-to-date data and expert insights. It is recommended that dairy industry managers adopt green supply chain policies to reduce pollutants while achieving competitive advantages such as enhanced customer satisfaction and improved brand image. However, due to the limited sample size, the results are generalizable only to the dairy industry. This study can serve as a practical guide for developing sustainable strategies in similar industries.
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