Sustainable supply chain management in the leather industry: a systematic literature review

Abstract

As a global manufacturing sector, the leather industry has been a critical player in the international commerce market. With growing concerns about its sustainability, there tends to be an increasing number of studies in academic literature as well as grey literature (e.g. industry reports) focusing on leather supply chain management. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive review of the current research that illustrates the relationships between sustainable leather supply chain governance practices and their antecedents and consequences. This paper aims to identify the main themes of sustainable leather supply chains through a systematic literature review of 61 studies published between 1992 and 2022 identified from the Scopus and WoS databases and industry reports and propose a theoretical framework based on the thematic findings for future research. In these contexts, five themes were identified from the literature: drivers, practice, barriers, enablers and outcomes of sustainable supply chain governance in the leather industry. Ultimately, a conceptual framework identifying the themes and their linkages was developed. The article also suggests future research directions and managerial implications.