Abstract
In recent years, increased attention has been paid to sustainability in manufacturing. The sustainability concept is fuzzy, however, which, according to previous studies, may hamper the changes needed to address the urgent challenges of global warming and reduced biodiversity. In this study, we aimed at investigating how companies in the maritime industry in North West Norway interpret and operationalize the sustainability concept. The study suggests that companies’ understandings and operationalizations of sustainability are linked to formal regulations, customer demand, and voluntary initiatives intended to gain legitimacy from stakeholders. Companies’ efforts to disclose information on sustainability performance have increased and supply chain sustainability initiatives are attracting attention, while the cluster organization developing a common vision of becoming a zero-emission industry. Among approaches to addressing sustainability issues, the focus on technology is dominant, which can be related to the industry-specific context. Other initiatives are largely in line with economic considerations. This study argues that more comprehensive changes are needed to address the two other dimensions of sustainability, to accelerate the transition towards sustainable manufacturing operations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
United Nations General Assembly: Our Common Future Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future (1987)
Veit, C., et al.: The Impact of Sustainable Sourcing on Customer Perceptions: Association by Guilt from Scandals in Local vs. Offshore Sourcing Countries. Sustainability 10, 2519 (2018)
Moldavska, A., Welo, T.: The concept of sustainable manufacturing and its definitions: A content-analysis based literature review. J. Clean. Prod. 166, 744–755 (2017)
Gusmerotti, N.M., et al.: Drivers and approaches to the circular economy in manufacturing firms. J. Clean. Prod. 230, 314–327 (2019)
Skärin, F., Rösiö, C., Andersen, A.-L.: An explorative study of circularity practices in swedish manufacturing companies. Sustainability 14(12), 7246 (2022)
Sartal, A., et al.: The sustainable manufacturing concept, evolution and opportunities within Industry 4.0: A literature review. Advances in Mechanical Engineering 12(5), 1687814020925232 (2020)
Meuer, J., Koelbel, J., Hoffmann, V.H.: On the nature of corporate sustainability. Organ. Environ. 33(3), 319–341 (2020)
Johnston, P., et al.: Reclaiming the definition of sustainability. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int. 14(1), 60–66 (2007)
Elkington, J.: Cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone, Oxford (1999)
Glover, J.L., et al.: An institutional theory perspective on sustainable practices across the dairy supply chain. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 152, 102–111 (2014)
Ihlen, Ø., Roper, J.: Corporate Reports on Sustainability and Sustainable Development: ‘We Have Arrived.’ Sustain. Dev. 22(1), 42–51 (2014)
Baumgartner, R.J., Ebner, D.: Corporate sustainability strategies: sustainability profiles and maturity levels. Sustain. Dev. 18(2), 76–89 (2010)
Bhatt, Y., Ghuman, K., Dhir, A.: Sustainable manufacturing. Bibliometrics and content analysis. J. Clean. Prod. 260, 120988 (2020)
Haapala, K.R., et al.: A review of engineering research in sustainable manufacturing. J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. 135(4) (2013)
Council of the European Union: Sustainable consumption and production and sustainable industrial policy action plan: council conclusions. 2008 5. December [cited 2023 02.03]; Available from: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st16/st16914.en08.pdf
Machado, C.G., Winroth, M.P., Ribeiro da Silva, E.H.D.: Sustainable manufacturing in Industry 4.0: an emerging research agenda. Int. J. Prod. Res. 58(5), 1462–1484 (2020)
Despeisse, M., et al.: The emergence of sustainable manufacturing practices. Production Planning & Control 23, 354–376 (2012)
Womack, J., Jones, D.: Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, ed. S.S.U. Ltd. (2003)
Eslami, Y., et al.: A survey on sustainability in manufacturing organisations: dimensions and future insights. Int. J. Prod. Res. 57 (2018)
European Comission: Cluster policy. Available from: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/strategy/cluster-policy_en.2023
Derlukiewicz, N., et al.: How do clusters foster sustainable development? an analysis of EU policies. Sustainability 12(4), 1297 (2020)
Porter, M.E.: Clusters and the new economics of competition. Vol. 76. Harvard Business Review Boston (1998)
Hessevik, A.: Green shipping networks as drivers of decarbonization in offshore shipping companies. Maritime Transport Research 3, 100053 (2022)
Porter, M., Ketels, C.: Clusters and industrial districts: Common roots, different perspectives, in A handbook of industrial districts. Edward Elgar Publishing (2009)
Dyer, J., Singh, H.: The relational view: cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. The Academy of Management Review 23 (1998)
Hammervoll, T., Halse, L.L., Engelseth, P.: The role of clusters in global maritime value networks. Int. J. Phys. Distrib. Logist. Manag. 44(1–2), 98–112 (2014)
Boschma, R.: Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment. Reg. Stud. 39(1), 61–74 (2005)
Davies, A.R.: Cleantech clusters: transformational assemblages for a just, green economy or just business as usual? Glob. Environ. Chang. 23(5), 1285–1295 (2013)
Sjøtun, S.G., Njøs, R.: Green reorientation of clusters and the role of policy: ‘the normative’ and ‘the neutral’ route. Eur. Plan. Stud. 27(12), 2411–2430 (2019)
Voss, C., Tsikriktsis, N., Frohlich, M.: Case research in operations management. Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manage. (2002)
Yin, R.K.: Case study research and applications : design and methods. 6th ed., Case study research: design and methods. SAGE, Los Angeles (2018)
Stake, R.E.: The art of case study research. Sage (1995)
Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M.: Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage (1994)
Alvesson, M., Kärreman, D.: Constructing mystery: Empirical matters in theory development. Acad. Manag. Rev. 32(4), 1265–1281 (2007)
Diouf, D., Boiral, O.: The quality of sustainability reports and impression management. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 30(3), 643–667 (2017)
Halse, L.L.: Walking the path of change: globalization of the maritime cluster in North West Norway, l. Høgskolen i Molde - vitenskapelig høgskole i, Editor. Molde University College - Specialized University in Logistics: Molde (2014)
Basso, M.N., et al.: GCE Blue Maritime: Cluster performance and export potential 2022. In: MENON-PUBLICATION (2022)
ÅKP: Maritim21 Confirms the Cluster’s New Blue Deal Strategy (2022) Available from: https://www.aakp.no/aakp/nyheter/maritim21-confirms-the-clusters-new-blue-deal-strategy/.2022
Abrahamoglu, S., et al.: Maritim Verdiskapingsrapport 2023. In: Menon publikasjon. Oslo, Menon (2023)
Næss, A.F., et al.: Bygget luksusskip for luselønn, in NRK. NRK (2022)
Halse, L.L.: Global sourcing strategies and the dynamics of cluster knowledge sharing: An evolutionary perspective. J. Inno. Econo. Manage. 33(3), 53–78 (2020)
Heras-Saizarbitoria, I., Urbieta, L., Boiral, O.: Organizations’ engagement with sustainable development goals: From cherry-picking to SDG-washing? Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 29(2), 316–328 (2022)
Elkington, J.: Cannibals With Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. Capston, Publishiing Ltd., Oxford (1997)
Carroll, A.B., Shabana, K.M.: The business case for corporate social responsibility: a review of concepts, research and practice. Int. J. Manag. Rev. 12(1), 85–105 (2010)
Abbasi, M., Nilsson, F.: Themes and challenges in making supply chains environmentally sustainable. Supply Chain Manag. 17(5), 517–530 (2012)
Sjøtun, S.G.: The role of engineers in the greening of the south-western norwegian maritime industry: practices, agency and social fields. Geoforum 113, 111–120 (2020)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing
About this paper
Cite this paper
Klymenko, O., Halse, L.L. (2023). Understanding Sustainability: Cases from the Norwegian Maritime Industry. In: Alfnes, E., Romsdal, A., Strandhagen, J.O., von Cieminski, G., Romero, D. (eds) Advances in Production Management Systems. Production Management Systems for Responsible Manufacturing, Service, and Logistics Futures. APMS 2023. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 692. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43688-8_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43688-8_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-43687-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-43688-8
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)