Navigating Salient Paradoxical Tensions within Sustainable Supply Chains in the Digital Era

This study utilizes exploratory multiple-case research to examine the inherent paradoxical tensions in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices within the digital era. Through in-depth interviews with 16 supply chain experts from various industries—including food and beverage, consumer electronics, automotive manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and apparel — this research identifies key paradoxes at different stages of the supply chain. The findings indicate that SSCM paradoxes manifest differently across supply chain production processes. The procurement stages predominantly exhibit learning and belonging paradoxes (e.g., balancing innovation adoption with stakeholder alignment), whereas production stages demonstrate learning and organizing paradoxes (e.g., reconciling process optimization with workforce adaptability). Marketing, logistics, and recycling phases are characterized by learning and performing paradoxes (e.g., aligning sustainability goals with operational efficiency). Notably, learning-oriented tensions emerge as a pervasive challenge, highlighting the importance of cognitive sensemaking in SSCM implementation. Additionally, the firm’s contingency factors significantly influence the prominence of these paradoxes. Higher structural supply chain network complexity, rapid product iteration cycles, and increased institutional pressures amplify paradoxical tensions. In contrast, higher digital orientation can enable organizations to balance competing SSCM priorities through improved visibility and predictive analytics. This study contributes to the
SSCM literature by 1) developing a process-stage typology of SSCM paradoxes and 2) identifying digital orientation as a critical factor in managing paradoxes.
The practical implications focus on adaptive strategies for using digital tools to balance sustainability goals with operational realities in supply chains.