The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.

The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.The impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration: the case of Vietnam.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

DUONG NGOC HONG

THE IMPACTS OF SUPPLY CHAIN SOCIAL

SUSTAINABILITY ON SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE, MEDIATING ROLE OF SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION

THE CASE OF VIETNAM

DISSERTATION

1 Professor Nguyen Dong Phong

2 Associate Professor Bui Thanh Trang

Ho Chi Minh City – 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

LIST OF TABLES ix

ABSTRACT 1

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 3

1.1 Problem statement 3

1.1.1 Research background 3

1.1.2 Overview of social sustainability in Vietnam 5

1.2 Research gap 7

1.3 Research objectives 10

1.4 Research questions 10

1.5 Research methodology and data collection 11

1.6 Research contribution 12

1.6.1 Theoretical contributions 12

1.6.2 Practical implications 13

1.7 Research limitation 14

1.8 Research structure 15

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT 16

2.1 Current status of sustainable development in Vietnam 16

2.1.1 Vietnam’s 17 sustainable development goals 16

2.1.2 The importance of sustainable development 20

2.1.3 Supply chain sustainable development in Vietnam 21

2.2 A systematic review of recent literatures in the social sustainability domain 23 2.2.1 The systematic review process 23

2.2.2 A classification framework for analysis 25

2.2.3 Keyword analysis (co-occurrence) 31

2.3 Key concepts 37

2.3.1 Supply chain social sustainability 37

2.3.1.1 Sustainability 37

2.3.1.2 Social sustainability practices 38

2.3.2 Supply chain integration 42

2.3.2.1 Internal integration 42

2.3.2.2 Customer integration 43

2.3.2.3 Supplier integration 44

2.3.3 Supply chain risk management 45

2.3.4 Sustainable supply chain management 47

2.3.4.1 Supply chain 47

2.3.4.2 Supply chain management 48

2.3.4.3 Sustainable supply chain management 49

2.3.5 Supply chain performance 54

2.3.5.1 Supplier performance 55

2.3.5.2 Customer performance 55

2.4 Theoretical backgrounds 56

2.4.1 Stakeholder theory view 56

2.4.2 Dynamic capabilities view 57

2.4.3 Stakeholder resource-based view 58

2.5 Hypotheses development 60

2.6 Proposed research model 68

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 69

3.1 Research process 69

3.2 Pilot study 71

3.2.1 Design questionnaire 71

3.2.2 Cronbach’s Alpha testing 73

3.3 Ethics in primary research 83

3.3.1 The core principles of research ethics 83

3.3.2 The practices of research ethics 84

3.3.2.1 Research design 84

3.3.2.2 Research method 84

3.3.2.3 Incentives 85

3.3.2.4 Data collection 85

3.4 The main study 85

3.4.1 Sampling method 85

3.4.2 Sample size 86

3.4.3 Participants and data collection 87

3.4.4 The quality of the research model 89

3.4.5 PLS-SEM 90

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS, AND DISCUSSIONS 100

4.1 Sample characteristics 100

4.2 Descriptive statistics 102

4.3 Reliability and discriminant validity 104

4.3.1 First-order constructs 105

4.3.2 Second-order constructs 106

4.4 Common method bias 113

4.5 Hypothesized model testing 114

4.5.1 The repeated indicators approach 115

4.5.2 The two-stage approach 118

4.6 The results of PLS-SEM 120

4.6.1 Quality testing 120

4.6.2 The direct effects 124

4.6.3 The mediation effects 125

4.6.4 Control variables 127

4.6.5 Multi-group analysis 128

4.7 Summary results of hypotheses testing 134

4.8 Discussions 139

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 147

5.1 Conclusion 147

5.2 Theoretical contributions 148

5.3 Practical implications 151

5.3.1 Implications for managers 151

5.3.2 Implications for policy-makers 152

5.4 Limitations and future research 154

PUBLICATION 155

REFERENCES 156

Appendix 1 183

Appendix 2 187

Appendix 3 189

Appendix 4 196

Appendix 5 200

Appendix 6 201

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Notation Full Definition

VRIN Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, and Non-Substitutable

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 - 17 sustainable development goals in Vietnam 17

Figure 2 - Articles selection process 24

Figure 3 - SSCS articles based on the year of publication 26

Figure 4 - Classification according to publishers 26

Figure 5 - Distribution of articles based on journals 27

Figure 6 - Classification according to survey country 28

Figure 7 - Classification according to research areas 29

Figure 8 - Classification according to authors 30

Figure 9 - The keywords co-occurrence network (from 2009 – 2015) 31

Figure 10 - The keywords co-occurrence network (from 2016 – 2021) 32

Figure 11 - Sustainable Supply Chain Management 51

Figure 12 - The model of Mani et al., 2020 60

Figure 13 - Proposed research model 68

Figure 14 - Research process 70

Figure 15 - The repeated indicators approach 117

Figure 16 - The two-stage approach 119

Figure 17 - PLS-SEM Results 138

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 - Existing literature reviews in SCSS domain 33

Table 2 - Definitions of Sustainable Supply Chain Management 49

Table 3 - Existing Literature Reviews relevant to Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Integration, and Supply Chain Performance 52

Table 4 - Summarization of proposed hypotheses 67

Table 5 - Pilot test 73

Table 6 - Factor analysis, Reliability test 79

Table 7 - Final questionnaire 91

Table 8 - PLS-SEM vs CB-SEM 98

Table 9 - Sample characteristics 100

Table 10 - Descriptive statistics 103

Table 11 - Outer loadings (1st order) 105

Table 12 - Outer loadings (1st order) continued 106

Table 13 - Outer loadings (2nd order) 106

Table 14 - Construct Reliability and Validity 108

Table 15 - Correlations between Research Constructs (Fornell-Larcker Criterion) 109 Table 16 - Correlations between Research Constructs (Fornell-Larcker Criterion – continued) 110

Table 17 - Correlations between Research Constructs (HTMT) 111

Table 18 - Correlations between Research Constructs (HTMT – continued) 112

Table 19 - Common method bias checking 113

Table 20 - R-Square values 120

Table 21 - f-square values 121

Table 22 - Q-square values 123

Table 23 - PLS-SEM (The direct effects) 124

Table 24 - PLS-SEM (The mediation effects) 126

Table 25 - Company’s operation time 127

Table 26 - Robust tests (Company’s operation time) 127

Table 27 - Company’s capital investment 128

Table 28 - Robust tests (Company’s capital investment) 128

Table 29 - MGA (Manufacturing vs Other industries) 130

Table 30 - Bootstrapping Results (Manufacturing vs Transportation) 131

Table 31 - MGA (Vendors vs Other industries) 132

Table 32 - Bootstrapping Results (Vendors vs Warehouses/Transportation) 133

Table 33 - Summary of hypothesis testing results 134

Table 34 - Harman’s single factor test (CMB) 200

Table 35 - Rotated component matrix 201

Table 36 - KMO and Bartlett’s Test 202

ABSTRACT

Problem: The importance of sustainability in the supply chain has steadily risen

in recent decades as a result of the growing awareness on the social issues In order to achieve sustainability successfully, set out by the 9th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam on sustainable development, the Government has issued

the “Orientation for sustainable development of the country” Reason for writing: is to

examine the relationship between supply chain social sustainability and supply chain performance, as well as explore the mediating role of supply chain integration on this

relationship Methods: PLS-SEM model is developed to identify the impacts of

sustainability on performance outcomes and the mediating role of supply chain integration The author received 428 responses from small, medium and large companies located in Vietnam, and after filtering, 408 responses were used for further

analysis Results: This finding showed that sustainability impacts significantly on

integration and performance in the supply chain Moreover, the result indicates that supplier integration and internal integration mediate the relationship between social sustainability practices and supply chain performance, while customer integration

mediation role was not found significant Conclusion: This result proves that social

sustainability practices can link all the stakeholders and enhance collaboration in the supply chain In addition, performance outcomes can be increased by implementing social sustainability practices To maintain sustainable development, firms should embrace values of sustainability to improve the well-being, working condition, safety and healthcare of their employees and their strategic partners as well as the advancement

of local society

Key-words: Supply chain social sustainability, Supply chain integration, Supply

chain performance, PLS-SEM, Vietnam

TÓM TẮT

Lý do lựa chọn đề tài nghiên cứu: Trong những năm gần đây, tại các nước phát

triển, quản lý chuỗi cung ứng bền vững đạt được sự chú ý đáng kể trong các công ty đa quốc gia và giới học thuật Việt Nam là quốc gia cam kết mạnh mẽ trong việc thực hiện các mục tiêu phát triển bền vững thông qua việc ban hành Định hướng chiến lược phát

triển bền vững vào năm 2004 tại Đại hội đại biểu toàn quốc lần thứ IX Mục tiêu nghiên cứu: Nghiên cứu này trình bày mối liên hệ giữa phát triển bền vững về mặt xã hội và

hiệu quả hoạt động trong quản lý chuỗi cung ứng tại Việt Nam, với biến trung gian là

sự liên kết trong chuỗi cung ứng Phương pháp nghiên cứu: Mô hình PLS-SEM được

áp dụng nhằm xác định các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến phát triển bền vững về mặt xã hội và mối liên hệ giữa phát triển bền vững với sự liên kết và hiệu quả hoạt động trong quản

lý chuỗi cung ứng Tác giả đã nhận được 428 câu trả lời từ nhân viên và quản lý đến từ các công ty nhỏ, vừa và lớn tại Việt Nam; sau khi sàn lọc, 408 câu trả lời được sử dụng

để phân tích Kết quả nghiên cứu: chứng minh rằng phát triển bền vững về mặt xã hội

có tác động tích cực đến sự liên kết giữa các thành viên trong chuỗi cung ứng, đồng thời nâng cao hiệu quả hoạt động trong chuỗi cung ứng Bên cạnh đó, nghiên cứu cũng mở rộng khái niệm phát triển bền vững và nhấn mạnh tầm quan trọng của phát triển bền

vững trong bối cảnh “bình thường mới” tại Việt Nam Kết luận và hàm ý: đưa ra những

khuyến nghị cho các nhà quản lý về việc lập kế hoạch và phát triển doanh nghiệp theo hướng bền vững trong chiến lược kinh doanh Để đạt được các kết quả trên, nhà quản

lý cần phải quan tâm đến an toàn lao động, sức khỏe, phúc lợi và điều kiện làm việc của nhân viên cũng như các đối tác

Từ khóa: Phát triển bền vững về mặt xã hội, Sự liên kết trong chuỗi cung ứng,

Hiệu quả hoạt động trong chuỗi cung ứng, PLS-SEM, Việt Nam

& Berger (2017), sustainability means satisfying today’s demands without endangering the needs of future generations Additionally, many researchers have investigated whether enhancing sustainability practices in a firm’s supply chain is essential to developing supply chain performance (Singh & Trivedi, 2016; Winter & Knemeyer, 2013)

In addition, famous global brands such as Adidas, H&M, Nestle, and Coca-Cola have gradually moved forward to build a more sustainable supply chain They are controlling the adherence of their strategic stakeholders and developing their ability to identify social, economic, and environmental issues in focal companies (Nicolăescu, Alpopi, & Zaharia, 2015) According to the triple bottom lines, managers should improve the relationship between economic, social, and environmental activities to achieve sustainability and high performance in their supply chain (Sánchez-Hernández, Vázquez-Burguete, García-Miguélez, & Lanero-Carrizo, 2021) In other words, these activities mentioned above must be integrated into the company’s final strategies; also, managers should encourage other members in their supply chain to contribute to the

development and wealth of their society (Schaltegger, Windolph, Harms, & Hörisch, 2014) It leads to increase company outcomes As a result, policy-makers and managers paid much attention to the performance of sustainable supply chain management over the past decades, namely, economic performance, social performance, and environmental performance

Moreover, much of the current literature on sustainability pays attention to developed economies (Gerner, 2019) where social values and norms are different compared to developing economies (Ashby, Leat, & Hudson‐Smith, 2012) Supply chain social sustainability has been examined in many multinational corporations in developed countries, especially in Europe and Northern America (Walker, Seuring, Sarkis, & Klassen, 2014; Yakovleva, Sarkis, & Sloan, 2012) Some works of literature have examined this topic in developing economies and found that sustainability can support and enhance a firm’s competitiveness and supply chain performance (Sodhi, 2015; Mani, Jabbour, & Mani, 2020; Mani, Gunasekaran, & Delgado, 2018; Mani, Gunasekaran, Papadopoulos, Hazen, & Dubey, 2016)

To deal with the diversity and complexity of global sustainability problems, one

of the main aspects of tension is whether firms consider supply chain integration (Kiron, Kruschwitz, Haanaes, & Reeves, 2015) There are three main components of supply chain integration: internal, customer, and supplier integration (Shou, Li, Park, & Kang, 2018) If firms can enhance collaboration with their strategic members (suppliers, customers, and stakeholders), they will effectively and efficiently achieve their goals (Ataseven & Nair, 2017) It also means that better supply chain integration will lead to better performance Although there have been many studies on sustainable development

in recent years, there is limited research on how companies and their strategic stakeholders work together to accomplish their shared goals and objectives Hence, some research has examined this issue and identified the important role of supply chain integration in achieving performance outcomes in the supply chain (Huang, Yen, & Liu, 2014)

Furthermore, supply chain social sustainability may play an essential role in enhancing the overall performance of the supply chain The link between social

sustainability and supply chain performance could be explained by how a company operates in ways that enhance society and the environment; thus, it will improve its supply chain performance Some authors have investigated how an organization can apply supply chain integration practices to develop performance outcomes and improve its sustainability activities (Gelhard & Von Delft, 2016; Brown, 2015) Besides, the relationship between supply chain integration and sustainability practices is still unclear

in the previous studies (Kaliani Sundram, Rajagopal, Bahrin, & Subramaniam, 2018; Fernandes, Sampaio, Sameiro, & Truong, 2017) As a result, our research realizes the necessity for further study about the impacts of supply chain social sustainability on firms’ supply chain performance with the mediating role of supply chain integration, particularly in developing economies

1.1.2 Overview of social sustainability in Vietnam

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature declaration about Environment and Development, Vietnamese Government issued the “National Plan on Environment and Sustainable Development 1991 – 2000” (IUCN, 1991) The system

of legal documents and the state management system on environmental protection was later promulgated, especially the Law on Environment, creating a premise for the sustainable development process in Vietnam

At the 9th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (2001-2010), Vietnamese authorities declared the socio-economic development strategy as “Bringing the country out of under-development; markedly improving the standard of living people’s material, cultural and spiritual lives; creating a foundation for Vietnam to basically become an industrial country by 2020” Human resources, scientific and technological capacity, infrastructure, potential economic forces, national defense and security have been strengthened; a socialist-oriented market economic institution has been basically formed; the country’s position in the global market has been enhanced The development perspective in the above strategy is affirmed as “Fast, effective and sustainable development, economic growth coupled with progress, social justice and environmental protection”; “Socio-economic development is closely linked with the protection and improvement of the environment, ensuring the harmony between the

artificial environment and the natural environment, preserving bio-diversity” (Government News, 2022)

The objective goal of sustainable development is to achieve material adequacy, spiritual and cultural wealth, equality of citizens and social consensus, and harmony among people and the environment Sustainable development must closely, reasonably, and harmoniously combine three aspects, namely economic development, social development, and environmental protection (Ministry of Industry and Trade, 2021) Firstly, the objective of economic sustainable development is to achieve stable growth with a reasonable economic structure, meet the requirements of improving people’s living standards, avoid future recession or stagnation, and avoid leaving a large debt burden on future generations (Tran, 2019)

Secondly, the goal of social sustainable development is to achieve high results in the implementation of social progress and justice, to ensure that the people’s regime and quality of health care are increasingly improved People will have the opportunity

to study and get a job, reduce poverty and narrow the gap between the rich and the poor between classes and social groups, reduce social evils, and improve the level of equity

in rights and interests In addition, the Vietnamese government should maintain and promote diversity and national cultural identity, and constantly improve the level of civilization in terms of material and spiritual life (Lam, 2014)

Finally, the objective of environmentally sustainable development is to rationally exploit, economically, and effectively use natural resources; effectively prevent, stop, and control environmental pollution, well protect the living environment; protect national parks, nature reserves, biosphere reserves and conserve biodiversity; overcome degradation and improve environmental quality To achieve the goals successfully, set out by the 9th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam on sustainable development, the Government has issued the “Orientation for sustainable development

of the country” (Vietnam’s Agenda 21)

The United Nations 2030 Agenda covers all areas, such as hunger eradication, poverty reduction, health care, and education This is an opportunity for many countries

to demonstrate their commitment to achieving the goal of improving people’s lives, ending poverty, protecting the planet as well as maintaining peace and prosperity globally However, from 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the health and lives of people and all aspects of socio-economic life in many countries Besides this, the world situation continues to be complicated In Vietnam, sustainable development has been identified by the Government as a key strategy in all socio-economic development policies, associated with the realization of social progress, justice, protection, ensure the harmonious, taking care of the material and spiritual life, and bringing a prosperous and happy life to the people (Government News, 2022)

In brief, sustainable development is both an urgent need and an inevitable trend of the social development process in Vietnam The Government has synchronously implemented many solutions to promote sustainable development and gained some achievements such as stable macroeconomics, and economic growth However, Vietnam needs to invest heavily in social sustainability For example, the authorities should focus on increasing the quality of life, gender equality, working condition, health

& safety, and well-being of people as committed to human development The main prioritizes serving people and maximizing the human factor in each development strategy Vietnam aims to be in the leading group of high-middle-income countries by

2030 and become a modern industrialized, socialist-oriented country by 2045 (Banking Review, 2020) As a result, the author realizes the necessity for further study about social sustainability, especially in Vietnam

1.2 Research gap

While attention to social sustainability practices has been increasing over the globe recently, many researchers point out that there are limited studies on the Asian context in this domain (Karam, & Jamali, 2017) Many focal companies are located in developing countries, particularly in Asia Social issues in the supply chain are considered one of the most discussed topics in these countries; however, managers did not pay much attention to understanding and addressing these issues Furthermore, applying social standards to measure environmental, financial, and social performance

is hardly practiced, especially in supply chains (Torugsa, O’Donohue, & Hecker, 2013;

Cheung, Kong, Tan, & Wang, 2015) Also, social manners are complex and diverse based on a particular country’s social development Therefore, many scholars suggest that this domain needs further research to explore and identify these issues

In this study, the author examines the subject of social sustainability practices, which the author describes as an organization's capacity to handle social concerns linked with the safety and wellbeing of individuals in developing markets This group includes not only consumers, suppliers, employees, and staff throughout the supply chain, but also the community served by the supply chain Consequently, the author employs the concepts of a stakeholder resource-based view to investigate how social sustainability practices may contribute to performance results in developing markets The company's supply chain (suppliers/customers/partners) resources and dynamic capacities concerning social sustainability are essential to delivering performance advantages and overall sustainable development Indeed, academics and practitioners have increasingly highlighted the need for a deeper understanding of the impact of social sustainability on supply chain performance (Shafiq, Johnson, Klassen,

& Awaysheh, 2017; Mani et al., 2018a, b)

As a result, this study has been conducted for various reasons Firstly, as mentioned above, our research recognizes the necessity for further study about the impacts of supply chain social sustainability on supply chain performance with the mediating role of supply chain integration, particularly in developing economies Recently, as a responsible member of the United Nations, Vietnam has been actively developing and implementing strategies to promote green growth and sustainable development There have been several policies and programs to raise awareness, support, and encourage businesses to apply sustainable business models

Therefore, our research examines these main subjects: (1) How do supply chain social sustainability influence supply chain integration and supply chain performance? (2) How does supply chain integration (internal integration, supplier integration, and customer integration) enhance supply chain performance? and (3) How do the integrations between supply chain members mediate the relationship between supply chain social sustainability and supply chain performance? Through examining the

subjects mentioned earlier, our research will gain the following contributions in the context of developing economies

The second reason for conducting this research is to examine the concept of social sustainability practices It clearly explains how sustainability can enhance performance outcomes in the supply chain Thirdly, our research is perhaps the first study investigating the relationship between supply chain social sustainability and supply chain integration in developing economies, particularly in Vietnam In previous studies, many authors stated that supply chain integration is positively related to supply chain

social sustainability (Kang, Yang, Park, & Huo, 2018; Huq, Chowdhury, & Klassen,

2016; Koberg & Longoni, 2019; Gelhard & von Delft, 2016) However, this study proves that firms that adopt social sustainability practices can increase the integration with their strategic stakeholders As a result, it will lead to high-performance outcomes

in the supply chain

Besides this, the Covid-19 pandemic negatively affected global socio-economic life In Vietnam, supply chains have been halted, many service sectors had to close and stop providing for a while The development level in some provinces is not the same, lagging behind many countries In addition, the awareness and capacity of the whole system (people, infrastructure, finance, and institutions) are still low, making old habits

in production and management Furthermore, the general knowledge and understanding

of the sustainable development of many enterprises, institutions, and citizens are incomplete and inconsistent Socio-economic policies are only focused on economic growth and social stability but have not paid enough attention to sustainability when exploiting and using natural resources, in association with the protection of natural resources This study proves the importance of supply chain social sustainability and why managers must be aware of sustainable development in the supply chain

Last but not least, this study investigates three dimensions of supply chain integration, the collaboration between external integration and internal integration, and the influence of supply chain integration on performance outcomes in the supply chain The final reason is to broaden other research on supply chain integration by including literature on the collaboration between supply chain integration and performance This

research also examined managerial implications and theoretical contributions based on the results and findings

1.3 Research objectives

The general objective of this research is to extend previous findings of (Mani, Gunasekaran, & Delgado, 2018; Mani, Gunasekaran, Papadopoulos, Hazen, & Dubey, 2016; Mani, Jabbour, & Mani, 2020) about the importance of supply chain social sustainability in developing economies Accordingly, the specific objectives of this research are:

Objective 1: Identifies the relationship between supply chain social sustainability

and supply chain performance, mediating role of supply chain integration

Objective 2: Examines the impact of social sustainability on three dimensions of

supply chain integration: internal, customer, and supplier

Objective 3: Identifies the influence of supply chain integration on customer

performance, supplier performance, and supply chain performance

1.4 Research questions

Our research tries to examine the following research questions:

RQ1 How does social sustainability enhance supply chain performance,

mediating role of supply chain integration?

RQ2 How does social sustainability influence internal integration, supplier

integration, and customer integration in the supply chain?

RQ3 How do the three dimensions of supply chain integration affect supplier

performance, customer performance, and supply chain performance?

In addition, the author uses three main foundation theories to answer the research questions, explain the hypotheses development and develop the research model: (1) Stakeholder theory view explains the relationship between social sustainability and supply chain integration (Barney & Harrison, 2020; Mohammed & Muhammed, 2017), (2) Dynamic capabilities view examines the relationship between supply chain

integration and supply chain performance (Laaksonen & Peltoniemi, 2018; Schoemaker, Heaton, & Teece, 2018), and (3) Stakeholder resource-based view identifies the relationship between social sustainability and supply chain performance (Kull, Mena, & Korschun, 2016; Freeman, Dmytriyev & Phillips, 2021)

1.5 Research methodology and data collection

This study is divided into two main parts: the pilot study and the main study Firstly, the pilot study is carried out to re-examine the questionnaire with respect to logic, wording structure, and appropriateness Secondly, the main study focused on testing the reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of construct measurements and the proposed hypotheses The author adopted and revised the measurement items from previous studies and used a 7-point Likert scale (ranging from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree) for these measurement items The supply chain

social sustainability was adapted from the research of Mani et al., (2016) and Mani and

Agrawal (2015) In addition, the measurements from a prior study by Jajja, Chatha, & Farooq (2018) were used to measure Supply Chain Integration, including Supplier Integration (4 items), Internal Integration (4 items), and Customer Integration (4 items) For the Customer performance (2 items), Supply chain performance (3 items), and Supplier performance (3 items), the author used items from Mani, Jabbour, and Mani (2020)

The author delivered online and offline surveys to executive staff and managers

of companies located in Vietnam This study’s data were from April to October 2021; the survey subjects are small, medium, and large companies in the South of Vietnam, particularly in HCMC, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Mekong Delta Rivers The total time for collecting the data from respondents will be approximately six months All companies have at least 4 to 5 years of operating The author applied these criteria to ensure all the companies are mature in operations and have enough knowledge of social sustainability practices In total, 428 responses were received

1.6 Research contribution

1.6.1 Theoretical contributions

By examining these primary questions, this research will contribute to the social sustainability domain Firstly, the empirical result shows that supply chain integration plays an integral part in accomplishing supply chain performance To achieve a firm’s goals effectively and efficiently, it is necessary to integrate collaboration between firms and their strategic suppliers in the supply chain Hence, this study supports previous research on supply chain integration (Liu, Jia, Jia, & Koufteros, 2021; Raut, Priyadarshinee, Gardas, Narkhede, & Nehete, 2018) Through the development of internal integration, information and data can be exchanged and delivered quickly and sufficiently (Xian, Sambasivan, & Abdullah, 2018) This leads to the addition of mutual understanding across departments within an organization In addition, this study has revealed that when companies actively keep in touch and share information related to inventory management and inventory status with their suppliers, the production progress will be ensured once the raw materials and goods are supplied on time at a reasonable price (Li, Yu, Wang, & Yan, 2017)

Secondly, the finding indicates that customer integration does not significantly influence customer performance; it turns out to be contrary to previous studies (Lee, 2016; Schoenherr & Swink, 2012) This conflict conclusion can be explained due to the differences in respondents’ perceptions which are probably influenced by employee positions, job tenure, and managerial knowledge Empirical results have revealed that customer integration does not weigh the same significance as internal integration and supplier integration, especially in some aspects This finding is similar to a previous study by (Wiengarten, Pagell, Ahmed, & Gimenez, 2014; Duong & Ha, 2021b; Duong

& Ha, 2021a) which that means when it comes to cost and innovation performance, the effect of customer integration on customer performance is weaker than the others

In addition, this study proves that supply chain social sustainability is positively related to supply chain integration It turns out to be contrary to previous research Many authors stated that supply chain integration is positively related to supply chain social

sustainability (Wilding et al., 2012; Huq et al., 2016; Klassen and Vachon, 2003;

Gelhard and von Delft, 2016) It can be explained when supply chain managers pay attention to sustainable development, they will increase the integration with their strategic partners (customers and suppliers) and their employees Hence, supply chain integration will improve, then lead to enhance the performance outcomes In other words, social sustainability practices are very important to achieve a firm’s goals effectively and efficiently

Last but not least, through perceiving social sustainability in emerging markets, this study attempts to fill the current research gap by interpreting different dimensions

of supply chain social sustainability (Mani, Gunasekaran, et al., 2016) This result is

also similar to previous studies about the link between supply chain social sustainability practices and supply chain performance (Bai, Satir, & Sarkis, 2019;Bai & Sarkis, 2017) The finding indicates that companies frequently contribute to the local community and support their employees, which helps firms improve their corporate reputation and credibility Customers are also willing to purchase products and services from these firms that perform social sustainability commitments to the whole community While implementing these sustainable and responsible commitments, companies should call for the collaboration of their strategic customers to participate in these meaningful campaigns

1.6.2 Practical implications

Firstly, firms’ managers should emphasize supply chain integration, including supplier integration, customer integration, and internal integration Furthermore, it proves that different forms of integration influence different aspects of performance in the supply chain As a result, it provides many helpful guidelines for managers to increase supply chain integration in a specific situation following firms’ objectives Secondly, the results help managers solve social issues responsively in several aspects It encourages managers to enrich employees’ welfare and working conditions and contribute interests to the local community Moreover, this study provides critical guidance to the firms’ managers toward sustainable development by emphasizing the importance of social sustainability motives and their impact on facilitating supply chain performance

Thirdly, to control and manage risks in the supply chain, managers should apply risk management practices As a result, managers can predict and recognize risks quickly and effectively after the post-Covid-19 period Based on the findings, the authors suggested that collaborative practices within organizations and the firm’s strategic partners are highly recommended to control risks and increase the firm’s performance

In addition, managers should better understand the importance of sustainability practices and how they could contribute to supply chain performance This study suggests that managers should be more actively collaborating and encouraging their partners, including upstream suppliers and downstream customers, to act responsibly and contribute to the community As a result, the supply chain performance will be significantly enhanced

Besides this, the government must continue to improve the legal framework for sustainable environmental development The government should diversify the country's resources and exploit the private sector’s potential in the development of sustainable goals The authorities must pay more attention to improving citizens’ health systems The state needs more support for provinces with a healthy low-level system In addition, they should reduce the income disparity between cities and rural areas Hence, it leads

to stability in life and helps economic-socio growth more sustainable

Last but not least, the government should continue to invest in the education system to improve the qualifications of citizens in Vietnam This strategy cannot be achieved immediately but will positively impact the long term, thereby ensuring more sustainable economic growth Besides, the states have to open policies to attract foreign direct investment It will contribute to the sustainable development of the country As a result, the government can solve social issues, ensuring a better life for people

1.7 Research limitation

Although our findings contribute both theoretical and practical aspects, this study has some limitations Firstly, the participants have different job positions, from executive employees to top managers Therefore, the perception and viewpoint of the

interviewees are different in terms of the work role, years of experience, and knowledge about supply chain social sustainability Secondly, the social manners in developing countries are distinct from developed countries Hence, this study may only apply in the context of emerging economies In addition, this research uses data gathered from a single country (Vietnam); therefore, it may affect the generality of the sample Lastly, there are three main pillars of sustainable development, including economic (profit), environment (planet), and society (people) In this research, the author only examines the social aspect

1.8 Research structure

This research is structured as follows

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Chapter 2 – Literature Review and Hypotheses Development

Chapter 3 – Research Methodology

Chapter 4 – Data Analysis, Results, and Discussions

Chapter 5 – Conclusion and Implications

Overall, this chapter displays the dissertation’s background to present the critical research problem, the research goals, and the research questions By reviewing the existing literature, this research proposes investigating the connection between supply chain social sustainability and supply chain performance in Vietnam, specifically, the mediating roles of supply chain integration

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT

This chapter will examine the literature review to clarify the research gap that provides related theories These existing theories will illustrate how supply chain social sustainability is related to supply chain performance under the influence of supply chain integration

In this chapter, the author also mentioned the theoretical backgrounds, including (1) the Stakeholder theory view, (2) the Dynamic capabilities view, and (3) the Stakeholder resource-based view In addition, the author proposed the hypotheses and framework model for this study

2.1 Current status of sustainable development in Vietnam

2.1.1 Vietnam’s 17 sustainable development goals

Vietnam is a country that is strongly committed to the implementation of sustainable development goals through the issuance of the Vietnam Strategic Orientation for Sustainable Development in 2004, the Vietnam Sustainable Development Strategy for the period 2011 – 2020; and most recently the National Action Plan to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Furthermore, the United Nations and its partners in Vietnam are working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: 17 ambitious Goals that address the major development challenges faced by people in Vietnam and around the world (United Nations Vietnam, 2022) The Sustainable Development Goals call for global action to reduce poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity These are the goals that the United Nations

is implementing in Vietnam

Vietnam has nationalized the global 2030 Agenda into a National Action Plan for the implementation of 17 sustainable development goals and 115 specific goals in line with conditions and priorities for the development of the country.On September 25th,

2020, the Government issued Resolution No 136/NQ-CP on sustainable development The resolution sets out 17 goals for Vietnam by 2030, including:

Figure 1 - 17 sustainable development goals in Vietnam

Source: United Nations Vietnam, 2022

- (1) No poverty: There will be no poverty in Vietnam by 2030;

- (2) Zero hunger: The Government will eliminate hunger, ensure food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agricultural development;

- (3) Good health and well-being: Vietnam authorities ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for people of all ages;

- (4) Quality education: The Government ensures quality, and equitable education and promotes life-long learning opportunities for all;

- (5) Gender equality: This goal sets to achieve gender equality; empowering and creating opportunities for women and girls;

- (6) Clean water and sanitation: Vietnam authorities will provide adequate and sustainable management of water resources and sanitation for all;

- (7) Affordable and clean energy: People in Vietnam can access affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all;

- (8) Decent work and economic growth: The Government will maintain sustainable, comprehensive, and continuous economic growth; full employment, productivity, and decent work for all;

- (9) Industry, infrastructure, and innovation: Vietnam authorities build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation;

- (10) Reduced inequalities: There will be no in-equality in society;

- (11) Sustainable cities and communities: The Government pays attention to sustainable and resilient urban and rural development; ensures a safe living and working environment, and reasonably allocates population and labor by region;

- (12) Responsible consumption and production: Both local and foreign companies must increase sustainable production and consumption;

- (13) Climate action: Vietnam authorities must respond to climate change and natural disasters immediately and effectively;

- (14) Life below water: There will be more conservation and sustainable use of oceans, and marine resources for sustainable development;

- (15) Life on land: The Government should protect and develop forests, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, prevent degradation and restore land resources;

- (16) Peace, justice, and strong institutions: Vietnam authorities will promote a peaceful, democratic, fair, equal, and civilized society for sustainable development, creating access to justice for all, building effective, accountable, and participatory institutions at all levels;

- (17) Partnerships for the goals: The Government will strengthen implementation practices and promote global partnerships for sustainable development

To accomplish the above goals, the Resolution sets out common tasks and solutions For example, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is assigned 3 tasks, including presiding over and organizing the implementation of the National Action Program on sustainable production and consumption for the period 2021 – 2030 (issued in Decision

No 889/QD-TTg) The authorities also issue policies on sustainable production and consumption; promote green supply chain management; develop sustainable supply chain with environmentally friendly products and services; give priority to small and medium enterprises; and promote the development of environmental industry, waste recycling industry

Furthermore, the main tasks of the program have been actively implemented, initially achieving some remarkable results According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, many goals of the Program have been completed or completed, including (1) Percentage of enterprises applying energy-saving solutions and cleaner production; (2) Application and gradually expand ecological innovation to enterprises, manufactories, and industrial parks; (3) Apply green distribution and logistics certification; (4) Successfully develop and gradually expand sustainable supply chains for key products

in the economy; (5) Provide information, guidance and support to meet the requirements

of the environment and sustainable development; (6) Consumers and communities are well informed about environmentally friendly products, sustainable production and consumption practices; (7) The proportion of plastic, paper, and waste oil scraps that will be recycled and percentage of conventional industrial solid waste recovered for re-cycling and re-use (Ministry of Industry and Trade, 2022)

In addition to the achieved results, a number of the program’s objectives are being urgently implemented and initially effective, including (1) 50% of construction solid waste in urban areas will be recovered for re-cycling and re-use; (2) 85% of solid waste

is re-used, re-cycled, re-covered for energy and organic fertilizer; (3) Complete the legal framework and guidelines on green public procurement; (4) Increase the percentage of sustainable products in public procurement; and (5) Improve regulatory frameworks and guidelines for implementing sustainable development (Ministry of Finance, 2022)

In brief, according to 17 sustainable development goals in Vietnam and Resolution

No 136/NQ-CP, 9 over 17 goals are focused on the social sustainability, including: (1)

No poverty, (2) Zero hunger, (3) Good health and well-being, (4) Quality education, (5) Gender equality, (6) Clean water and sanitation, (7) Reduced inequalities, (11) Sustainable cities and communities, and (16) Peace, justice and strong institution (see

Figure 1) As a result, the author realizes the importance of social sustainability, particularly in the supply chain Based on this mentioned evidence and another

literature review in this domain, the author will select six main indicators that are relevant to supply chain social sustainability “philanthropy, equity, human rights,

safety, ethics, and health & welfare” The author also gives more explanation in the next parts

2.1.2 The importance of sustainable development

Sustainable development is an inevitable trend However, the main challenge for businesses is how to integrate sustainable development into short, medium, and long-term strategies Besides this, investment capital is also one of the major obstacles that many businesses face in their path towards sustainable development, especially small and medium-sized enterprises Investments for sustainability are often large and do not always show immediate results For example, investments such as using clean energy

or modifying production processes to reduce the impact on the environment are term investments and do not fully represent economic value or short-term goals These are common difficulties when businesses build and deploy solutions for green growth and sustainable development (Ministry of Industry and Trade, 2022).

long-Many surveys show that most businesses believe the implementation of sustainable development goals will bring practical benefits to the business, such as improving reputation, social consensus opportunities, differentiation opportunities, increased competitive advantage, new business opportunities, and revenue sources This clearly shows the view and interest of business managers toward development In addition, as a responsible member of the United Nations, Vietnam has been actively developing and implementing solutions to promote green growth and sustainable development There have been a number of policies and programs to raise awareness, support, and encourage businesses to apply sustainable business models and protect the environment Many businesses have been more favorable to converting to a sustainable business model thanks to the support from these programs and projects (United Nations Vietnam, 2022)

In the past, pursuing a sustainable development strategy and disclosure might have been optional for businesses, but today it has become a strategic decision for businesses and investors The requirement for sustainable development comes from the fact that business does not operate alone, they work in a community and grow together Every business decision has an impact certain to society, the environment, and related

stakeholders such as employees, customers, and suppliers.Businesses depend on the environment and society to get natural resources and human resources for their operations They also share these elements with other stakeholders in their supply chain The connections, interactions, and cooperation are the key elements As a result, it is very important for businesses toward sustainability (PwC, 2019).

According to a survey conducted by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2018), 91% of businesses believe that sustainable development will improve the business reputation in the society; hence, it leads to increase business operations In addition, 87% of firms hope to have more opportunities and increase their competitive advantage 86% of respondents expect to identify the business opportunities and sources of new customers/markets.In addition, many companies are focusing on reducing carbon in their supply chains Specifically, these companies can proactively set green business goals; attract partners to supply renewable energy; participate in R&D to increase carbon-intensive technologies Besides this, managers also apply marketing campaigns, raising customers’ awareness of social issues, and increasing the prestige and spread of environmentally friendly products and brands (WBCSD, 2018)

2.1.3 Supply chain sustainable development in Vietnam

According to the results of HSBC’s survey “Navigator: Present, Future and Meaning for Business”, conducted with 8,500 companies in 34 markets, enterprises are inclined to make sustainable changes in their supply chains to improve their business results In general, the element of sustainable development in terms of environment (earth) and society (people) is considered very important by enterprises operating in the manufacturing and service sectors in Vietnam About 90% of businesses said that they manage and control their supply chains based on ethical and environmental standards Only a small fraction of the surveyed enterprises (9%) said that the sustainability of the supply chain is unnecessary for their business strategy (HSBC, 2018)

In addition, for businesses in the manufacturing and services sectors, implementing sustainability and ethical changes is the most essential key to improving profitability and business performance (96% of manufacturing enterprises; 100% of

service enterprises) From a global perspective, around 31% of businesses worldwide plan to make sustainable changes to their supply chains within the next three years For those businesses that made these changes, they can achieve cost-effectiveness (84%); improve revenue and business results (84%) Moreover, Vietnamese firms must face increasing pressure from customers, since their customers want them to be more transparent and have sustainable awareness With around 80% of environmental impact relevant to the supply chain, the ‘green’ metrics of suppliers and strategic partners are very important factors influencing the reputation and performance of a business (HSBC, 2018)

Besides this, for manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam, when asked about the main changes that businesses will make related to the supply chain within the next 3 years, 46% of surveyed enterprises said they have a plan to expand their business into new markets, and about 32% of businesses plan to choose suppliers based on their sustainability practices The changes related to the supply chain were mainly made to improve the profitability of enterprises (79%) By comparison, businesses in the service sector also have up to 77% of businesses hoping to increase profits through increasing awareness toward sustainable supply chain development, with key strategies including expanding operations into a new market (38%) as well as increased use of digital technology (31%) (HSBC, 2018)

Furthermore, policymakers and investors are putting a lot of pressure on businesses to make them publish information about sustainability practices in Vietnam This is why 85% of businesses want to achieve a sustainability standard that is recognized in the industry or the market.According to the survey results, transparency

is rated by 26% of businesses as the main criterion when they look for new suppliers (HSBC, 2018) It is because global consumers want to know the origin of the products they buy They also need to inform about the production process of how human, animal, and environmental factors are used throughout the supply chain As a result, managers

in Vietnam should pay more attention to improving sustainability in their businesses and their supply chain

2.2 A systematic review of recent literatures in the social sustainability domain

The central part of any research is the literature review This section will investigate the recent trends and current supply chain social sustainability domain developments

2.2.1 The systematic review process

The primary purpose of this part is to examine the most concerned topics in the social sustainability domain Web of Science (WoS) is applied to achieve this purpose

In the first stage, we will search for articles that contain these topics in their title, abstract, and keywords, including ‘Supply chain social sustainability,’ ‘Social sustainability,’ ‘Supply chain management,’ ‘Emerging.’ In the late 2000s, social sustainability has gained its existence over the globe Hence, for the review process, we will choose the articles published from 2010 to 2021 Moreover, conference papers, editorial notes, short notes, book chapters are excluded (Figure 1)

In the next step, well-known publishers such as Emerald, Taylor & Francis, Science Direct, Springer, Wiley, Sage, and Inder-science are considered for the review purpose It is because these publishers publish several high-quality papers Moreover, many disciplines, including management, green sustainable science technology, environmental science, engineering environmental, and business, are qualified The author also refines only English papers in the short list Based on the classification framework among different aspects, there are 255 social sustainability articles across

82 journals to review

Web of Science database – SCSS article

search

Key word used – ‘Supply chain social

sustainability’, ‘Social sustainability’,

‘Supply chain management’, ‘Emerging’

320 articles

Inclusion – ‘Journal articles’

Exclusion – ‘Conference paper, short

survey, book chapter, etc.’

317 articles

Inclusion of Publishers – Emerald, Taylor

& Francis, Science direct (Elsevier),

Springer, Wiley, Sage and Inder-science

255 articles

Articles shortlisted – 255

Classification framework for shortlisted SCSS articles

Year, Journal, Publisher, Country, Research areas, Author

Identification of Gaps and Suggestions for future work based on the results

obtained through analysis

Figure 2 - Articles selection process

Source: author’s summarization, 2021

2.2.2 A classification framework for analysis

It is necessary to examine the classification framework on the foundation of which the papers will be considered The shortlisted papers are examined on four broad aspects that give a clear concept about the social sustainability domain Moreover, this will help the author identify our paper’s research gap and contribution In the next section, we will discuss the classifications framework for this study (including five main sections)

 Articles classification based on Publication year

Over the period from 2010 to 2021, the classification of social sustainability articles based on the year of publication is shown in Figure 3 At the beginning of the 2000s, most researchers and managers practiced traditional supply chain management

As a result, the application of sustainable supply chain management was deficient However, around 2009, with the awareness of sustainability among developed and developing countries, many practitioners and policy-makers paid much attention to sustainable development in three pillars: society, economy, and environment Therefore, the amount of papers in this domain has steadily increased

According to Table 1, from 2016 to 2021, there are 221/255 articles published (more than 85%) Over the last five years, many authors and researchers have paid much attention to this domain The highest recorded year are 2021 and 2020 with 60 articles, followed by 2019 with 36 articles, then 2018 with 35 articles

Hence, the author realizes the importance of studying SCSS in Vietnam since

social sustainability is recently considered the most concerned topic

Figure 3 - SSCS articles based on the year of publication

Source: author’s summarization from WoS, 2021

 Articles classification based on publishers and journals

There are many publication titles in the social sustainability domain from various aspects such as business economics, engineering, environmental sciences ecology, social sciences, operations research management science From the publishers’ perspective, Elsevier contributed maximum articles (40.0%) followed by Emerald (29.8%), Wiley (12.9%), Taylor & Francis (9.8%), Springer (6.6%) The contribution

of these publishers is shown in Figure 4

Figure 4 - Classification according to publishers

Source: author’s summarization from WoS, 2021

In addition, the Journal of Cleaner Production contributes the highest amount of research papers (51 papers) Since 2010, the Journal of Cleaner Production has published many articles to develop the clear concept of the social sustainability domain among the journalists’ community The second most significant contribution in this domain is the International Journal of Production Economics (16 papers) This journal helped build a closed relationship between sustainability and supply chain management Followed by Supply Chain Management, an International Journal is at the third position (12 papers) – see Figure 5

Hence, the author realizes the need to examine social sustainability, supply chain integration, and performance outcomes in Vietnam

Figure 5 - Distribution of articles based on journals

Source: author’s summarization from WoS, 2021

 Articles classification based on country

The analysis of articles reveals that social sustainability has comprehensive coverage across 60 countries all over the globe The detailed description of an article based on the countries (where the authors take the survey) is presented in Figure 6

Among the 255 shortlisted articles, England has contributed to most research in this domain, with 55 articles (21.5%) On the one hand, the USA, India, China, France, Australia, and Brazil are the leading countries that help develop and examine social

sustainability research’s theoretical backgrounds Whereas in developing countries such

as Vietnam (1.9%), Turkey (1.9%), Malaysia (1.6%), and Morocco (1.6%), there are limited papers in this domain On the other hand, most multinational enterprises produce their products or services in emerging countries It is because of the cheap labor, sufficient natural resources, potential markets, high opportunities, and easy-going government However, many social issues and cases are relevant to ethics, child labor,

human rights, working conditions, health, and welfare in these countries Hence, the author realizes the importance of applying the concept of social sustainability in developing countries, particularly in Vietnam, since there are limited papers about the

SCSS domain in Vietnam on Web of Science

Figure 6 - Classification according to survey country

Source: author’s summarization from WoS, 2021

 Articles classification based on research areas

Industries play a crucial part in contributing to the wealth of a country’s economy Moreover, it becomes necessary to examine the application of SCSS in different industries (Hassini, Surti, and Searcy, 2012) Furthermore, the application of SCSS in the firm will help supply chain managers to integrate social and environmental issues into their business strategy (Pagell and Wu, 2009) Figure 7 will illustrate the implementation of SCSS reported in the last pieces of literature

Among the 255 shortlisted articles, Business economics has contributed to most research in the domain of SCSS, with around 134 articles Followed by engineering, environmental sciences, ecology, and operations research management science are the primary areas that help in strengthening the theoretical foundation of SCSS research Moreover, in Vietnam, there are many focal companies operated

Hence, the author will apply the context of social sustainability in the business economics area

Figure 7 - Classification according to research areas

Source: author’s summarization from WoS, 2021

 Articles classification based on authors

The analysis of authors reveals that the SCSS has some well-known authors The detailed description of articles classification based on authors is presented in Table 4 Among the 255 shortlisted articles, Mani (8 articles with 280 citing) and Kumar (8 articles with 246 citing) have contributed to most research in the domain of SCSS.The analysis of authors reveals that social sustainability has some well-known authors In Figure 8, there will be the description of articles classification according to authors

Among the 255 journals, Mani V (8 articles with 280 citing) and Kumar A (8 articles with 246 citing) have contributed to most studies in social sustainability

Hence, the author will create a proposed research model based on the framework model from Mani et al (2020) Mani V is the most popular and specialist author in this domain, and his research field is interested in emerging countries

Figure 8 - Classification according to authors

Source: author’s summarization from WoS, 2021

This above discussed section will provide a roadmap to undergo thorough research by highlighting the chronological growth and application domains of SCSS and the significant sources of SCSS research