A literature review on green supply chain management: Trends and future challenges

This study aims to review the literature in green supply chain management (GSCM) published from 1998 to 2017 and presenting insights and directions for future research. The study collects data from Scopus and ISI Web of Science databases and objectively selects 880 papers and conducts metadata analysis. In addtion, 236 papers from ISI Web of Science is analyzed to present the insights along with the classifications of the literatures based on content analyses, which comprises of conceptual development, drivers and barriers, collaboration with supply chain partners, mathematical and other optimization models, and assessment of green supply chain management practices and performance. The study finds that research on drivers or barriers analysis of green supply chain management reveals a declining trend while there is a growing trend of applying mathematical optimization models for enhancing decision making in pursuit of environmental performance. Moreover, the study finds a consistent growth in the evaluation of green supply chain management practices and performance. Though, the concept of green supply chain management started gaining popularity among academicians from the beginning of the 20th century, this study finds a sharp growth of publications on the topic after 2010 until now. This study identifies influential authors, top journals, top contributing countries, top contributing institutions and contribution by disciplines. This study presents a comprehensive but straightforward conceptual model of green supply chain management. The findings and future research directions of the study offers a new avenue for further exploration and contribution to this discipline.