Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices and Performance of Humanitarian Organizations in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Humanitarian supply chain disaster response is core to alleviating communities economically, socially and in the environmental dimension. Stakeholders including donors, governmental and non-governmental organization, and supply aid beneficiaries in the past decade have witnessed a transformation in the humanitarian sector, despite the increased frequency and magnitude of disasters. These have been evident through the increased scholarly works together with collaboration of international agencies to respond to the needs and develop the sub-Saharan Africa region. Humanitarian supply chain sustainability, therefore, is at the forefront of effective and efficient disaster response. Studies done on impact of sustainable supply chain measures in Kenya have put the humanitarian organizations under strict scrutiny for accountability of donor aid and need for improved performance. These situations formed the foundation of the research study. The main objective of research was to determine sustainable chain management practices and the performance of humanitarian organizations in Nairobi County Kenya. The specific objectives adopted were to assess the effect of green procurement, green inventory management, green logistics and corporate social responsibility on the performance of humanitarian organizations in Nairobi County Kenya. Theories relevant to the study were reviewed and included supply chain operations reference model (SCOR), contingency theory, resource-based view theory and social network theory. The target population was employees of the 30 selected humanitarian organizations within Nairobi County Kenya. The study employed stratified random sampling and sample size was 162 respondents. The study employed the use of questionnaires for data collection which were self-administered by research assistants. Quantitative and qualitative data was sorted, coded and entered in Statistical Package for Social Sciences for analysis. Descriptive statistics were generated with tables and graphs used to present the outcomes. Correlation analysis was applied to test the relationship between variables where all the independent variables were positively correlated and significant association with the dependent variable. The study established that green procurement, green inventory management, green logistics, corporate social responsibility had a significant and positive effect on performance of humanitarian organizations in Nairobi County Kenya. The study recommends environmental policy should be a criterion during supplier selection and monitoring of the procurement processes; smart pre-selection of suppliers that are reliable to make supplier engagement manageable; organization put emphasis on adoption of sustainable logistical practices such as consolidation, fleet and fuel management. Finally, the study recommends setting of CSR policy and channels to communicate the policy on corporate social responsibility activities of the organization.