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Introduction
[54] Porter and Kramer (2011) updated concept of "shared value creation" - value that is mutually beneficial to both the value chain and society, reflects a number of trends in strategic management and value chain research. A narrow focus on efficiency may result in reducing waste and costs but is unlikely to create any additional value. In addition, there is growing interest in looking beyond internal economic costs and benefits to investigate why and how to incorporate broader societal costs and benefits in ways which contribute to long term (sustainable) competitive advantage. Increasingly, government, civil society and special interest groups are holding businesses accountable for their negative environmental and social impacts, challenging the sustainability of corporate strategies built on self-interest and an insular view of the world and organisational impacts thereon. This is reflected in the growing emphasis on life cycle management, where supply chains rather than firms are held accountable for a product or service's external impacts. There is also recognition that failure to create shared value leaves government and civil society to mitigate the negative impacts of business in trying to build sustainable societies, regions and nation states.
This paper builds on the concept of sustainable value chains ([21] Fearne, 2009), from which a framework for sustainable value chain analysis (SVCA) emerges to encompass environmental and social impacts within a collaborative model of value chain management. It explores the dimensions on which SVCA should focus and illustrates how and why taking broader perspectives ensures a chain's internal economic sustainability is compatible with its external socio-environmental consequences. The paper concludes with research implications for designing tools to support strategic frameworks for achieving sustainable competitive advantage.
Value chains and the evolution of value chain analysis
[52] Porter (1985) uses the term "value chain" to describe a series of value-adding activities. This series consists of primary activities, related directly to manufacture, sales and distribution, and secondary activities which support primary activities, such as planning, finance, R&D and human resources. This disaggregation of functions can also be applied to an inter-firm system, from raw material inputs to consumption ([67] Shank and Govindarajan, 1992; [47] McGuffog and Wadsley, 1999).
Value chain thinking is distinctive from supply chain thinking (Table I [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]) and provides...