The influence of sustainability on the complexity of food supply chains

Abstract

The sustainability of food supply chains (FSCs) depends on the concurrent successful performance in the environmental, economic, and social dimensions. However, FSCs are complex socio-technical systems subjected to inevitable trade-offs and the impossibility of full control. Based on a systematic literature review, this study investigates how sustainability affects the complexity of FSCs. A total of 75 articles were analyzed. A thematic analysis revealed 16 factors associated with the three dimensions of sustainability. These factors were then associated with five complexity attributes: a large number of elements, dynamically interacting elements, diversity of elements, unexpected variability, and resilience. All factors amplify the complexity of FSCs, mostly in terms of increasing the number and diversity of elements. Findings made it possible to develop a complexity-based account of the sustainability of FSCs, raising questions and insights that might inform the design and operation of more sustainable FSCs, which effectively cope with their inherent complexity.