Designing a sustainable value chain using packaging innovation; the role of ambidexterit

Despite attractiveness of packaging as an instrument for branding and value creation, its impacts on environment and society due to overconsumption of natural resources and environmental pollution are neglected. In this study role of packaging innovation in sustainability of value chain was investigated. In-library study was used to design model and PLS-SEM for model assessment. Managers of food packaging industry were targeted as the statistical population of the study and 267 people who were sampled through purposive sampling method completed the questionnaire. Results showed packaging innovation enhances the environment, social and economic factors respectively through new generation of reusable and recyclable packaging, considering the needs of different customers group and decreasing row material consumption and process costs. Further, actual value caused by packaging innovation can be perceived through new product development and existing product improvement. Mediating role of ambidexterity in proposed relationships were also examined. Eventually, long term profit entails achievement of customer trust and environmental goals, therefore it is recommended that organizations throughout the supply chain to create in-use value for society and environment and facilitate value creator processes. Introduction In today’s volatile markets, competition occurs not only between the organizations bus also throughout the supply chains (Christopher, 2005:104). Degradation of limited resources through industrialization, over-consumption and globalization have changed the competitiveness factors and hence organizations must revise their own principles at the level of supply chain (Roscoe, Cousins, & Lamming., 2016:1948). Most of the organizations sacrifice environment and social responsibilities in order to gain short term profit thereby causing major problems in the earth (Zailani, Jeyaraman, Vengadasan, & Premkumar, 2012:330). Although sustainability is considered as one of the main goals of innovation and also can be effected by the innovation, more investigation on actual innovation outcomes in the field of sustainability are required (Merono-Cerdan & Lopez-Nicolas, 2013:1323). Emerging the innovation and its copy right is not automatically led to sustainability but can be actually realized if delivered to the customers (Janger, Schubert, Andries, Rammer, & Hoskens, 2017:31). Costumers look for the green products (Deif, 2011:1555); from this perspective, customers might be attracted by innovation as foundation of the sustainability (Tebaldi, Bigliardi, & Bottani, 2018:10) and help organization introduce new products and improve existing products (Raisch, Birkinshaw, Probst, & Tushman, 2009:685). Sustainability depends on the compromise between social, environmental and economic issues (Eltantawy, 2016:123). Furthermore, actual innovation outcome entails the alignment of introducing new products and improving existing products (Stark, 2015:38) and apposite aspects of the performance can be balanced and integrated using ambidexterity in the modern though lines (Lee & Rha, 2016:3) Case study This study has been designed upon a quantitative approach using a questionnaire drawn on Iranian food packaging industry and 267 people who were sampled through purposive sampling method completed the questionnaire. Materials and Methods In-library study was used to design model and structural equation modeling with partial least square using Smart PLS for model assessment. According to the table of minimum sample size requirement (Hair, Hult, Ringle & Sarstedt., 2011:38) 258 entities were required to reach statistical power at 80% and significance level at 99%. 267 people, however, completed the questionnaire. Discussion and results Based on the findings, H2 & H3b are confirmed. In H1a & H1b,Packaging innovation slightly influences the sustainable value chain and actual innovation outcome respectively. This means these relations must be mediated by ambidexterity. In H3a, ambidexterity slightly affects the sustainable value chain indicating the partial mediating effects of ambidexterity. Conclusion Results showed packaging innovation enhances the environment, social and economic factors respectively through new generation of reusable and recyclable packaging, considering the needs of different customers group and decreasing row material consumption and process costs. Further, actual value caused by packaging innovation can be perceived through new product development and existing product improvement. Mediating role of ambidexterity in proposed relationships were also examined. Eventually, long term profit entails achievement of customer trust and environmental goals, therefore it is recommended that organizations throughout the supply chain to create in-use value for society and environment and facilitate value creator processes.