An assessment of the market potential of tools for managing supply chain sustainability : A study of a Swedish start-up entering the U.S. market

Addressing sustainability issues connected to supply chains is becoming increasingly important for companies, both as a driver for gaining competitive advantage, but also due to an increased demand from investors, policy makers, society, and other stakeholders. As a response to this movement, several cloudbased tools have been developed to assist companies in managing supply chain sustainability, often focusing on supply chain visibility, supplier evaluation and risk assessment. Even though the area of supply chain sustainability is gaining importance and such tools could be a key for addressing these issues efficiently, no previous scientific study was found that investigate the market potential of tools for managing supply chain sustainability. Thus, this study addresses this research gap by investigating the current state and future outlook of the market for such tools. A Swedish start-up that offers tools for managing supply chain sustainability is used as a case company. The case company plans for a future expansion to the U.S. market; one of the most popular markets for European start-ups to expand to, why the study mainly focused on the U.S. market. A literature study and an interview study were conducted, focusing on assessing the macro and industry environment to cover what factors that influence the demand, as well as important industry characteristics and dynamics for understanding the industry structure. This was then analysed as drivers and barriers for the tools’ potential in international markets. The findings indicate that in contexts with low pressure from political stakeholders on corporate sustainability, other stakeholders such as the public opinion and investors are of greater importance for the demand of tools for managing supply chain sustainability. Combined with the output-oriented approach of companies in the U.S., this highlights the importance of emphasizing the positive impact that the tools can have on a company’s competitiveness and performance. The study further emphasizes the complexity of determining a future outlook for services in a nascent industry where growth is expected, and the industry environment can be predicted to change rapidly in the future. This creates both drivers and barriers for a start-up, which can use its dynamic and innovative abilities to succeed in a changing environment, while the limited resources that a start-up often experience can be challenging. Another outcome of the study is that future research is needed to comprehensively cover the area of tools for managing supply chains and the future for such tools, and this study provides guidance on which areas such research could focus on.