اثر شلاقی سبز : انتقال الزامات محیطی در راستای زنجیره تامین

•Field data is collected from three supply chains, considering three adjacent tiers.•A green bullwhip effect is created as requirements are passed upstream.•Effects were two-fold: increasingly stringent requirements and less time to comply.•Four managerial responses occurred: replace; accommodate; negotiate and collaborate.•The green bullwhip effect can force positive change, prompting new capabilities.The bullwhip effect has long been recognized as a critical factor that amplifies demand variability as customer orders pass upstream through successive tiers of a supply chain. Like customer demand, environmental requirements also change significantly at times, and are passed along the supply chain to varying degrees, suggestive of what we term, the “green bullwhip effect”. Based on field cases exploring changes in three supply chains across three adjacent tiers, we find evidence that such a phenomenon exists. First, ratcheting demands for better environmental performance are passed upstream through successive tiers with significant variation. Second, a green bullwhip effect is created as time to comply with specifications is compressed. Four different managerial responses, namely replace, accommodate, negotiate and collaborate, were observed to amplify or attenuate a green bullwhip effect based on the nature of firm relationships and balance of environmental capabilities at each tier. Of particular interest, the green bullwhip effect can force positive change, triggering the development of new environmental capabilities at multiple tiers in a supply chain.