Rigour, relevance and reflectiveness criteria in the present case study
| Criteria (from Sabri, 2018) | Mechanisms used in the presented case |
|---|---|
| Rigour | |
| Understanding of underlying mechanisms of phenomena: “how things work” | Assured through Comprehensive literature review Survey of organisational reports An orientation visit of the research team to the HO at the beginning of the project |
| Researchers to be involved in the research process; not just observing | The researchers were a part of the CRM team and were directly involved in decision making and devising action steps regarding the environmental sustainability of the HO |
| Hypothesis testing and research reproducibility, highlighting the role of “context” | The role of humanitarian context was highlighted through developing sustainable action steps that considered humanitarian specificities The research case was qualitative in nature and did not include hypothesis testing |
| Objective review with other scientists | The manuscript was reviewed by each of the authors individually The description of the case was sent to and confirmed by the sustainable development department of the HO |
| Analysis and deeper interpretation for causality | At each joint meeting, the causes for unsustainable operations were discussed and their roots assigned to specific categories (e.g. donors, delegations, national governments regulations). This facilitated the subsequent solution-finding step |
| To be publishable | The peer-review process and publication in the Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management confirm the publishability of results |
| Triangulation of methodologies | Different sources of data were used for triangulation of data: Interviews with staff at the HO Review of organisational reports and website Remote access of researchers to organisational databases Field observations Interviews of field staff with beneficiaries Questionnaires and interviews with suppliers Within CRM methodology, other methodologies such as environmental impact assessment were deployed |
| Reflectiveness | |
| To achieve social impact and theoretical significance | Social impact: the impact was ensured through implementation of sustainable solutions in the field. A notable social impact was creating jobs for plastic waste collectors Theoretical significance: the research question was derived from literature review and theoretical foundations |
| Greater knowledge of other scientists work | All the researchers involved in the research team had practical experience as well as sufficient understanding of other scholars’ works due to their academic background in the fields of supply chain management and sustainability |
| Longitudinal studies | The collaboration reported in this paper lasted about 19 months and it is still ongoing at the time of manuscript preparation including follow-up observations for packaging and collaboration for other products |
| Collaboration with other researchers | The members of the research team were researchers who were internally collaborating to produce sustainable recommendations regarding the case to be discussed with the practitioner team. Moreover, the results were reviewed by external researchers who were not a part of the CRM team |
| Creating a community of scientists to share ideas and evaluate preliminary results | Earlier versions of the work were presented in international conferences, and the preliminary findings were discussed and evaluated by external researchers |
| Applicable research analyses over longer period of time and within multiple settings | The research team had already been involved in a collaboration project with similar goals about sustainability with a United Nations agency, and some of the findings from that project were helpful and applicable in the project reported in this paper The presented research is ongoing and has shown to be applicable to other products of the same HO |
| Relevance | |
| To achieve practical significance against costs incurred in conducting research | The costs invested on purchasing the incinerator and increasing waste collection points led to significant tangible improvements in the waste management of the refugee camp |
| Has impact on organisation’s performance (or the practitioner system) | As continuum of the cradle-to-grave environmental impact assessment, a similar assessment is being conducted for the current waste management system in the camp. The preliminary results suggest significant improvement in terms of environmental performance compared to the previous situation |
| Having a realistic view on the resources constraints (money + time) against findings | The project reported here was conducted as a pilot project initially planned for one year. Although the CRM team envisioned pragmatic expectations at the start of the project, which were achieved by the end, the project took several months more than initial planning |
| Avoiding oversimplification or overcomplicating | Through the cyclic approach of CRM, corrective measures were taken. For example, not accounting for the waste collection points and their average distance from beneficiaries was an oversimplification in the first cycle that was addressed in the second cycle |
| Criteria (from | Mechanisms used in the presented case |
|---|---|
| Understanding of underlying mechanisms of phenomena: “how things work” | Assured through |
| Researchers to be involved in the research process; not just observing | The researchers were a part of the CRM team and were directly involved in decision making and devising action steps regarding the environmental sustainability of the HO |
| Hypothesis testing and research reproducibility, highlighting the role of “context” | The role of humanitarian context was highlighted through developing sustainable action steps that considered humanitarian specificities |
| Objective review with other scientists | The manuscript was reviewed by each of the authors individually |
| Analysis and deeper interpretation for causality | At each joint meeting, the causes for unsustainable operations were discussed and their roots assigned to specific categories (e.g. donors, delegations, national governments regulations). This facilitated the subsequent solution-finding step |
| To be publishable | The peer-review process and publication in the |
| Triangulation of methodologies | Different sources of data were used for triangulation of data: |
| To achieve social impact and theoretical significance | Social impact: the impact was ensured through implementation of sustainable solutions in the field. A notable social impact was creating jobs for plastic waste collectors |
| Greater knowledge of other scientists work | All the researchers involved in the research team had practical experience as well as sufficient understanding of other scholars’ works due to their academic background in the fields of supply chain management and sustainability |
| Longitudinal studies | The collaboration reported in this paper lasted about 19 months and it is still ongoing at the time of manuscript preparation including follow-up observations for packaging and collaboration for other products |
| Collaboration with other researchers | The members of the research team were researchers who were internally collaborating to produce sustainable recommendations regarding the case to be discussed with the practitioner team. Moreover, the results were reviewed by external researchers who were not a part of the CRM team |
| Creating a community of scientists to share ideas and evaluate preliminary results | Earlier versions of the work were presented in international conferences, and the preliminary findings were discussed and evaluated by external researchers |
| Applicable research analyses over longer period of time and within multiple settings | The research team had already been involved in a collaboration project with similar goals about sustainability with a United Nations agency, and some of the findings from that project were helpful and applicable in the project reported in this paper |
| To achieve practical significance against costs incurred in conducting research | The costs invested on purchasing the incinerator and increasing waste collection points led to significant tangible improvements in the waste management of the refugee camp |
| Has impact on organisation’s performance (or the practitioner system) | As continuum of the cradle-to-grave environmental impact assessment, a similar assessment is being conducted for the current waste management system in the camp. The preliminary results suggest significant improvement in terms of environmental performance compared to the previous situation |
| Having a realistic view on the resources constraints (money + time) against findings | The project reported here was conducted as a pilot project initially planned for one year. Although the CRM team envisioned pragmatic expectations at the start of the project, which were achieved by the end, the project took several months more than initial planning |
| Avoiding oversimplification or overcomplicating | Through the cyclic approach of CRM, corrective measures were taken. For example, not accounting for the waste collection points and their average distance from beneficiaries was an oversimplification in the first cycle that was addressed in the second cycle |