Environmental Performance in the Leather Supply-Chain: The Role of Inter-organizational Networks

This paper presents partial results of a broader research program called “Cicle Pell: Industrial ecology in the animal-to-leather chain”, funded by the EU in the framework of the Community Programme “Interreg III C”, Regional Framework Operation "Ecosind". The goal of the Cicle Pell project was defining the basis to implement a new strategy of industrial sustainable development in Southern European regions, through the identification of economic and environmental improvements achievable by companies in the leather industry and the related supply-chain by applying the industrial ecology principles and tools. The research we report here addresses three critical issues. First, we identify inter-organizational relationships among firms and other institutions inside the sector, giving a description of various forms of cooperative environmental agreements among firms in the slaughtering and leather tanning districts. Second, we investigate - with the support of social network analysis - the peculiar characteristics of the network structure inside the industry. And third, we investigate in a comparative manner the level of association between inter-organizational network structures and environmental performance at the organizational level.