A Study on the Emergence of Sustainable Supply Chains and Response Types of Korean Seafood Exporters

Purpose - This study comprehensively analyzes the economic, social, and environmental activities of the South Korean seafood export companies during the current period, which is marked by significant changes in the seafood trade environment. The study attempts to contribute to the sustainability of the global seafood supply by examining responses and proposing future directions. Design/Methodology - This study collected and analyzed data on the response activities and types of seafood export companies following the emergence of a sustainable seafood supply chain. Data were collected from 104 seafood export companies through a structured questionnaire survey. Based on the results, the SPSS program was used to perform multivariate analyses, specifically principal component and cluster analyses. The questionnaire was designed to capture the general characteristics of the companies and the economic, social, and environmental characteristics of sustainable supply chains. Of these, 22 survey results, were used as variables. Findings - The factors affecting the Korean seafood exporters’ corporate activities regarding realizing a sustainable supply chain are classified into five categories: economic performance, social and environmental performance, export performance, social responsibility compliance, and eco-friendly management. Cluster analysis using five factor loadings revealed that seafood export companies could be categorized into balanced sustainability pursuit, limited sustainability, sustainability leader, environmental sustainability pursuit, and partial sustainability pursuit types. Among these, the balanced sustainability pursuit type was predominant, followed by the sustainability leader and environmental sustainability pursuit types. Originality/value - The empirical analysis of sustainable seafood supply chain management and types of corporate activities in this study represent a novel and unprecedented initiative. Therefore, this study serves as a foundational effort to initiate a more in-depth empirical and theoretical exploration of the sustainability of the seafood export market, seafood supply chain management, and the nature and types of activities undertaken by domestic companies.