Essays on environmentally and socially responsible value chains

Guide(s)

Saranga, Haritha

Department

Production and Operations Management

Area

Production and Operations Management

University

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

Place

Bangalore

Publication Date

3-31-2026

Year Awarded

March 2026

Year Completed

March 2026

Year Registered

June 2021

Abstract

Achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demands urgentattention to interconnected global challenges, including climate change, energy insecurity,and public health deficiencies. These challenges require coordinated responses that integrate environmental and social responsibilities through collaboration among governments,businesses, civil society, and academia. This dissertation contributes to this broader endeavour by examining how profit-maximizing organizations and welfare-maximizing policymakers, together in a multi-stakeholder system, can design operational strategies thatadvance environmental and social sustainability in developing-country contexts. Throughthree independent essays, the work addresses distinct yet interconnected research questions: (1) How do automakers navigate investment trade-offs between competing alternative fuel vehicle technologies under varying policy instruments? (2) What businessmodels optimize the adoption of commercial electric vehicles amid battery-life uncertainties? (3) How can coordination be enhanced in prosocial supply chains, such as cadavericorgan donation programs, to bridge demand-supply gaps? Employing a mix of analytical modelling and qualitative case study methods, the dissertation generates actionableinsights for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers, emphasizing contextualized solutions that align with SDGs 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 13 (Climate Action), andancillary goals like SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Citiesand Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).The first essay investigates the strategic dilemma automakers face in choosing between Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs). Using an analytical model,the study finds that an automaker’s optimal technology choice is critically moderatedby existing conventional vehicle market penetration. It reveals that while price subsidiesconsistently reduce emissions, emission taxes may paradoxically worsen environmentaloutcomes under specific conditions. The essay offers a nuanced framework for policy makers, suggesting that subsidies are effective for transitional technologies (FFVs), whiletaxes are a potent lever for zero-emission EVs.The second essay examines business model design for commercial electric vehicles,particularly in contexts where battery degradation creates adoption barriers. A two period model incorporating battery-life uncertainty and customer heterogeneity comparesselling versus leasing-based strategies, including reward-based and maintenance-basedleasing. The analysis highlights a dual-threshold logic: leasing is generally preferredunless battery durability is very high or production costs are prohibitive; reward-basedcontracts work best when customer compliance is inexpensive; maintenance-based leasingdominates when predictive maintenance is cost-efficient and scalable.The third essay pivots to social sustainability by analysing coordination challengesin India’s deceased organ donation system. Through a qualitative case study, it develops a theoretical framework explaining how prosocial supply chains operate underinput, process, customer, and output constraints. Findings emphasize the importance ofa shared system-wide vision, opportunistic collaborations, the utilization of social capital, and accountability mechanisms that reinforce performance. These insights highlighthow informal coordination and adaptive governance enable mission-driven operations inresource-constrained environments.Collectively, this dissertation makes both theoretical and managerial contributions.Theoretically, it extends responsible operations management frameworks by integrating environmental and social sustainability into traditional efficiency-focused paradigms.Practically, it provides policy insights and operational recommendations for decisionmakers. The findings underscore the imperative for systemic collaboration among governments, industry, civil society, and academia to design sustainable value chains advancingthe SDGs.

Pagination

xii, 180p.

Copyright

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

Document Type

Dissertation

DAC Chairperson

Saranga, Haritha

DAC Members

Jonnalagedda, Sreelata; Jain, Tarun

Type of Degree

Ph.D.

Relation

DIS-IIMB-FPM-P26-12

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