Sustainable fresh food cold supply chain (SFC) from a state-of-art literature review to a conceptual framework

Despite the growing recognition of the importance of sustainability in fresh food cold supply chain (FC), research in this area remains fragmented and at an early stage. This study aims to enrich to the existing body of knowledge by advancing research on FC to foster a better understanding of good practices (GPs). A systematic analysis of 232 English language, peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1987 and 2022 is conducted. The reviewed papers are carefully categorized based on various criteria, including publication year, country status, research methods, research design, multi-criteria decision-making techniques, sustainable dimensions, and focused areas. Several research gaps are identified, which highlight future research directions in the field. Additionally, the authors tackled one of the research gaps by constructing a conceptual framework that elucidates the connection between GPs and sustainability performance, viewing it through the lens of the triple-bottom-line (TBL). Moreover, further investigation is required to test and expand the applicability of the proposed conceptual framework. This research contributes to the refinement of the ongoing debate on the conceptualization of sustainable FC (SFC) by addressing important research gaps. The findings of this study are valuable not only for policymakers, management professionals, and researchers but also for providing a comprehensive overview of SFC research in all its dimensions.