Analysis of the barriers in implementing environmental management system by interpretive structural modeling approach

Purpose This paper aims to identify the most influential barriers for environmental management system (EMS) adoption and determine the interactions of these factors in the context of Chinese textile and apparel industries. Design/methodology/approach The study has conducted two different research phases, namely, the identification of 13 barriers from the extensive literature available and expert panel discussion and using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) to investigate the complex relationships among these barriers and partition the barriers into a hierarchical structure to facilitate strategic analysis. Findings The obtained result demonstrates that insufficient information about customer’s demand is the most influential barrier. Furthermore, by analyzing the interrelationships among the barriers, management will become more aware of the barriers’ relative importance and focus on the barriers with stronger influence. Originality/value This work may help practitioners, academicians and regulators to focus their efforts toward implementation of EMS on various levels in business, especially for these textile and apparel companies operating in China.