This study comes with several limitations for practical applications.
As we stated in the model assumptions, in order to easily
focus on the main idea of developing the model by integrating the
consumer segmentation, all parameters were accepted to be known
and deterministic. However, in real life, finding the data required to
solve the model will not be easy especially considering the many of
the green related applications are still in their infancy. For example,
for a retailer, it can be a challenge to classify its customers into
segments, determine their green expectation levels, evaluating the
greenness of suppliers on its own supply network etc. Therefore,
the proposed model by itself is not enough to enhance the green
application on the practical side. Companies of supply chains must
also improve their green capacity through better understanding of
the green market. Since gathering the data required to solve the
proposed model under certainty, the authors are currently working
on the fuzzy extension of the model in order to cope with the fuzzy
nature related to green market and evaluation of suppliers.
Meanwhile when the complexity issue becomes a challenge, heuristics
can also be investigated as solution methodologies.