Adoption of Green Supply Chain Management Practices in Multi-Tier Supply Chains: Examining the Differences between Higher and Lower Tier Firms

Seongtae Kim, Kai Foerstl*, Christoph G. Schmidt, Stephan M. Wagner

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)
22 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Customer pressure has been widely discussed as the primary driver of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. However, relatively little is known about supplier capabilities as a key mediator for GSCM practice adoption. Drawing from the resource dependence theory (RDT), we investigate how the interplay between customer pressure and supplier capabilities affects GSCM practice adoption along multi-tier supply chains. We test our hypotheses using multiple regression analysis based on a sample of 284 manufacturing firms operating at different tiers of a supply chain. Our results indicate that the supplier capabilities mediate the direct effect of customer pressure on the adoption of GSCM practices for focal firms. Specifically, we find a full mediation effect of supplier capabilities for higher-tier (i.e. OEM and system supplier) firms and a partial mediation effect for lower-tier (i.e. component and raw material) firms. Our findings provide support for the RDT perspective regarding GSCM. The focal firm's adoption of GSCM practices as a response to customer pressure is dependent on the level of green resources and capabilities available from their suppliers. The level of such resource dependence varies between focal firms at higher- and lower-tier positions in a multi-tier supply chain.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6451-6468
Number of pages18
JournalInternational Journal of Production Research
Volume60
Issue number21
Early online date29 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Green supply chain management
  • green practices
  • customer pressure
  • supplier capabilities
  • sustainability
  • multi-tier supply chains
  • TRANSACTION COST
  • METHOD VARIANCE
  • SUSTAINABILITY
  • ANTECEDENTS
  • PERFORMANCE
  • OPERATIONS
  • DRIVERS
  • RESPONSIBILITY
  • REQUIREMENTS
  • CAPABILITIES

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