Supply Chain Drivers that Foster the Development of Green Initiatives in an Emerging Economy

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Publication Title

International Journal of Operations & Production Management

Publisher

Emerald

Volume

33

Issue

6

First page number:

656

Last page number:

688

Abstract

Purpose – Sustainability and environmental issues are among the most pressing concerns for modern humanity, governments and environmentally conscious business organizations. Green supply chain management has been acknowledged as a key factor to promote organizational sustainability. Green supply chain management is evolving into an important approach for organizations in emerging economies to manage their environmental responsibility. Yet, despite their importance for easing environmental degradation and providing economic benefits, study of the drivers that influence green supply chain initiatives in an emerging economy is still an under-researched area. Using survey data collected from ISO 14001 certified organizations from Malaysia, the purpose of this paper is to propose that the drivers that motivate firms to adopt green supply chain management can be measured by a second-order construct related to the implementation of the firm's green supply chain initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation model was used to analyze a set of survey data to validate the research hypotheses.

Findings – The research reveals four crucial drivers of green supply chain adoption that collectively affect a firm's green purchasing, design-for-environment and reverse logistics initiatives. This study uncovers several crucial relationships between green supply chain drivers and initiatives among Malaysian manufacturers.

Originality/value – The role of the drivers is crucial in motivating these firms to adopt green supply chain initiatives and facilitate their adoption. Firms in emerging countries need to realize that green supply chain initiatives can result in significant benefits to their firms, environment, and the society at large which gives them additional incentives to adopt these initiatives.

Keywords

Design for environment; Economics; Emerging economy; Environmental degradation; Environmental issues; Green purchasing; Green supply chain; Malaysia; Newly industrialized economies; Reverse logistics; Supply chain management; Sustainable development

Disciplines

Business | Economics | Environmental Sciences | International Business | Marketing | Operations and Supply Chain Management

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

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