Environmental orientation and corporate performance: The mediation mechanism of green supply chain management and moderating effect of competitive intensity

This study proposes and empirically tests a model delineating the relationship among environmental orientation, green supply chain management (GSCM) activities (green purchase, customer cooperation and investment recovery) and corporate performance. Based on responses from 194 foreign invested enterprises operating in China, this study has generated several important findings. First, it demonstrates that while both internal and external environmental orientations exert a positive and significant influence on the practice of green purchase and customer cooperation, internal environmental orientation further serves as a significant driver for the practice of investment recovery. Second, it shows that the practice of these three major GSCM activities, in turn, significantly enhances corporate performance. Last, the study reveals that competitive intensity strengthens the positive influence of customer cooperation on corporate performance. Overall, the findings explicate the importance for firms, in particular those operating in a highly competitive market condition, to nurture a pro-environmental corporate culture and improve their sensitivity to salient external stakeholders' environmental demands so as to pursue greener supply chain management.     

Covariance versus component-based estimations of performance in green supply chain management

In this paper, we investigate the relationships between environmental management (EM) and performance to verify: whether the implementation of an effective internal environmental is a firm’s precondition to belong to a green supply chain; which type of environmental practices (either internal or external) contribute the most to increasing a firm’s performances; and whether performing the environment translates into higher economic performance. We use structural equation modeling for testing our research hypotheses on a large sample of Italian firms, and estimate the structural paths between constructs by means of both covariance- and component-based approaches. The use of both estimation methods allows us contributing to the recent debate about the specification of the “performance” construct as an emerging rather than as a latent variable, and then using formative rather than reflective indicators. Formative indicators are used whenever a construct does not exist without its measures, any change in one of the indicators causes a change in the construct, and the measures are ingredients of the construct rather than being caused by it. For instance, economic performance is an emerging construct since economic measures (e.g., profits and market share) contribute to forming the construct rather than reflecting the behavior of the latent variable. We show that the correct model specification changes the estimates of the path coefficients and leads to research findings aligned to the literature. Our results indicate that being green internally is a prerequisite for collaboration into a green supply chain, internal EM contributes to increasing performance more than external EM, while performing the environment does not lead to a higher economic performance.     

A causal analysis of the impact of information systems and supply chain management practices on operational performance: Evidence from manufacturing SMEs in Turkey

This study has empirically tested a framework identifying the causal links among supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) practices, SCM–IS related inhibiting factors and operational performance based on a sample of 203 manufacturing SMEs operating in the manufacture of fabricated metal products and general purpose machinery within the greater metropolitan area of Istanbul in Turkey. Moderating effect of SCM and IS related enabling factors on the above mentioned relationships is also investigated in this study. Tests of hypotheses indicate that both SCM and IS practices positively and significantly influence the operational performance of sample firms. The results of the structural model also indicate a strong support for negative relationships between SCM–IS related inhibitors and the implementation levels of both SCM and IS practices. Similarly, a strong support was found for the hypothesized negative relationship between SCM–IS inhibitors and operational performance of SMEs. Finally, we verified the moderating impact of SCM–IS enablers on the link between SCM practices and operational performance. A similar moderating impact was also found with regard to the relationship between IS practices and operational performance.     

“Green” supply chain management: The role of trust and top management in B2B and B2C markets

“Green” supply chain management (GSCM) has often been associated with highly visible companies (Bowen, 2000) and firms within consumer-focused industries (Buysse & Verbeke, 2003; Hall, 2000; Roht-Arriaza, 1996). As such, GSCM has partly been led by development of consumer awareness of environmental issues (Beamon, 1999; Zhu et al., 2005). This suggest that firms operating in business-to-consumer (B2C) markets have strong incentives to implement GSCM, due to both institutional and stakeholder pressure. However, this leaves the role of GSCM in business-to-business (B2B) sectors relatively unexplored and to-date little is known about: 1) the relative engagement with GSCM among firms in business-to-consumer and business-to-business sectors; 2) the conditions that are necessary for successful implementation of “green” practices in B2B supply chains. This study addresses these issues within the context of 340 buyer–supplier relationships in the United Kingdom, using an innovative research methodology that captures firms' engagement with GSCM practices and minimizes social desirability and common source biases. Our results show that GSCM is relatively limited among firms in B2B markets compared to firms in B2C markets. At the same time, we show that developing trust with supply chain partners, while also having top management support, is a crucial driver of engagement with GSCM among firms in B2B sector but less important among firms in B2C sector. These findings provide considerable insights to managers and marketers of B2B supply chains that seek to respond to a growing interest of environmental performance of supply chain.     

The role of Guanxi in green supply chain management in Asia's emerging economies: A conceptual framework

In recent decades, rapid industrial modernization and economic growth have brought substantial environmental problems such as air pollution, hazardous waste, and water pollution for the Asian emerging economies (AEE), in particular China, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and South Korea. These countries have started to adopt green supply chain management (GSCM) as a strategy to reduce the environmental impact. There are anecdotal evidences that the adoption of GSCM in this region is partly influenced by Guanxi – a cultural norm, which plays a significant role in relationship governance within supply chain activities among the AEE. Based on a systematic literature review, we develop a conceptual framework that characterizes the drivers and barriers for the adoption of GSCM practices, incorporating Guanxi as a moderator in the manufacturing sector of the AEE. The conceptual framework addresses the roles of two types of Guanxi in the adoption of GSCM: the relational Guanxi at individual level based on social exchange theory and the aggregated Guanxi at firm level derived from social capital theory. This recognition of Guanxi at two separate decision levels help companies better manage their relationships while they green their supply chains. Directions for future research and managerial implications are discussed accordingly.     

Understanding competitive advantage in the general hospital industry: evaluating strategic competencies

This study examines the drivers of competitive advantage within the hospital industry. Specifically, we examine both the direct and joint effects of market structure, firm‐level competencies, and interorganizational relationships on organizational performance. The results of this approach indicated that managers, through their strategic actions related to the capabilities and relationships they develop and deploy, can establish advantageous competitive positions and influence the negative effects of market structure by developing important strategic competencies. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Behind organizational slack and firm performance in China: The moderating roles of ownership and competitive intensity

Extensive studies of the organizational slack–performance relationship offer mixed findings in developed economies while little research attends to transition economies. Replicating and extending earlier work by Tan and Peng (2003), this study examines the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance in China and focuses on the moderating effects of firm ownership and competitive intensity. Empirical findings based on longitudinal data from 60,945 firms during 1998–2002 suggest that the impact of organizational slack on performance is stronger for private enterprises than for SOEs and foreign-invested enterprises. Furthermore, industry competitive intensity positively moderates the effect of organizational slack on performance. In a three-way interaction effect, the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the organizational slack–performance relationship is weaker in SOEs than in private enterprises and foreign invested enterprises.     

How Should Customers Be Integrated for Effective Interorganizational NPD Teams? An Input–Process–Output Perspective

Interorganizational new product development (NPD) teams with business customers are rapidly becoming more prevalent; yet the drivers of such cooperations at the team level remain unclear to practitioners and researchers alike. This study proposes an input–process–output model in which various characteristics of interorganizational teams affect NPD team effectiveness through the mediating construct of NPD team cooperation. Furthermore, various moderators, reflecting the supplier's dependence on the customers (customer power and customer participation) and the supplier's environmental uncertainty (market dynamism and technological turbulence), affect the strength of the underlying relationships. The results show that customer power positively affects the relationship between intrapersonal team characteristics and team cooperation. In addition, a negative moderation occurs in interpersonal characteristics. Customer participation exhibits opposing moderating effects. Regarding the supplier's environmental uncertainty, market dynamism and technological turbulence strengthen the relationships under consideration.     

The direct and indirect effects of core and peripheral social capital on organizational performance

Research summary : In this paper we adopt a core‐periphery approach to specify the direct and indirect effects of social capital on organizational performance. We suggest that social capital deriving from stable task relationships between organizational members has a direct positive effect on organizational performance. Said effect depends, in both strength and functional form, on whether actors involved in stable dyads are located at the core or at the periphery of the organization. We also argue that core and peripheral social capital affect performance indirectly by moderating the organization's ability to leverage its human capital to improve performance. Results from a 48‐year study of the National Basketball Association support our arguments and bear important implications for strategic human resource practices and organizational performance in competitive settings. Managerial summary : Stable work relationships among employees generate trust, more efficient work routines, common understanding and thus higher organizational performance. These benefits depend on the location of such stable relationships in the organization. Relational stability among core organizational members has an immediate, strong impact on performance, an effect that plateaus as stability grows. Stable relationships between core and peripheral members have instead a weaker, yet linear effect on performance. The location of stable relationships is also critical to leverage the talent of core employees, whose contribution to performance is stronger when relational stability is high in the organizational core, yet hindered by stable relations between core and periphery. Such findings provide relevant implications for strategic human resource management, in particular for choices regarding team composition and managing stars. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strategic supply chain management: Improving performance through a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development

For many firms, using their supply chains as competitive weapons has become a central element of the strategic management process in recent years. Drawing on the resource‐based view and theory from the organizational learning and information‐processing literatures, this study uses a sample of 201 firms to examine the influence of a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development on supply chain performance in varied market turbulence conditions. We found that synergies exist between a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development: their interaction has a positive association with performance. In addition, based on behavioral and contingency theories, we found that market turbulence moderates these relationships, having a positive influence on the knowledge development–performance link and a negative influence on the culture of competitiveness–performance link. Managers who are confident about the level of market turbulence they will face can use this sense to decide whether to emphasize developing either a culture of competitiveness or knowledge development in their supply chains. For those firms whose managers are unlikely to be able to predict the degree of turbulence they will face over time, a focus on both a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development is critical to ensuring success. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.