Internal green integration and environmental performance: The predictive power of proactive environmental strategy,greening the supplier,and environmental collaboration with the supplier

The effect of proactive environmental strategies (PES) on corporate performance has been debated extensively among academics; however, the significance of the pathway of those strategies—internal green integration (IGI) through greening the supplier (GTS) and environmental collaboration with suppliers (ECS)—remains undecided. This study examines environmental performance (EP) through GTS, IGI, and ECS. It also examines the direct link between PES and IGI. A conceptual framework was designed following a rigorous review of the literature. A survey questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional data from a random sample of manufacturing firms, obtaining 196 usable samples. Using AMOS, the structural equal modeling found a positive and significant impact of PES on IGI. Significant predictors of EP were GTS, IGI, and ECS. The findings of the study can provide managers with guidelines for dealing with business and environmental concerns. They can also contribute to creating strategies for environmental protection and management and reducing adverse effects on the environment. Finally, by examining the direct links between GTS, ECS, and EP, particularly in a developing context, the study may contribute to the literature of environmental policy.     

乡村振兴背景下浙江省绿色农业发展评价研究*——基于农业资源综合利用的视角

［目的］在系统梳理浙江省绿色农业发展进程基础上，文章从农业资源综合利用的视角，基于经济社会发展、资源减量投入、资源循环利用和资源环境安全4个维度构建绿色农业综合评价指标体系，并评价浙江省绿色农业发展水平。［方法］借鉴BPEIR概念模型构建浙江绿色农业生产系统概念模型和评价指标体系，采用灰色关联分析法并结合宏观统计数据，从动态视角评价了2002—2016年浙江省绿色农业发展状况，并静态比较2015年浙江省11个地级市农业绿色发展的基本状况。［结果］浙江省绿色农业资源综合利用指数呈波动上升趋势，在不同的发展阶段，农业资源综合利用指数也呈现出规律性变化； 浙北地区绿色农业资源综合利用指数明显高于浙南地区； 杭州、嘉兴、宁波位居前三，金华市绿色农业资源综合利用指数最低。［结论］浙江绿色农业发展水平呈不断上升趋势，不同地区差异明显； 实行差异发展、完善政策体系、提高质量品牌、强化科技支撑是推进浙江农业绿色发展的关键。     

组织间学习与绿色创新:绿色吸收能力的调节作用

尽管组织间学习已经获得较多关注,但鲜有研究探讨它对绿色创新的影响。从组织间关系和双元性理论视角,提出了组织间的纵向利用式学习和横向探索式学习,基于组织学习理论和吸收能力理论,探究了两种组织间学习方式与绿色创新的关系,并检验了绿色吸收能力的调节作用。基于203家中国制造企业的调查数据,实证结果表明:纵向利用式学习和横向探索式学习都能显著正向影响绿色创新;相比横向探索式学习,纵向利用式学习对绿色创新的影响作用更强。绿色吸收能力在横向探索式学习与绿色创新之间也起调节作用,但它并不调节纵向利用式学习与绿色创新的关系。研究提出了不同的组织间学习方法与绿色创新的关系,丰富并拓展了绿色创新的相关研究。     

How and when environmental orientation drives corporate sustainable development in a cross-national buyer–supplier dyad

This study aims at relating the role of environmental orientation to corporate sustainable development within a cross-national buyer–supplier dyad. To this end, it specifically proposes and empirically tests a model delineating how the international buyer's environmental orientation would influence its green supplier development (GSD) activities, then its outsourcing supplier's green product strategies (GPS), and finally total relationship value (TRV) of the entire buyer–supplier dyad. It also examines how supplier overall information technology advancement (SOITA) would further moderate the aforementioned influences. Survey results derived from 202 buyer–supplier dyads have provided empirical support for all the hypothesized relationships of the proposed model. To summarize, the findings show that international buyers' internal and external environmental orientations both serve as a major driver for their GSD, which, in turn, significantly advances outsourcing suppliers' practice of GPS and consequently enhances TRV. Moreover, this study has demonstrated that SOITA exerts a significant and positive moderating effect on the GSD–GPS link. Overall, this study provides important insights into understanding the complex and contingent processes underlying the influence of the international buyer's environmental orientation on the joint performance of the dyad.     

Going green,going clean: Lean‐green sustainability strategy and firm growth

Despite the widespread recognition of the paybacks of “going green” and “going clean,” limited research has focused on the impact of lean‐green strategy on firm growth. In this study, we contribute to strategy and environmental sustainability literatures by investigating the possibility that the influence on lean‐green strategy and firm growth is driven by different levels of industry competition, managerial power, and family ties. Using panel data from 732 firms in four major industrialized economies (the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom), we found that lean‐green strategy positively relates to firm growth and this relationship is amplified at higher levels of competition, managerial power, and family ties. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.     

Partner‐diversity effects on alliance termination in the early stage of green alliance formation: Empirical evidence from carbon‐emission reduction projects in Latin America

Partner diversity is a key influencer in interorganizational alliances, and several empirical studies have shown that its outcomes are contingent on alliance‐specific factors. We extend this research as well as the growing literature on green alliances, in which partner diversity is uniquely high. Specifically, we examine partner‐diversity effects on alliance termination in the early stage of green alliance formation. We hypothesize that in this context, size disparity increases termination likelihood, whereas organizational variety and cultural separation have the opposite effect. To test our hypotheses, we use a sample of 366 alliance projects located in Latin America and submitted to the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism for evaluation, validation, and registration from 2004 to 2014. Our findings contribute to several research streams and provide practical guidance for successful formation of alliances focused on environmental protection.     

Can environmentally oriented CEOs and environmentally friendly suppliers boost the growth of small firms?

The core question addressed in the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) of the firm is how to develop and exploit resources beneficial for both the natural environment and firm performance. Due to the resource constraints and increased competition facing small manufacturing firms, achieving this is a challenge for such companies. Building on the NRBV and resource orchestration literatures, we examine the relationship between green purchasing capabilities (GPCs), CEO's environmental orientation (EO), and firm growth. Results from 304 Swedish small manufacturing firms indicate a significant relationship between GPC and growth, and this relationship is positively moderated by the EO of the CEO.     

New ventures in Cleantech: Opportunities,capabilities and innovation outcomes

Facing the challenge of climate change, innovations that imply environmental benefits create business opportunities for entrepreneurs. This paper analyzes innovation capabilities of startups in Cleantech and how the innovation outcomes of those startups develop over time. Based on the Mannheim Foundation Panel and applying propensity score matching, a cohort of 567 Cleantech startups is analyzed and compared with a control cohort of non‐Cleantech startups. We find that startups in Cleantech have, on average, higher technological capabilities compared with all other startups. Our econometric evidence shows that Cleantech startups are more likely to combine existing technology in a novel way. Finally, we find that Cleantech startups develop more market novelties in subsequent years when compared with their control group peers.     

An analysis of environmental sustainability in small & medium‐sized enterprises: Patterns and trends

One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is climate change. The need to consistently advance with environmentally sustainable practices in today's businesses is crucial, and businesses are demanded to be more environmentally sustainable every day. This study conducts an analysis of the literature on small and medium‐sized enterprises' (SMEs) environmental sustainability by carefully examining 122 studies from 58 journals published from 2013 to 2019. We investigate the trends in drivers and barriers of sustainability adoption to inform both SMEs managers and policymakers. Our results also classify the reviewed studies on the basis of their methodologies and show the distribution of studies across industry sectors and locations in order to set directions for future research on sustainability practices of SMEs.     

Operational excellence in a green supply chain for environmental management: A case study

Nowadays, organizations have started to become more conscious about the environment in their supply chain operations. The greening process has guided supply chain practices into new ways of thinking according to green standards. The assessment of the performance of green supply chain management (GSCM) requires a holistic view for the whole supply chain. In this context, given that becoming green in the operational side of activities is essential, the performance assessment of operational activities also requires a holistic view to be taken. In this paper, an attempt has been made to improve the performance of GSCM by examining and evaluating the green operational excellence of a hot dip galvanizing company. The framework includes several green operational excellence key criteria, namely, quality management, efficiency management, green production/manufacturing, eco‐packaging, and green design. First, the weights of the criteria and the respective measurements were found by fuzzy analytic network process. Then, the overall operational performance score was found by a weighted scoring method. Finally, both managerial and theoretical implications were suggested according to the outcomes and findings of the case study.