IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v233y2021ics0925527320303194.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Buyer-led environmental supplier development: Can suppliers really help it?

Author

Listed:
  • Saghiri, Soroosh Sam
  • Mirzabeiki, Vahid

Abstract

The importance of supplier development programs to enhance supply chain environmental capabilities has often been posited. However, the literature is limited in identifying and explaining the factors that may influence or mediate the effectiveness of such programs. This paper examines the role of environmental supplier development programs led by the buying organization on supplier environmental practices, while testing the mediating effects of the supplier in the forms of resource allocation and collaboration with the buyer. The relationships are tested based on survey data from 267 supplier organizations in the UK using Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results indicate that supplier development in the form of setting requirements and audits has a wide, positive impact on all supplier environmental activities, while environmental supplier development in the form of direct projects only affects supplier environmental activities in logistics and transport. The results for the mediation effects tested are varied: while supplier collaboration is important to enhance the supplier logistics and transport activities, supplier resource allocation proves to be mediating the impact of environmental supplier development on the supplier energy efficiency and logistics and transport activities. The research sheds new light on the effectiveness of supplier development and environmental programs. The findings indicate that buying organizations should make explicit reference to the way they define supplier collaboration and resource allocation for their environmental plans and environmental supplier development programs to be effective.

Suggested Citation

  • Saghiri, Soroosh Sam & Mirzabeiki, Vahid, 2021. "Buyer-led environmental supplier development: Can suppliers really help it?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:233:y:2021:i:c:s0925527320303194
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107969
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527320303194
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107969?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li, Wenli & Humphreys, Paul K. & Yeung, Andy C.L. & Edwin Cheng, T.C., 2007. "The impact of specific supplier development efforts on buyer competitive advantage: an empirical model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(1), pages 230-247, March.
    2. Brent Kurapatskie & Nicole Darnall, 2013. "Which Corporate Sustainability Activities are Associated with Greater Financial Payoffs?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 49-61, January.
    3. Lu, Rainy X.A. & Lee, Peter K.C. & Cheng, T.C.E., 2012. "Socially responsible supplier development: Construct development and measurement validation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 160-167.
    4. Martina Blum‐Kusterer & S. Salman Hussain, 2001. "Innovation and corporate sustainability: An investigation into the process of change in the pharmaceuticals industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(5), pages 300-316, September.
    5. Shih‐Fang Lo & Her‐Jiun Sheu, 2007. "Is Corporate Sustainability a Value‐Increasing Strategy for Business?," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 345-358, March.
    6. Qinghua Zhu & Yong Geng & Tsuyoshi Fujita & Shizuka Hashimoto, 2010. "Green supply chain management in leading manufacturers," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(4), pages 380-392, March.
    7. Lingxuan Liu & Min Zhang & Linda C. Hendry & Maoliang Bu & Shi Wang, 2018. "Supplier Development Practices for Sustainability: A Multi‐Stakeholder Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 100-116, January.
    8. Gang Wang & Taiwen Feng & Xuesong Zhao & Yongtao Song, 2018. "Influence of supplier trust and relationship commitment on green supplier integration," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 879-889, November.
    9. Handfield, Robert & Walton, Steven V. & Sroufe, Robert & Melnyk, Steven A., 2002. "Applying environmental criteria to supplier assessment: A study in the application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(1), pages 70-87, August.
    10. Stefan Seuring, 2011. "Supply chain management for sustainable products – insights from research applying mixed methodologies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(7), pages 471-484, November.
    11. Margit Osterloh & Bruno S. Frey, 2000. "Motivation, Knowledge Transfer, and Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(5), pages 538-550, October.
    12. Sarkis, Joseph & Zhu, Qinghua & Lai, Kee-hung, 2011. "An organizational theoretic review of green supply chain management literature," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 1-15, March.
    13. Dana Brown & Anne Roemer-Mahler & Antje Vertterlein, 2010. "Theorising transnational corporations as social actors : An analysis of corporate motivations," Post-Print hal-02312984, HAL.
    14. Brown, Dana L. & Vetterlein, Antje & Roemer-Mahler, Anne, 2010. "Theorizing Transnational Corporations as Social Actors: An Analysis of Corporate Motivations," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 1-37, April.
    15. Yijie Dou & Qinghua Zhu & Joseph Sarkis, 2015. "Integrating Strategic Carbon Management into Formal Evaluation of Environmental Supplier Development Programs," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 873-891, December.
    16. Robert Handfield & Robert Sroufe & Steven Walton, 2005. "Integrating environmental management and supply chain strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, January.
    17. Yadlapalli, Aswini & Rahman, Shams & Gunasekaran, Angappa, 2018. "Socially responsible governance mechanisms for manufacturing firms in apparel supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 135-149.
    18. Maher Agi & Rohit Nishant, 2017. "Understanding influential factors on implementing green supply chain management practices: An interpretive structural modelling analysis," Post-Print hal-02005891, HAL.
    19. Ferretti, I. & Zanoni, S. & Zavanella, L. & Diana, A., 2007. "Greening the aluminium supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1-2), pages 236-245, July.
    20. Qinghua Zhu & Ying Qu & Yong Geng & Tsuyoshi Fujita, 2017. "A Comparison of Regulatory Awareness and Green Supply Chain Management Practices Among Chinese and Japanese Manufacturers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 18-30, January.
    21. Lee, Voon-Hsien & Ooi, Keng-Boon & Chong, Alain Yee-Loong & Sohal, Amrik, 2018. "The effects of supply chain management on technological innovation: The mediating role of guanxi," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 15-29.
    22. Wong, Christina W.Y. & Lai, Kee-hung & Shang, Kuo-Chung & Lu, Chin-Shan & Leung, T.K.P., 2012. "Green operations and the moderating role of environmental management capability of suppliers on manufacturing firm performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 283-294.
    23. Nath, Prithwiraj & Ramanathan, Ramakrishnan, 2016. "Environmental management practices, environmental technology portfolio, and environmental commitment: A content analytic approach for UK manufacturing firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(P3), pages 427-437.
    24. Miao, Zhaowei & Cai, Shun & Xu, Di, 2012. "Exploring the antecedents of logistics social responsibility: A focus on Chinese firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 18-27.
    25. Gary C. Moore & Izak Benbasat, 1991. "Development of an Instrument to Measure the Perceptions of Adopting an Information Technology Innovation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 2(3), pages 192-222, September.
    26. Necmi K. Avkiran & Christian M. Ringle (ed.), 2018. "Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling," International Series in Operations Research and Management Science, Springer, number 978-3-319-71691-6, September.
    27. Kai Foerstl & Arash Azadegan & Thomas Leppelt & Evi Hartmann, 2015. "Drivers of Supplier Sustainability: Moving Beyond Compliance to Commitment," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 51(1), pages 67-92, January.
    28. Chan, Chi Kin & Lee, Y.C.E. & Campbell, J.F., 2013. "Environmental performance—Impacts of vendor–buyer coordination," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 683-695.
    29. Javier González‐Benito & Óscar González‐Benito, 2006. "A review of determinant factors of environmental proactivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 87-102, March.
    30. Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph & Cordeiro, James J. & Lai, Kee-Hung, 2008. "Firm-level correlates of emergent green supply chain management practices in the Chinese context," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 577-591, August.
    31. Gustavo Lannelongue & Javier Gonzalez‐Benito & Oscar Gonzalez‐Benito, 2015. "Input, Output, and Environmental Management Productivity: Effects on Firm Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 145-158, March.
    32. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    33. Gavronski, Iuri & Klassen, Robert D. & Vachon, Stephan & Nascimento, Luis Felipe Machado do, 2011. "A resource-based view of green supply management," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 872-885.
    34. Chiou, Tzu-Yun & Chan, Hing Kai & Lettice, Fiona & Chung, Sai Ho, 2011. "The influence of greening the suppliers and green innovation on environmental performance and competitive advantage in Taiwan," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 822-836.
    35. V. Kumar & D. Holt & A. Ghobadian & J.A. Garza-Reyes, 2015. "Developing green supply chain management taxonomy-based decision support system," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(21), pages 6372-6389, November.
    36. Fu, Xiaoyong & Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph, 2012. "Evaluating green supplier development programs at a telecommunications systems provider," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 357-367.
    37. McGovern, Tom & Hicks, Christian, 2006. "Specifications and supplier development in the UK electrical transmission and distribution equipment industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 164-178, November.
    38. Lo, Chris K.Y. & Yeung, Andy C.L. & Cheng, T.C.E., 2012. "The impact of environmental management systems on financial performance in fashion and textiles industries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 561-567.
    39. Brown Dana L & Vetterlein Antje & Roemer-Mahler Anne, 2010. "Theorizing Transnational Corporations as Social Actors: An Analysis of Corporate Motivations," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-39, April.
    40. Antony Paulraj, 2009. "Environmental motivations: a classification scheme and its impact on environmental strategies and practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 453-468, November.
    41. Purba Rao & Alok Kumar Singh & Olivia la O'Castillo & Ponciano S. Intal & Ather Sajid, 2009. "A metric for corporate environmental indicators … for small and medium enterprises in the Philippines," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 14-31, January.
    42. Michael V. Russo, 2009. "Explaining the impact of ISO 14001 on emission performance: a dynamic capabilities perspective on process and learning," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 307-319, July.
    43. Andrea Chiarini, 2014. "Strategies for Developing an Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chain: Differences Between Manufacturing and Service Sectors," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(7), pages 493-504, November.
    44. Ahsen, Anette von, 2006. "Environmental Management in Automotive Supply Chains: An Empirical Analysis," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 37798, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    45. Agarwal, Atul & Giraud-Carrier, François C. & Li, Yuan, 2018. "A mediation model of green supply chain management adoption: The role of internal impetus," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 342-358.
    46. Suhong Li & Thomas Ngniatedema & Fang Chen, 2017. "Understanding the Impact of Green Initiatives and Green Performance on Financial Performance in the US," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 776-790, September.
    47. Yu-Shan Chen & Ching-Hsun Chang, 2013. "The Determinants of Green Product Development Performance: Green Dynamic Capabilities, Green Transformational Leadership, and Green Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 107-119, August.
    48. Andrea Chiarini, 2017. "Environmental Policies for Evaluating Suppliers' Performance Based on GRI Indicators," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 98-111, January.
    49. Lai, Kee-hung & Wong, Christina W.Y., 2012. "Green logistics management and performance: Some empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing exporters," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 267-282.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maciej Urbaniak & Blanka Tundys & Magdalena Ankiel, 2021. "Expectations of Production Companies Operating in Poland towards Suppliers with Regards to Implementation of the Sustainability Concept," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Zhou, Rui & Bhuiyan, Tanveer Hossain & Medal, Hugh R. & Sherwin, Michael D. & Yang, Dong, 2022. "A stochastic programming model with endogenous uncertainty for selecting supplier development programs to proactively mitigate supplier risk," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    3. Ismail Abdi Changalima & Ismail Juma Ismail & Alban Dismas Mchopa, 2021. "A review of the forms, rationale, and challenges of supplier development in public procurement: lessons for public buyers in Tanzania," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christina W.Y. Wong & Chee Yew Wong & Sakun Boon‐itt, 2018. "How Does Sustainable Development of Supply Chains Make Firms Lean, Green and Profitable? A Resource Orchestration Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 375-388, March.
    2. Chen, Lujie & Zhao, Xiande & Tang, Ou & Price, Lydia & Zhang, Shanshan & Zhu, Wenwen, 2017. "Supply chain collaboration for sustainability: A literature review and future research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 73-87.
    3. Wenwen Zhu & Zhiqiang Wang, 2018. "The Collaborative Networks and Thematic Trends of Research on Purchasing and Supply Management for Environmental Sustainability: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-28, May.
    4. Handson Claudio Dias Pimenta & Peter Ball & Konstantinos Salonitis, 2021. "Supply chain environmental and social sustainability practice diffusion: Bibliometrics, content analysis and conceptual framework," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1870-1890, November.
    5. Roberto Chavez & Wantao Yu & Mengying Feng & Frank Wiengarten, 2016. "The Effect of Customer‐Centric Green Supply Chain Management on Operational Performance and Customer Satisfaction," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 205-220, March.
    6. Dai, Jing & Montabon, Frank L. & Cantor, David E., 2014. "Linking rival and stakeholder pressure to green supply management: Mediating role of top management support," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 173-187.
    7. Soh Hyun Chu & Hongsuk Yang & Mansokku Lee & Sangwook Park, 2017. "The Impact of Institutional Pressures on Green Supply Chain Management and Firm Performance: Top Management Roles and Social Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-21, May.
    8. Dubey, Rameshwar & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Samar Ali, Sadia, 2015. "Exploring the relationship between leadership, operational practices, institutional pressures and environmental performance: A framework for green supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 120-132.
    9. Dai, Jing & Montabon, Frank L. & Cantor, David E., 2015. "Reprint of “Linking rival and stakeholder pressure to green supply management: Mediating role of top management support”," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 124-138.
    10. Xiongyong Zhou & Zhiduan Xu, 2018. "An Integrated Sustainable Supplier Selection Approach Based on Hybrid Information Aggregation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-49, July.
    11. Piera Centobelli & Roberto Cerchione & Emilio Esposito, 2018. "Environmental Sustainability and Energy-Efficient Supply Chain Management: A Review of Research Trends and Proposed Guidelines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-36, January.
    12. Esfahbodi, Ali & Zhang, Yufeng & Liu, Yang & Geng, Duanyang, 2023. "The fallacy of profitable green supply chains: The role of green information systems (GIS) in attenuating the sustainability trade-offs," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    13. Rakesh Kumar Malviya & Ravi Kant & Ashim Dutta Gupta, 2018. "Evaluation and Selection of Sustainable Strategy for Green Supply Chain Management Implementation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 475-502, May.
    14. Mohammad Iranmanesh & Sajad Fayezi & Suhaiza Hanim & Sunghyup Sean Hyun, 2019. "Drivers and outcomes of eco-design initiatives: a cross-country study of Malaysia and Australia," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(5), pages 1121-1142, November.
    15. Antony Paulraj & Injazz J. Chen & Constantin Blome, 2017. "Motives and Performance Outcomes of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices: A Multi-theoretical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 239-258, October.
    16. Marcela Marçal Alves Pinto & João Luiz Kovaleski & Rui Tadashi Yoshino & Regina Negri Pagani, 2019. "Knowledge and Technology Transfer Influencing the Process of Innovation in Green Supply Chain Management: A Multicriteria Model Based on the DEMATEL Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-33, June.
    17. Guo Li & Ming K. Lim & Zhaohua Wang, 2020. "Stakeholders, green manufacturing, and practice performance: empirical evidence from Chinese fashion businesses," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 290(1), pages 961-982, July.
    18. Andrea Chiarini, 2017. "Environmental Policies for Evaluating Suppliers' Performance Based on GRI Indicators," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 98-111, January.
    19. Graham, Stephanie & Graham, Byron & Holt, Diane, 2018. "The relationship between downstream environmental logistics practices and performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 356-365.
    20. Miao, Zhaowei & Cai, Shun & Xu, Di, 2012. "Exploring the antecedents of logistics social responsibility: A focus on Chinese firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 18-27.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:233:y:2021:i:c:s0925527320303194. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.