The art of sustainable supply chain management: Inspiring supplier behavior through managerial practices and justice

In the context of economic globalization, to realize sustainable progress, it has become essential for firms and their supply chains to adhere to business ethics and commit to environmental sustainability. While considerable research has explored the influence of organizational practices on firm performance, the mechanisms through which practices affect performance, particularly those that extend beyond organizational boundaries, remain underexplored. To overcome this gap, this study develops a practice-stakeholder behavior-performance framework, and uses social exchange theory, to examine how a buyer company's supply chain management practices affect suppliers' in-role and extra-role behaviors and, consequently, its own operational and environmental performance. In addition, this study investigates how justice moderates the relationship between buyer practices and supplier behaviors. Using a paired survey approach, data were gathered from manufacturing firms in a developing country to validate the proposed model. Results suggest that (1) buyers' socializing practices enhance both the in-role and extra-role behaviors of suppliers, whereas monitoring practices influence only in-role behaviors; (2) suppliers' in-role and extra-role behaviors positively affect both buyers' operational and environmental performances; and (3) distributive justice strengthens the relationship between buyers' monitoring practices and suppliers' in-role behaviors, whereas procedural justice enhances the effect of buyers' socializing practices on suppliers' extra-role behaviors. These findings provide theoretical references for buyer companies to formulate precision-based supplier management strategies to improve their own sustainable performance.