Top Management Commitment to Sustainability and Green Supply Chain Management: The Mediating Roles of Organizational Culture and Strategic Orientation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how top management commitment to sustainability impacts green supply chain management practices within organizations. It explores the roles of green organizational culture and strategic orientation in translating leadership commitment into effective sustainability outcomes. The study aims to provide insights into how organizations can integrate sustainability into their supply chains to enhance environmental performance and achieve long-term competitive advantage. Additionally, it offers practical guidance for managers and policymakers to promote sustainable practices in organizational operations.

Design: The study used a partial least squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to conduct the data analysis, and a survey questionnaire was developed to gather the data, which was a well-designed and validated survey questionnaire.

Findings: The results indicate that the commitment of the top management to sustainability is a key aspect to support sustainability of green supply chain in organizations. A leadership with good sustainability orientation has a positive impact on the organizational culture and the strategic orientation of the firms that subsequently promote the adoption of environmentally responsible supply chain practices. The findings also revealed that leadership commitment is transformed into effective green supply chain management via the organizational culture and strategic orientation that are important channels. In general, this research paper emphasizes that leadership, culture and strategy are the major forces towards sustainable supply chain deliverables.

Theoretical Contribution: The study contributes to sustainability literature and the supply chain management literature by offering an integrated model that connects the top management commitment, organizational culture, strategic orientation, and green supply chain management. It emphasizes mediation functions of culture and strategy in the translation of leadership commitment to sustainable practices. The results enhance the knowledge on the inner processes of successful sustainability introduction.

Practical Implications: The research offers practical recommendations to organizations that want to succeed by attaining long-term environmental sustainability and competitive advantage by leveraging leadership-led cultural and strategic change.