Adoption of green supply chain initiatives by ISO 14001 certified manufacturing firms in Malaysia
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Date
2009
Authors
Eltayeb, Tarig Khidir
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Volume Title
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Abstract
Environmental issues constitute continuous concern for governments, societies, and business organizations. Green supply chains emerged as a new approach that extends environmental responsibility of organizations throughout their entire supply chains. Despite the importance of green supply chains in alleviating environmental issues and providing economic benefits to organizations, little is known about green supply chains, especially in the context of Malaysia. This study investigates the extent of existence of green supply chain initiatives in Malaysia, the drivers that motivate firms to adopt these initiatives, and the actual outcomes of adoption. In addition, the study investigates the moderating effect of supplier and customer relationship orientation on the relationships between the drivers and green supply chain initiatives. To attain its objectives, the study utilized in-depth interviews in addition to mail survey. Three in-depth interviews were conducted to specify variables and relationships of the study. Analysis of the interviews revealed three categories of green supply chain initiatives commonly found in Malaysia (eco-design, green purchasing, and reverse logistics), four categories of drivers (regulations, customer pressures, social responsibility, and expected business benefits), and three categories of outcomes (environmental, economic, and intangible outcomes). The survey was carried out among ISO 14001 certified firms in Malaysia. A total of 132 usable responses were received from the respondents. Exploratory factor analysis of the survey data added fourth category of outcome (cost reductions) to the list of outcomes. The results of the survey indicate that expected business benefits is the most influential driver on green supply chain initiatives (has positive effect on the three initiatives) followed by regulations and customer pressures (have positive effect on eco-design and green purchasing), and lastly comes social responsibility (has positive effect on eco-design only). The study found that eco-design has positive effect on the four categories of outcomes, reverse logistics has positive effect on cost reductions only, whereas green purchasing does not show positive effect on any of the outcomes. This study found positive moderating effect of supplier relationship orientation on the relationships between customer pressures and the three green supply chain initiatives. However, the study found no convincing evidence to support the moderating effect of customer relationship orientation on the relationships between the drivers and green supply chain initiatives. In addition, the study found that three of the control variables (type of industry, firm ownership, and participation in green associations) have positive effect on green supply chain initiatives.
Description
PhD
Keywords
Management , Green supply chain , Manufacturing firms