Impact of social sustainability on supply chain performance with mediating effect of differentiation: the case of Moroccan manufacturing firms

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between social sustainability practices (SSPs) and supply chain performance (SCP) indicators in the context of Moroccan manufacturing companies with a three-step research methodology. Among the various supply chain KPIs used in the literature, the three most preferred by supply chain experts were selected with interval type-2 fuzzy AHP (IT2F-AHP) method, which offers an accurate approach in subjective decision-making situations. Afterwards, the data collected with the developed instrument were evaluated using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. Lastly, in order to understand the nature of the inferred relationship, the moderating role of differentiation, as a competitive advantage strategy, was assessed. The findings obtained show that there is a significant relationship between social sustainability and SCP for the Moroccan manufacturing sector, which may inspire further research in other developing markets. Additionally, it has been found that differentiation has a total mediation effect on the two aforementioned constructs' relationship.