Internalization of the ‘Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability’ System Motivations and performance in Spanish road transport firms

Abstract

The Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability (SQAS) system aims to measure sustainability levels – quality, safety, security and environmental requirements – of logistics providers in the distribution of European chemicals. In the context of SQAS adoption, the purpose of this work is twofold. First, it examines how the motivations of road transport companies carrying dangerous goods to evaluate through the SQAS system condition the real (not symbolic) internalization of the system. Secondly, it analyzes how the internalization of the SQAS system impacts sustainability performance. The study analyzes a sample of 78 Spanish companies assessed according to the SQAS Transport Service module. We use structural equations models applying partial least squares to test the research hypotheses. Results suggest that customer pressure is the main motivation for a company to undergo the assessment. In addition, in line with the literature on management standards, the results show that internal motivations impact to a greater extent than external ones in the internalization of SQAS, and that greater internalization contributes to better sustainability performance.