Abstract
In recent years, many studies link supply chain sustainability practices to firm performance, since more and more firms are implementing sustainable practices in their manufacturing/services supply chains. This study uses a psychometric meta-analysis to synthesize the results from 167 effect sizes, collected from 129 articles, to understand the impact of various types of sustainability practices (i.e., environmental, social, and combined) on firm performance (Financial and Operational). A sub-group analysis, using industry (manufacturing/service) and economy (developed/developing), was also performed to study the relative strength of sustainability-firm performance relationships in respective categories. The study confirms a positive association between the various aspects of sustainability and firm performance and finds that the strength of sustainability-firm performance relationships grows over time. Findings also suggest a stronger relationship between sustainability-firm performances in manufacturing industries than in service industries. This study provides interesting insights for policymakers and companies in various economies, and it augments the understanding of the impact of sustainable supply chain practices on firm performance.
Highlights
In recent years, sustainability has been a topic of discussion in major global forums, including the United Nations
This study attempted to consolidate the research finding in the Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) practices and its impact on focal firm performance through Natural Resource Based View (NRBV) and stakeholder-based theoretical perspectives. This approach helps to enhance the understanding of SSCM practices through the aspects of pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development, and its effect on competitive advantage and firm performance
It is observed that the relationship between sustainability practice and firm performance is higher in manufacturing industries than in service industries, which implies that manufacturing industries should invest more in sustainability practices along the supply chain than service industries
Summary
Sustainability has been a topic of discussion in major global forums, including the United Nations. These forums highlighted the need for organizations to understand the importance of achieving sustainability in their business activities. It is essential for the firm to know whether their sustainable practices are paying off, which makes it important to measure the impact of sustainability practices from 3BL perspective on firm performance (Margolis et al, 2007; Darbari, Kannan, Agarwal, & Jha, 2019). The question now is, “how impactful are sustainable, social, and environmental practices on the various aspects of a firm’s performance?”
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