Sustainable supply chain management practices, supply chain dynamic capabilities, and enterprise performance

Abstract

The combination of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and dynamic capabilities theory is a fairly young topic, which has attracted great attention from scholars and practitioners recently. This study empirically investigates the impact of SSCM practices on supply chain (SC) dynamic capabilities and enterprise performance (including economic, environmental and social performance) by explicitly focusing on the mediation effect of SC dynamic capabilities on the link between SSCM practices and enterprise performance. Data collected from 209 Chinese manufacturing firms were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that SSCM practices have a significant positive effect on SC dynamic capabilities and all three dimensions of performances. Whereas SC dynamic capabilities affect only environmental performance positively, they have no effect on economic performance and social performance. Furthermore our analysis reveals that SC dynamic capabilities partially mediate the relationship between SSCM practices and enterprise performance. Overall, the findings explicate the importance for firms, in particular those operating in developing countries, to reinforce their SC dynamic capabilities and implement effective SSCM practices as an enabler.