The impact of leadership on supply chain green strategy alignment and operational performance

Abstract

With increasing attention being paid to environmental issues, manufacturers are seeking to establish strategy alignment with their supply chain (SC) partners to cope with these environmental challenges. However, few studies have uncovered how to effectively align green strategies at the SC level. Based on upper echelons theory, this study uses data collected from 206 manufacturers in China to explore the influence of leadership on the different dimensions of supply chain green strategy alignment (GSA) (i.e., internal, supplier, and customer GSA) and operational performance. The results show that first, internal GSA is a key driver of both supplier and customer GSA. Second, transformational leadership is positively related to all dimensions of GSA, while transactional leadership is only positively related to internal GSA. Third, internal and customer GSA are positively related to operational performance. This study contributes to the green supply chain management (GSCM) and leadership literature by conceptualizing GSA as a three-dimensional construct and constructing a framework for investigating its antecedents (leadership styles) and consequences (operational performance) and provides practical guidelines for companies to align their green strategies with their SC partners under the influence of leadership.