Assessing the effects of sustainable supply chain management practices on operational performance: the role of business regulatory compliance and corporate sustainability culture

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the mediating and moderating effects of business regulatory compliance (BRC) on the association between sustainable supply chain management practices (SSCMP) and operational performance (PERFOP), and how corporate sustainability culture (CSC) serves as a boundary condition to BRC.

Design/methodology/approach

This research draws data from 245 firms operating in multiple industries in Ghana. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) was employed to test the direct effects, while Hayes Process Macros was employed to test the indirect and conditional effects among the study variables using a structural equation modelling approach.

Findings

The results showed that SSCMP has a direct positive effect on PERFOP. The study further revealed that BRC mediates the relationship between SSCMP and PERFOP. This study found that BRC negatively moderates the association between SSCMP and PERFOP, suggesting that high levels of BRC generate unintended adverse effect on the SSCMP- PERFOP link. However, the results revealed that CSC serves as a boundary condition to BRC.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that emphasizes how the resource-based view and regulatory focus theory interact to explain how different degrees of CSC and BRC impact SSCMP performance outcomes. This study advances research in the sustainability literature, in response to calls for further research in this domain. This study draws decision-makers attention on the need to make sustainability practices an integral part of corporate culture in order to set a business tone that stimulates easy compliance to sustainability requirements.

Citation

Awuah-Gyawu, M., Abdul Muntaka, S., Owusu-Bio, M.K. and Otchere Fianko, A. (2024), "Assessing the effects of sustainable supply chain management practices on operational performance: the role of business regulatory compliance and corporate sustainability culture", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-10-2023-0721