Green supply chain management strategy and financial performance in the shipping industry

ABSTRACT

This study empirically examines the relationship between green supply chain management (GSCM) strategy and financial performance for shipping firms. We collect global data from 289 shipping firms and apply cluster analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the research hypotheses. We cluster shipping firms according to their level of GSCM strategy adoption, which ranges from reactive to proactive. We find that shipping firms with a proactive GSCM strategy perform better financially. The findings of this study can contribute to shipping firms’ environmental management strategy decisions and help tackle environmental problems while improving their financial outcome. This paper provides a discussion of managerial and theoretical implications and recommends future research directions.

KEYWORDS:

• Green supply chain management
• proactive green strategy
• environmental management strategy
• green shipping management practices
• financial performance
• shipping

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. For example, this study considers ISO 50,001, which is the energy management systems standard. This research also incorporates variables, such as green marketing, which are necessary in explaining the mechanism of proactive GSCM strategy and financial performance.