Green Supply Chain Management and Firm Performance in Pakistan's Textile Industry

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of four green supply chain management (GSCM) practices—eco-design, green procurement, green manufacturing, and green distribution—on firm performance, while examining the mediating role of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) among manufacturing firms in Pakistan's textile industry.

Approach: Grounded in a positivist research philosophy, the study adopts a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected through a structured, five-point Likert-scale questionnaire administered to 150 managers, supervisors, and supply chain professionals working in textile manufacturing firms located in Faisalabad, Sheikhupura, and Multan, using a convenience sampling technique. Data were analysed using SPSS for descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and Pearson correlation, and AMOS for confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling (SEM), and bootstrapped mediation testing.

Findings: The measurement model demonstrated sound reliability (overall Cronbach's α = .913) and adequate sampling adequacy (KMO = .843, Bartlett's test significant, p < .001). Eco-design (β = .410), green procurement (β = .194), green manufacturing (β = .191), and green distribution (β = .165) each exerted a significant positive effect on firm performance, and SSCM itself was a strong positive predictor of firm performance (β = .678). However, SSCM significantly mediated only the relationship between eco-design and firm performance (β = .329, p < .001); its mediating role in the relationships involving green procurement, green manufacturing, and green distribution was not statistically supported.

Contributions: The study extends the Resource-Based View by demonstrating that GSCM practices function as valuable, rare, and difficult-to-imitate resources that translate into performance gains, partly through sustainable supply chain capabilities. Textile manufacturers should prioritize eco-design initiatives and strengthen the sustainable supply chain infrastructure required to convert broader green practices into measurable performance outcomes.

Originality value: This is among the first studies to empirically test SSCM as a mediating mechanism between multiple GSCM dimensions and firm performance within Pakistan's textile sector, an emerging-economy context where such evidence remains scarce.

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