The effect of firm-level factors on sustainable supply chain management practices and performance outcomes in the oil and gas industry

Abstract

The concept of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has gained increasing attention in both practice and theory in the last two decades thus, stimulating serious academic discourse, especially on its implementation as a way of minimizing the negative effects of industrial activities on the environment. Although SSCM practices have been implemented by oil and gas companies
during this period, it is unclear whether these initiatives are undertaken because they are profitable or due to the regulations compelling them. Several new debates have opened in recent times regarding whether the implementation of sustainability practices really pays, and therefore the performance outcomes of SSCM remain open to question. Similarly, earlier research on sustainability practices in the oil and gas industry has paid less attention to firm-level factors that either promote or hamper development towards achieving a sustainable supply chain.

This study investigates the effect of organisational factors (corporate culture, organisational size, and quality of management) on SSCM implementation in the oil and gas supply chain. Secondly, the study investigates whether the implementation of sustainability practices contributes to organisational performance. Thirdly, the study investigates the extent to which firm-level factors
affect the performance outcomes of SSCM. In doing so, a questionnaire survey of 192 oil and gas corporations was conducted, and the collected data was analysed using correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modelling technique. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of extant literature on SSCM in various industrial contexts was carried out.

The main findings from this study reveal that the implementation of SSCM practices is driven by corporate culture, organisational size, and quality of management. It was also observed that strong corporate culture and quality of management are positively related to firm performance. Notably, the most important contribution of this study relates to the finding of a significant positive
association between SSCM adoption and business performance, which clears the ambiguities about the consequences of SSCM implementation. Lastly, the result from this study highlights the significance of corporate culture and quality of management in determining how SSCM is implemented within firms and the derivable benefits, which helps explain the differences in performance outcomes attained by companies implementing the same S