Can you hear the Eco? From SME environmental responsibility to social requirements in the supply chain
Résumé
Recent years have seen an increasing interest on the separate areas of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) in small-and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) in SMEs, and collaboration with environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) on sustainable activities. However, very few studies have both investigated (i) how SME environmental activities can be translated into social requirements in the supply chain through responsible purchasing, and (ii) how the cooperation with ENGOs impacts this relationship. Within a framework that incorporates dynamic capability, legitimacy, and relational view theories, this study tests the proposed moderated mediation model using data from 146 thousand small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Results indicate that CER significantly and positively influences social requirements in SME supply chains. Moreover, findings also show that CER is positively associated with social requirements in SME supply chains through responsible purchasing. Results further reveal that the effects of CER and the use of responsible purchasing to implement social requirements in SMEs’ supply chains vary depending on the cooperation with ENGOs. Overall, this study contributes to the theory of sustainable supply chain management, and offers unique insights into the role of environmental NGOs in the move from CER to social requirements in SME supply chains.