A meta-analysis of sustainable supply chain management and firm performance: Some new findings on sustainable supply chain management

Abstract

Industry and academia are increasingly focusing on sustainability as a competitive advantage for firms in the supply chain. Despite the increasing research on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), the empirical results show a negative and positive relationship with firm performance, while the performance aspect pays less attention to the innovation dimension. Hence, it is necessary to synthesize previous studies to extend the theoretical framework of SSCM and firm performance and to analyze the effects of potential moderating variables on the relationship between SSCM and firm performance. To do this, we conducted a meta-analysis of 42,461 observations from 128 independent samples in 158 empirical studies. The results indicate that SSCM not only improves operational, economic, environmental and social performance, but also enables companies to innovate. In addition, the downstream SSCM contributes the most to firm performance, followed by the internal SSCM, while the upstream SSCM contributes the least. Interestingly, a journal reputation can affect the SSCM-firm performance relationship. We not only extend the framework of SSCM and firm performance, but also combine SSCM with the innovation dimension for the first time. Meanwhile, our results help managers clarify how to make trade-offs with SSCM practices.