Effect of Training and Reward on Social Sustainability in Ghana’s Cocoa Supply Chain: The Role of Green Buyer-Supplier Relationship.

Abstract This study was conducted to examine Ghana’s cocoa supply chain sustainability, with a focus on the effect of training and reward on social sustainability in Ghana’s cocoa, and also the unique role of green buyer-supplier relationship (governance and trust). Questionnaires were administered to three hundred and twenty-eight (328) cocoa farmers from the Western region of Ghana which generated the primary data for the research and the Partial Least Square (PLS-SEM) was used to aid the analysis of the data gathered. The result showed that both Training and Reward have directly affected social sustainability significantly and the same have indirectly affected social sustainability through the green buyer-supplier relationships (governance and trust). In addition, it was observed that the green buyer-supplier relationship positively related to social sustainability. The outcome of this study provides contemporary knowledge on how a combination of training and reward together with green buyer-supplier relationship (governance and trust) could enhance social sustainability in the cocoa industry. This study is among the very few scholarly works that have attempted to explore the drivers of social sustainability in the agri-food supply chain setting, especially, the context of developing economies. This study adds to the extant literature by providing a contemporary view of top management support and social sustainability in the context of the agri-food supply chain.