Sustainable Supply Chain Management and the End User: Understanding the Impact of Socially and Environmentally Responsible Firm Behaviors on Consumers' Brand Evaluations and Purchase Intentions

Past research considering environmentally and socially sustainable supply chain management practices has demonstrated that focusing solely on upstream activities of the supply chain is no longer sufficient, warranting considerations of consumer perceptions of firm behaviors within the supply chain. This article addresses this directly, offering empirical evidence indicating that sustainable supply chain management practices result in more favorable consumer brand evaluations and increased purchase intentions. This effect is operationalized through consumers' self-brand connections and cognitive dissonance such that sustainable supply chain management simultaneously increases connections between individuals and the brand but decreases the psychological discomfort associated with cognitive dissonance.