Green Supply Chain Management and business innovation

This paper conceptualizes the linkages between eight distinct categories of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices and business innovation. We test our hypotheses with a survey of Brazilian firms. We find that the internal heterogeneity of Green Supply Chain Management practices influences innovation. We observe a strong relationship between innovation and four categories of Green Supply Chain Management practices, but no relationship with the other four categories. We extend current knowledge by proposing that the implementation of Green Supply Chain Management practices is linked to innovation when the GSCM practices fulfill two conditions: a) firms interact with external actors during the implementation of the practice and; b) firms and external actors mutually influence each other as a result of the implementation of the practice. Our practical contribution is that executives need to prioritize certain types of Green Supply Chain Management practices to have a better chance of improving innovative processes and thereby boosting organizational performance.