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PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the link between green manufacturing practices, operational competitiveness, firm reputation and sustainable performance dimensions as well as advance a mediation approach.Design/methodology/approachThe study resorted to structured questionnaire to collect data from 158 manufacturing firms from different industries, and partial least square–structural equation modelling is used to test all hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results indicate that green manufacturing has a positive significant impact on social, economic and environmental performance. However, firm reputation and operational competitiveness were found not to significantly influence economic performance. The mediation analysis also showed that operational competitiveness, firm reputation and environmental performance play no mediation role between green manufacturing and economic performance. Furthermore, social performance is found to mediate the relationship between green manufacturing and economic performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study did not consider any moderator variables. Also, the universal applicability and generalizability are somewhat a problem since data was mainly collected from Ghana, an emerging country.Practical implicationsThe results provide managers with reasonable evidence to proactively implement and invest in green manufacturing practices because such practices will not only have a positive impact on their sustainable performance dimensions but further enhance operational competitiveness and provide firms with superior reputation.Originality/valueThe study provides significant findings that contribute to and expand the literature on green manufacturing, and it is among the relatively few studies that has investigated the link between green manufacturing, sustainable performance dimensions, firm reputation and operational competitiveness, especially from a mediation analysis perspective.

PurposeExploring ways to sustain competitive positions as well as improve firm performance through environmental production initiatives has been a major preoccupying topic for mostly practitioners and researchers. Despite several studies on the influence of environmental initiatives on firm performance, many questions remain unanswered as to how to further extract more gains from environmental production initiatives. This study, thus, explores environmental production practices impact on firm performance from proactive and reactive perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a survey research design, a quantitative approach and partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique in making data analysis and interpretations due to its suitability for predictive research models.FindingsThe results indicated that proactive environmental production practices positively related with process and environmental performances but negatively associated with financial performance. Although the findings contrast with majority of past findings, they gain the support of other scholars in establishing that early adoption stages of proactive environmental production initiatives strain financial capabilities and thus present a negative relationship. Reactive environmental production practices are positively and significantly related with process, environmental and financial performances.Originality/valueThe study is among the first to expose environmental production practices from a proactive and a reactive perspective and in the context of a developing country. As such, the study provides guidance to relevant authorities in further promoting sustainable production practices to preserve the environment by manufacturing safer consumer products through efficient sustainable production processes and practices.

PurposeThe priority giving to green practices in today's competitive market has made green logistics management practices (GLMPS) a significant driver of organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of GLMPS, logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability on sustainability performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses structured questionnaires to gather data from 274 managers of manufacturing firms in Ghana. The partial least square structural equation modeling approach is used to analyze the data to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results obtained from the analysis indicate that GLMPS positively influence social sustainability and environmental sustainability. However, GLMPS negatively influence business performance. The results further reveal that logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability augment GLMPS to achieve significant improvement in both business performance and environmental sustainability through the mediation effect approach.Originality/valueThe study proposes a conceptual framework that tests the combined effect of GLMPs, logistics ecocentricity and supply chain traceability on environmental sustainability, social sustainability and business performance from the Ghanaian perspective.

PurposeExploring ways to acquire, sustain and improve competitive positions in supply chains through information sharing, supply chain visibility, collaboration and agility have been essential for scholars and practitioners. Basing on the relational view, resource based view and the extended resource based view, this study assesses the critical role of information sharing in supply chains through emphasizing its effect on supply chain visibility, collaboration, agility and supply chain performance. Particularly, the study proposes that information sharing, supply chain visibility, collaboration and agility collectively have crucial direct and indirect influences on supply chain performance which lead to superior gains, competitiveness and flexibility.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a survey research design, a quantitative approach and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in making data analysis and interpretations due to its suitability for predictive research models.FindingsThe results indicate information sharing positively and significantly influenced supply chain visibility, collaboration, agility and performance. Supply chain visibility presented significant effects on collaboration, agility and performance, while supply chain collaboration and agility had significant impact on supply chain performance. The study findings connote that information sharing is key to enhancing competitive gains and superior supply chain performance.Originality/valueThe study is among the few to probe on how information sharing as a variable interacts with supply chain visibility, collaboration, agility and performance. Although, information sharing has received a lot of attention in supply chains, this study is among the first to capture the study variables in a single model and thus, exposes the vital need for information sharing in improving supply chain performance seeing that it ensured significant and robust impacts on the study variables.