Collaboration as a structural aspect of proactive social sustainability: the differential moderating role of distributive and procedural justice

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to adopt the strategy-structure-performance (SSP) framework to explore how proactive social strategy could motivate firms to collaborate with suppliers on social sustainability initiatives, and how such collaborative efforts could unlock a win-win opportunity for both noneconomic (social performance) and economic (operational performance) performance. Additionally, drawing on the tenets of the social exchange theory, the different moderating effects of distributive justice and procedural justice on the social collaboration-performance relationship are also examined.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses survey data collected from 215 manufacturing companies in China. The proposed hypotheses are tested using multiple linear regression models as well as the PROCESS macro within SPSS.FindingsThe results suggest that (1) a proactive social strategy could motivate firms to collaborate with suppliers on joint social activities and (2) social collaboration with suppliers can have a significant positive effect on both social and operational performance. The moderation results suggest that distributive justice has a differential effect on the collaboration-performance link. Particularly, distributive justice strengthens the relationship between social collaboration and operational performance, while it weakens the relationship between social collaboration and social performance. Surprisingly, procedural justice did not have a significant moderating effect on the social collaboration-performance link.Originality/valueThis paper extends the SSP framework to the social sustainability context by not only stressing the importance of proactivity in managing sustainability, but also revealing collaboration as a structural aspect that could achieve superior performance benefits. This study also contributes to sustainable supply chain literature by exploring the moderating roles of justice elements.

Environmental strategy, green supply chain integration and sustainable performance: examining the synergistic effects

“…Therefore, our findings highlight the synergistic effects among environmental strategy, GSCI and perceived institutional force, which contribute to achieving high sustainable performance. This aligns with previous research that suggests firms face challenges in achieving sustainable performance by relying solely on a single practice (Dai et al, 2017;Lim et al, 2022;Shah and Soomro, 2021). Furthermore, our study supports the assertion of the SSE framework that firm performance relies on achieving a multidimensional fit among firm strategy, structure and environment (Dikova and Veselova, 2021;Wang et al, 2023b;Yang et al, 2023).…”

“…, 2021). The conventional approach to analyzing the combined impacts of multiple strategies and environmental conditions on performance outcomes has primarily relied on examining contingency effects through linear regression models (Lim et al. , 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, we demonstrate the interplay between strategy and the multilevel elements of structure and environment, including their complementarity and substitution relationships across various configuration paths. In contrast to previous studies that focused on pursuing optimal models (Dai et al, 2017;Lim et al, 2022;Shah and Soomro, 2021), this study explores alternative paths to attain sustainable performance under different scenarios. This contributes to the elucidation of the causal complexity underlying the impact on sustainable performance and serves as a valuable reference for future research in this field.…”

Theorising circular economy and sustainable operations and supply chain management: a sustainability-dominant logic

“…The growing concern with the climate change and rising pollution levels has brought sustainability to the forefront of organisations' strategic priorities for improvement and innovation (Golgeci et al ., 2022). Although the environmental dimension of sustainability tends to draw most of the attention of academics and practitioners, increasing pressure from diverse stakeholders is compelling organisations to also improve their social sustainability performance (Lim et al ., 2022).…”

“…Although the environmental dimension of sustainability tends to draw most of the attention of academics and practitioners, increasing pressure from diverse stakeholders is compelling organisations to also improve their social sustainability performance (Lim et al, 2022).…”