Environmental orientation on the frontline: A boundary‐spanning perspective for supply chain management

Abstract

Frontline employees (FLEs) are the face of every organization in the supply chain, and therefore, supply chain partners understand each other's environmental values through these interactions. An environmental orientation conveys a firm's commitment to the natural environment to both internal and external stakeholders along the supply chain. Building upon social identity theory within a boundaryspanning perspective, we estimate a model which examines how this firm-level orientation leads to FLE's environmental identification. These FLEs work harder and are more satisfied at higher levels of identification, which ultimately translates to perceptions of higher-quality products and prosocial impact. FLE's perceptions of ethical leadership and trust in their organization moderate this serial mediation model. Together, we provide insights into the benefits of frontline employees who identify with an environmental organization.

Navigating circular economy: Unleashing the potential of political and supply chain analytics skills among top supply chain executives for environmental orientation, regenerative supply chain practices, and supply chain viability

“…Following Gupta and George (2016), top SC executive SCA skills (ESS) were measured using five items. Firm environmental orientation (FEO) was measured using a seven‐item scale based on Gabler et al (2023). RSC practices were measured using nine items adapted from Howard et al (2019) and McLennon et al (2021).…”

Developing an entrepreneurial mindset in supply chain managers: Exposing a powerful potential

“…This represents an immense collection of minds that understand the company's product/service portfolio, market prospects, what sells and does not, capabilities and limitations found in the supply base, and how products are made and moved. Supply chain professionals are also more inclined to be boundary spanners in light of the hyper‐cross‐functionality associated with supply chain work, routinely collaborating with the multitude of a company's internal functions as well as interfacing with external partners (material suppliers, service providers, and customers) in order to meet daily expectations (Gabler et al., 2023; Kull & Ellis, 2016). This boundary‐spanning perspective lends to what is known as supply chain orientation (SCO), a concept that holds game‐changing potential to entrepreneurs in corporate and startup situations.…”

Green logistics operations and its impact on supply chain sustainability: An empirical study

“…The sustainable improvement of logistics calls for actions that lead to the economic and social benefits of keeping environmental orientation on the frontline (Gabler et al, 2023). Researchers thus highlight ‘a need‐based comprehensive supply chain sustainability model is a must (and not an option) and is a real incentive for any firm's sustained performance’ (Tang et al, 2018).…”