Green supply chain management in small and medium enterprises: Further empirical thoughts from South Africa

Abstract

Background: For South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to gain and maintain competitive advantages and succeed, they have to change their practices and adapt their strategies to the dynamic environment of today. A better understanding and application of green supply chain management practices by SMEs could enable such enterprises to improve their performance and succeed in their operations.Objectives: This study aimed to analyse the relationship between green supply chain management, environmental performance and supply chain performance in South African SMEs.Method: A conceptual model was proposed and subjected to empirical verification using data collected from SMEs based in Gauteng province. The structural equation modelling procedure was used to test hypotheses in the proposed relationships in SMEs within different industries.Results: The results of the study indicated mixed outcomes. No relationships were found between environmental performance and two green supply chain dimensions, namely green purchasing and eco-design. However, the remaining dimensions of green supply chain management, namely reverse logistics and legislation and regulation, positively and significantly predicted environmental performance. In turn, environmental performance positively and significantly predicted supply chain performance.Conclusion: Integrating green supply chain management practices, especially reverse logistics and adherence to legislation and regulation into the SME business strategy, leads to the improvement of environmental and overall supply chain performance.

Green Supply Chain Management and Environmental Performance: The moderating role of Firm Size

“…The findings on green design and its impact on environmental performance was also in contrast with a study by Younis, Sundarakani and Vel [29] who found a significant positive relationship between green design and environmental performance. However, the findings on green design and environmental performance in the Ghanaian construction industry was consistent with a study conducted by Epoh and Mafini [45] who also found that no significant relationship exists between green design and environmental performance.…”

Sustainability and financial performance of small and medium sized enterprises: A bibliometric and systematic literature review

“…Few articles discuss companies' boundaries in their analysis by examining the association between environmental collaboration and financial performance. Mafini and Muposhi () and Epoh and Mafini () highlight the potential financial success that business can achieve with the implementation of sustainable supply chain management practices and, therefore, ecological collaborations. Although the internationalization is long considered a crucial topic in the literature concerning innovation and entrepreneurship, it is unexpectedly debated scarcely in this cluster.…”

“…Also, others discuss the importance of implementing sustainability training, not only at universities and business schools but also at all levels of education, as a valuable resource for business management and for society(Eugenia Lopez-Perez et al, 2017b).Few articles discuss companies' boundaries in their analysis byexamining the association between environmental collaboration and financial performance Mafini and Muposhi (2017). andEpoh and Mafini (2018) highlight the potential financial success that business can achieve with the implementation of sustainable supply chain management practices and, therefore, ecological collaborations.Although the internationalization is long considered a crucial topic in the literature concerning innovation and entrepreneurship, it is unexpectedly debated scarcely in this cluster. There are only two articles focusing on the internationalization issue; among these,Hilmersson (2014) examines the relationship between the SMEs international expansion strategies and financial performance during market turbulence by analyzing three main dimensions: scale, scope, and speed of internationalization.…”

Organisational agility, business best practices and the performance of small to medium enterprises in South Africa

“…For instance, a study by Vermaak, Kirsten and Wolmarans (2015) found that accountants in SMEs tend to depend on financial ratios more than the highly acclaimed Balanced Scorecard when measuring performance. Other studies conducted in South African SMEs (Dubihlela & Sandada, 2014;Epoh & Mafini, 2018;Maduekwe & Kamala, 2016;Mafini & Muposhi, 2017) applied subjective measures to determine the performance of these businesses. In line with these studies, the current research also applies subjective measures to quantify the performance of SMEs.…”