Supply chain uncertainty and environmental management

Abstract

This manuscript examines the impact of supply chain uncertainty on environmental management spending in manufacturing plants. Building on the attention-based view of the firm (ABV), the basic premise is that with increased uncertainty in the supply chain, managers' attention to environmental management lessens which in turn leads to (i) fewer resources devoted to green issues within the plant and (ii) a bias to use resources toward less disruptive pollution control approaches rather than pollution prevention approaches. Data from a survey of 251 Canadian manufacturing plants was used to test the link between the level of uncertainty in the supply chain and environmental management decisions. The results indicate that supply chain uncertainty does not have a substantial impact on the level of environmental spending in a plant but has a substantial and significant impact on the allocation of the spending between pollution prevention and pollution control. More particularly, as supply chain uncertainty increases, organizations shift their resources away from pollution prevention to favor pollution control approaches.

Linking Environmental Management to Environmental Performance: The Interactive Role of Industry Context

“…Dynamism is defined as reflecting ‘the unpredictability and volatility of the changes in an industry that heighten the uncertainty of firms’ predictions' (Chen et al ., , p. 127). A change in uncertainty is an important component of the business context as it impacts decision makers' behavior pertaining to environmental management (Vachon and Hajmohammad, In press). Munificence is characterized by ‘the abundance and availability of external resources that can support organizational growth’ (Chen et al ., , p. 126).…”

“…According to the attention‐based view, managers have limited cognitive capacity, and therefore cannot give equal attention to all managerial issues; rather, the context determines the particular issues managers direct their attention to (Ocasio, ). High environmental uncertainty will draw managerial attention away from environmental management and towards other more pressing economic issues (Vachon and Hajmohammad, In press). In addition, environmental management requires substantial human and financial investments (Hart, ).…”

“…Maintaining the level of these costly investments likely proves difficult when dynamism is high, because high dynamism reduces the ability of a firm to control the flow of resources (Pfeffer and Salancik, ). In essence, dynamism and uncertainty induce decision makers to concentrate on their core business instead of distracting resources to non‐core issues, such as environmental management (Vachon and Hajmohammad, In press).…”

Static supply chain complexity and sustainability practices: A multitier examination

“…Asymmetries in the implementation of sustainability practices are evident when the practices of focal companies are compared with those of their suppliers or partners in the distribution channel (Ulstrup‐Hoejmose, Grosvold, & Millington, 2013). This can lead to tensions between partners in a SC (Sarkis et al, 2011; Serdarasan, 2013; Vachon & Hajmohammad, 2016). Extended networks are complex to manage because this requires cooperation, but such cooperation is often hampered by constraints determined by the structure of the SC.…”

The Effects of Environmental Management and Debt Financing on Sustainable Financial Growth in the Tourism Industry

“…Due to the voluntary and mandatory nature of environmental standards, the subject of environmental management activities in the literature tends to be more popular. Vachon and Hajmohammad (2016) explored the effects of environmental management on financial business in the service sector. Valero- Gil et al (2017) investigated the relationships between operations proactivity and execution of environmental management network.…”