Unveiling the value of institutional pressure in socially sustainable supply chain management: The role of top management support for social initiatives and organisational culture

Abstract

This study aims to explore the factors that motivate firms to adopt socially sustainable supply chain management (socially SSCM) practices. To address this question, we seek to investigate the effect of institutional pressure on firms' socially SSCM (i.e., assessment and collaboration) and the mediating role of top management support (TMS) for social initiatives. We also argue that organisational culture, which comprises flexibility and control orientation, influences the process from institutional pressures to TMS for social initiatives. Using survey data from 248 buyer–supplier dyads in China, we find that institutional pressure positively influences companies to enhance socially SSCM, including assessment and collaboration practices. Moreover, TMS for social initiatives plays mediating role in the relationship between institutional pressure and socially SSCM. Moreover, flexibility‐orientated culture weakens the influence of institutional pressure on TMS for social initiatives, whereas the effect of institutional pressure on TMS for social initiatives intensifies as control‐orientated culture increases. This study contributes to the literature by stressing the social dimension of SSCM and linking institutional and organisational factors involved in social ethics issues to understand buying firms' tendency to achieve socially SSCM.