The link between sustainability initiatives at firm and supply chain levels: The mediating role of involvement of partners

Abstract The deliberations of the COP28 in Dubai in December 2023 and the growing importance of UN Sustainable Development Goals have highlighted that sustainability initiatives have moved from being ‘nice‐to‐do’ to ‘must‐do’. The resource dependency theory suggests that a firm cannot develop green strategies in isolation, and a substantial involvement of all supply chain partners is needed for achieving larger impacts on environmental sustainability. However, the literature has yet to explore this link in detail. In this paper, we investigate the link between sustainability initiatives at a firm level and at the supply chain level in line with global green agenda. Data collected through a questionnaire survey of senior logistics and supply‐chain managers in UK companies were used to propose and statistically validate a framework combining both constructs and causal hypotheses. We further use a case of a farming company from Luxemburg to validate our research findings. Our results suggest a strong link in terms of green strategies between the firm level and supply chain level. We find that this link is mediated by the degree of involvement of supply chain partners. A case company participated in the study agreed to our research findings related to importance of technology and collaboration in food sector to share the resources among all supply chain players. We also find that green strategies result in improved business performance.