Examining the green sourcing behavior from the cross-national perspective

Purpose Recognizing the growing role of green sourcing in a supply chain ecosystem, this paper identifies the most common business practices that make green sourcing more successful and then examines the ramifications of green sourcing practices from cost, ecological and cultural perspectives based on cross-national surveys of both Korean and US firms. Design/methodology/approach After conducting the questionnaire surveys in Korea and the US, we analyzed the results by running a series of binary logistics regression, ordinal regression, canonical correlation, discriminant analyses and chi-square tests of independence and cross-tabulation. These statistical data analyses were also used to test a number of hypotheses and validate the proposed theories. Findings Analyses of these results revealed significant differences in green sourcing practices between Korean and US firms in that US firms tended to make more substantial commitments to green sourcing than Korean firms. For instance, Korean firms viewed the supplier’s advances in providing eco-friendly packages and goods as the most important attribute for their green supplier selection. In contrast, the US firms prioritized the supplier’s capability to handle hazardous waste disposal and compliance with federal and state environmental regulations in their green supplier selection. Originality/value This paper is one of a few studies that expanded the research scope from cross-national and/or cultural perspectives and empirically identified idiosyncrasies unique to the national origin of buying firms that explored green-sourcing initiatives, which aim to reduce the carbon footprints of supply chain activities and minimize unnecessary waste. This paper is also one of the first studies to build a theoretical foundation for worldwide green sourcing practices predicated on institutional and Edgar Schein theories.