Environmental supply chain relationship analysis: do buyers and suppliers have different perspectives on environmental issues?

Purpose This study explores differences in environmental consciousness between supply chain buyers and suppliers and their impact on affective commitment, environmental information sharing and environmental management performance. It offers an empirical and theoretical model to address challenges in achieving environmental alignment among supply chain partners. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted among 600 supply chain professionals (300 buyers and 300 suppliers) in South Korea’s manufacturing sector, examining key relationships using multi-group structural equation modeling in SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0. Findings Buyers and suppliers differ in their environmental consciousness and engagement. The positive effect of environmental consciousness on affective commitment is stronger for buyers, and its impact on environmental management performance is significant only for buyers. The positive effect of affective commitment on environmental information sharing is stronger for buyers, but that of environmental information sharing on environmental management performance does not significantly differ between the groups – collaboration drives sustainability improvements. Practical implications The findings suggest that to enhance environmental performance, supply chain managers should tailor sustainability strategies based on buyer–supplier roles, strengthen environmental awareness through organizational leadership and implement structured environmental information-sharing systems supported by continuous monitoring. Originality/value This study focuses on organizational supply chains and reveals differences in how buyers and suppliers interpret and act on environmental imperatives, providing insights for firms seeking to enhance sustainability collaboration and contributing to the broader discourse on environmental process management.