How Do Firms Build Green Supply Chain Learning System? A Theoretical Framework and Directions

ABSTRACT The number of research studies investigating the importance of circular economy is growing in the supply chain management literature. Most of these studies analyzed the environmental performance improvement or green innovation enhancement without exploring the underlying mechanisms. This study utilizes a system‐focused perspective on how organizations achieve their societal goals through a mechanism in which the concepts of learning and green supply chain are embedded. This mechanism includes sustainable internal and external organizational elements and is activated in such a way that organizations implement two types of green supply chain practices (exploration and exploitation) using feedback collected from both the elements. The implementation of these two categories of learning practices requires various stakeholders to exert pressure and various human resource configurations to build a strong workforce within an organization, which are influenced by strategic leadership behaviors leading firms to move toward socially responsible firms. Theoretical and practical implications are offered in this study.