Enhancing the effectiveness of sustainable supply chain management practices: the moderating role of intrinsic motive attributions

Purpose Supplier assessment and collaboration practices, as two sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices influencing the sustainability of existing suppliers, are receiving growing attention from buyer firm executives and scholars. However, current research presents linear and contradictory perspectives regarding the effectiveness of supplier assessment practices, while showing limited attention to enhancing the effectiveness of these two practices. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the inverted U-shaped relationship between supplier assessment practices and suppliers’ willingness to improve sustainability performance (SWISP), examine the positive relationship between supplier collaboration practices and SWISP and analyze the moderating effect of intrinsic motive attributions on the effectiveness of these two practices. Design/methodology/approach This study collected 211 valid questionnaires from Chinese suppliers through an online cross-sectional survey and applied hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses. Findings The findings demonstrate that supplier assessment practices exhibit an inverted U-shaped relationship with SWISP, while supplier collaboration practices show a significant positive relationship with SWISP. Importantly, intrinsic motive attributions moderate the inverted U-shaped relationship between supplier assessment practices and SWISP – specifically by strengthening the positive segment, weakening the negative segment and shifting the inflection point rightward. Furthermore, intrinsic motive attributions positively moderate the relationship between supplier collaboration practices and SWISP. Originality/value This study extends and transcends existing linear and contradictory perspectives in supplier assessment practices research while filling the research gap regarding how intrinsic motive attributions moderate the relationship between SSCM practices and SWISP, thereby providing novel insights for enhancing the effectiveness of SSCM practices.