Marketing

Process (computing)

Ecology

Biology

Sustainability

Work in process

Operating system

Economics

Computer science

New product development

Business

Process management

Supply chain management

Relevance (law)

Innovation process

Political science

Supply chain

Operations management

Industrial organization

Knowledge management

Product innovation

Business Strategy and the Environment

How organizational green practices become routinely embedded in supply chains remains underexplored in the literature. Based on the practice‐based view and normalization process theory, this study adopts a novel perspective on green supply chain management (GSCM) practices implementation and suggests that innovation is a crucial mechanism in such process. Specifically, we theorize and test the mediating effect of product and process innovation on the relationship between GSCM practices and sustainability performance. Survey data from 173 manufacturing firms were used to test the model hypotheses. Our findings show that product and process innovation mediate the relationship between GSCM practices and sustainability performance. The findings also suggest that the relevance of different innovation mechanisms depends on the stage of the operational lifecycle within which the practices are implemented. Our study provides insights for managers and scholars seeking to define innovation strategies to ensure the successful implementation of GSCM practices.

The role of innovation in the implementation of green supply chain management practices