Investigating the impact of green practices on the firm’s sustainability in the supply chain for competitive advantage / Nurasifa Norddin

This study aims to develop an enhanced model of the green practices for the company's sustainability in the supply chain to achieve a competitive advantage. This study employed an exploratory and explanatory research technique to develop the model. Three main methods are the literature review, interviews and surveys to investigate the impact of green practises on the firm’s sustainability in the supply chain for a competitive advantage in Malaysia. The primary decision of the final model is based on the literature review and the primary data and grounded by the Natural Resources-based View (NRBV) theory to support the relationships. The findings of this study contained three elements, competitive advantage as the dependent variable, green practices as the independent variable, and sustainability in the supply chain as the mediating variable. The study utilised a sample of 234 ISO 14001 certified manufacturers across Malaysia, based on the list provided by SIRIM in 2020, to test the relationships between the study variables. Analysis using the partial least squares package (SmartPLS) revealed green practices (lean practices, product return practices, product recovery practices, green purchasing) significantly affect the supply chain's sustainability and competitive advantage. In addition, the study found the sustainability in the supply chain directly impact the firm’s competitive advantage. Mediation analysis was conducted to test the indirect effect of sustainability in the supply chain in the relationship between lean practices, product return practices, product recovery practices, and green purchasing on the competitive advantage. However, only three hypothesis testing on mediation relationships are significantly supported; lean practices, product return practices, and green purchasing, whereas product recovery practices are not supported. From the findings, it is expected that manufacturing firms can embrace more green practices to improve sustainability in the supply chain, encouraging them to compete effectively. Lastly, the study also determined the direction for