Low-Carbon Initiatives of Logistics Service Providers: The Perspective of Supply Chain Integration

Cheng Qian, Shenghui Wang, Xiaohong Liu and Xueying Zhang
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Cheng Qian: Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
Shenghui Wang: Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
Xiaohong Liu: Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
Xueying Zhang: Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Logistics service providers (LSPs) are under tremendous pressure in the fight against global climate change. While existing research has examined the operational importance of LSPs in decarbonizing supply chains, the strategic perspective of LSPs on low carbon supply chains has not received enough attention. Motivated by the evolving role of LSPs from a service provider to a resource integrator in the supply chain, drawing on the relational view of inter-organizational competitive advantage, this paper focuses on LSPs’ low-carbon supply chain integration (SCI) and empirically investigates its drivers and outcomes. Data from 124 Chinese LSPs shows that LSPs’ corporate environmental responsibility and customer environmental requirement have positive relationships with LSPs’ low-carbon SCI, and that LSPs’ low-carbon SCI is positively related to LSPs’ environmental and financial performance. In addition, LSPs’ environmental performance is found to have a positive relationship with LSPs’ financial performance. These findings not only provide new insights for LSPs’ low-carbon supply chain initiatives, but also highlight the importance of SCI as a strategic approach in low-carbon supply chain management.

Keywords: logistics service providers; low-carbon initiatives; supply chain integration; corporate environmental responsibility; relational view (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3233-:d:239023

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