The green bullwhip effect, the diffusion of green supply chain practices, and institutional pressures: Evidence from the automotive sector

- This is the first work dedicated to understand the green bullwhip effect in a context of GSCM in Brazil.
- An automotive supply chain was analyzed.
- We provide details about how institutional environment exerts on generating the green bullwhip effect in the supply chain.
- A framework with research propositions is presented.

This paper aims to understand and analyze how different institutional pressures created by stakeholders tend to promote the green bullwhip effect and the consequent adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices across a supply chain. It examines GSCM practices adopted in the supply chain as a result of pressures from primary stakeholders, and how they exert environmental/institutional pressures. A case study methodology has been adopted to study a focal company (an automotive battery company located in Brazil) and its stakeholders, including customers, its supplier, and the government. The results, synthesized through eight propositions, highlight the effect that the institutional environment exercises on generating the green bullwhip effect in the supply chain.