The influence of external factors on supply chain sustainability goals of the oil and gas industry

This paper empirically explores the relationship between the external factors within the oil and gas (O&G) industry business environment and supply chain sustainability goals to understand the factors that could drive or hinder its adoption of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. It examines the relationships between six external factors (political stability, economic stability, stakeholder pressure, competition, energy transition and regulations) and sustainability goals through multiple regression analysis, using survey data from companies that operate in the O&G industry. Data analyses reveal that there are two types of sustainability goals namely strategic goals (SGO), which are conditional for long term survival, and functional goals (FGO), which are closely related to the companies' operational processes. The analyses also show that stakeholder pressure and economic stability are the most influential factors that could affect the goals. While competition within the O&G industry has a positive effect on the FGO, competition from the broader energy industry results in a negative effect on the SGO. The influence of energy transition relates to a higher focus on SGO. The results are useful in designing SSCM strategy that could help the O&G industry address the pressure from the external factors for more sustainable supply chain practices to achieve its sustainability goals.