Effects of customer and cost drivers on green supply chain management practices and environmental performance

Using an international survey, this study examines the drivers and consequences of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. Building on the GSCM literature, we propose that cost and customer drivers influence internal and external green practices and enhance environmental performance. Based on a study of 246 companies in multiple countries, the results indicate that both cost drivers and customer drivers significantly influence internal and external green practices, which in turn contribute to environmental performance. Moreover, the impacts of cost and customer drivers on internal and external green practices are influenced by firm size: the impacts of cost drivers are greater for large firms than for small firms, while those of customer drivers are lower for large firms than for small firms. Our findings have both theoretical and managerial implications for the GSCM literature and practice.