Empirical study on sustainable supply chain strategies and its impact on competitive priorities: The mediating role of supply chain collaboration

Abstract

Companies seek to adopt competitive strategies that achieve sustainability standards, not only in achieving economic success but also in serving society and preserving the environment at the same time. Pharmaceutical companies and their supply chains are facing increasing pressure to preserve the environment because of the problems caused by medical waste, and it is necessary to show their role through their strategies in preserving the environment and serving society as well. This study aims to investigate the relationship between sustainable supply chain strategies and supply chain collaboration and its effect on competitive priorities. The study investigates whether Jordanian Pharmaceutical companies incorporate the sustainability strategy into supply chain strategy, and whether that may impact its competitive priorities. The study population consists of (23) Jordanian Pharmaceutical companies. A structured questionnaire is designed and distributed among top managers in the surveyed companies. A Structural Equation Modeling technique is used to analysis the data and provide the results. Analysis proves the relationship between sustainable supply chain strategies and supply chain collaboration, where companies are interested in attaining some achievements in the area of social and environmental to gain some collaborative strategies with their partners in the supply chain. The study suggests that organizations may adopt the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework to evaluate their performance in a broader perspective and extend the collaboration with suppliers and customers through information sharing along the supply chain partners.