Green Logistics Strategies and Supply Chain Leadership for Sustainable Performance

2.1 Green logistics strategies

Green strategies aim to decrease the value of the logistics related operations while also trying to achieve and fulfil logistic objectives [6-8]. They include routing, adoption of energy-saving technologies, reduction of waste, and use of green packaging products. Green logistics is acknowledged to reduce carbon emissions but is not widespread, because of its expensive nature, lack of adequate infrastructure, and limited technical expertise [9, 10]. One study found that green logistics frequently studied the independent of other organizational processes, thus, there is little research on this relationship to leadership or operational systems to help accomplish sustainability outcomes [3, 11].

2.2 Supply chain leadership

Leadership in supply chain management is important for enabling creativity, collaboration, and strategic alignment as it relates to sustainability work, as leaders are required to overcome resistance to change, build stakeholder support, and promote the adoption of green logistics practices [12-14]. Good leadership breeds creativity, collaboration, and environmental accountability, so leaders can be an important agent to drive improvements to SP [15-17]. However, the literature finds that the human and relational components of SCL are poorly researched, as much of the recent efforts have been focused on process efficiency or technology adoption and neglect the behavioral component necessary to work towards a sustainable supply chain [18]. Thus, there is a gap in the literature related to forming a relational leadership behavior with strategies to operationalize and reach sustainability [3, 19].

2.3 The green leader and their role in green logistics

A green leader who plots the organization’s path along the course of going green through greener practices in each area of logistics. The obligations of a green leader extend beyond just developing policy. They are also responsible for inspiring people, instilling in them a culture of environmental sustainability and innovative thinking around logistics activities around recycling capability, waste reduction, and sustainable transportation. Linked closely with the creation of a greener supply chain, green leaders also proactively develop partnerships with their customers and suppliers. Research shows that green transformational leaders have a significant effect on enhancing Environmental Performance (EP) in a variety of industries, such as the food and beverage industry and telecommunications industries. They inspire green behaviors in their followers, in addition to being the driver of organizational change [20, 21].

2.4 Sustainable performance

SP involves economic, operational and environmental dimensions [10, 22]. The economic dimension is the profitability and financial sustainability of a firm, in other words the firms’ continued [14, 23]. OP is the firm’s ability to conduct the daily operations, the strategies to cut costs and increase performance facilitating resilience in a defective changing business environment [7, 24]. Finally, the EP dimension is focused specifically on limiting effects on the environment, through strategies to minimise waste and emissions, sustainable resource consumption, sustainable practices, etc. [7, 15]. While some studies have looked at how green logistics and leadership affect SP, relatively little is known about ways to create SP, and more understanding is needed, particularly across more complex and heavily regulated industries like pharmaceuticals.

4.1 Research design

This study uses a descriptive and quantitative research design in examining the effect of SCL and GLS on the SP in the pharmaceutical industry. It is also trying to gain the required primary data from the pharmaceutical companies and develop a better understanding of the minds and feelings of the employees of pharmaceutical warehouse. The research adopts the cross-sectional survey method, SmartPLS 4 software, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the relationships between study variables [31].

4.2 Population and sample

The target population comprises Jordanian pharmaceutical warehouse employees. Their inclusion in this study is due to their responsibility for logistics, supply chain activities, and sustainability-related projects. The participants in the survey were selected purposively to meet the intended objectives of the study. The administrative staff were selected, as they are directly related to daily logistics activities, warehouse operations, shipment, and sustainability routine practices. Administrative employees in Jordanian pharmaceutical warehouses are mainly responsible for logistics procedures and for the guidance of operational routines. Thus, they are the best respondents regarding the implementation of GLS and SCL behaviors. In methodological literature, purposive samples are accepted when targeted respondents have specific knowledge or direct contact with the constructs being measured [22, 29, 30, 32, 33]. Ultimately, 288 employees responded to the survey, thereby providing a sample larger than the minimum size universally accepted for PLS-SEM, based on the rule of ten times the maximum number of paths directed at a single construct [34-36].

4.3 Measurement of variables

All constructs were measured using validated scales from previous studies adapted to the pharmaceutical logistics environment:

GLS: Seven questions relating to minimizing emissions, maximizing transportation, and environmentally friendly packaging, e.g., “Our organization emphasizes eco-efficient logistics solutions” [22].

“Our leaders promote the use of sustainable logistics practices” is one of six factors measuring supply chain leadership (SCL) relating to promoting sustainability, promoting team work, and building logistics capabilities [15, 14].

SP consists of three parts, EP, operational performance (OP), and economic performance (ECP). “Our organization attempts to reduce carbon emissions in logistics operations” measures EP. “Logistics processes have become more efficient in response to sustainability” measures OP. “Our organization attempts to practice GLS to achieve cost saving” measures ECP [15, 35].

All items were measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 5 (“strongly agree”).

4.4 Data analysis

Data analysis was performed using variance-based structural equation modelling in SmartPLS 4 to estimate the measurements and structural model components. Reliability and validity assessment through Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE). Discriminant validity was evaluated using the Fornell-Larcker criterion and HTMT values. Hypothesis testing utilised bootstrapping for estimating path modelling coefficients with 5000 resamples for estimating path coefficients, R² values, and effect sizes and predictive relevance. As part of fulfilling controls for moderation modelling requirements, the interaction of GLS and SCL was examined using the two-stage approach in SmartPLS 4, which is appropriate for reflective constructs and moderately complex models [35]. In the first stage, model estimation; the structural model is estimated to obtain the latent variable scores of the predictor constructs in the second stage, multiply these scores to create the interaction construct and subsequently include them as an additional predictor. The model is re-estimated with the same bootstrap settings and derive the significance of the interaction path for conclusions about the moderation effect [34, 37].

The first hypothesis explored the relationship between GLS and SP. The results (path coefficient = 0.45; t-statistic = 5.12) reveal a moderate positive relationship and lend credence to earlier work that green logistics can enhance environmental, operational and ECP [27, 39]. Li et al. [40] confirmed that green logistics can improve operational efficiency and reduce overall environmental footprints, while Sarkis [41] also revealed ‘cost efficiencies stemming from cost reduction from waste minimisation and energy-saving methods.’ Other studies have yielded inconsistent results in respective industrial and geographic domains. Some have recognised little or no effect of green logistics, largely due to its high cost of implementation, insufficient infrastructure, and/or difficulties related to organizational inertia - especially in developing economies [4]. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of evidence comes from developed countries and consequently little is known about the transferability/validity of these results to developing contexts like Jordan [42, 43]. Our work attempts to address this gap, conducting the first empirical test of the environmental, operational and economic benefits of green logistics in a developing-country pharmaceutical context. The second hypothesis involved examining the influence of SCL on SP. The results of that model (path coefficient = 0.52; t-statistic = 6.35) indicate a strong positive relationship and corroborate previous work by Mokhtar et al. [44] who suggest that leadership, in particular, plays a central role in securing organisational commitment to sustainability. Aligning with evidence that leadership behaviors emphasize the support and use of sustainability practices, nevertheless much of the prior literature has conceptualized SCL broadly without always connecting these features to definitive sustainability outcomes [45]. Others have focused on leadership styles without openly controlling for, or explicitly testing, their influence on sustainable logistics practices, in turn leading to vagueness about which leadership features shape and are favorable toward sustainability initiatives in a meaningful way [14, 46]. This study furthers this path, empirically identifying SCL as being not only important but a condition for sustainability performance to emerge in logistics demanding industries.

The third hypothesis tested SCL as a moderator of the relationship between a firm's commitments to GLS and SP. The positive interaction effect serves as evidence that a firm committing to green logistics will achieve more favorable performance when animated by strong leadership (path coefficient = 0.38; t-statistic = 4.55). This finding aligns with prior research highlighting how leadership can ease resource allocation, propel innovation, overcome behavioral inertia, and comfort when employing and integrating a green environment into the practices [17, 18]. Many prior studies have looked at leadership and at green logistics, but not interactively, missing the features through which leadership sustains and orients green logistics to produce superior performance outcomes [47]. By elaborating this observation with evidence that shows mutually reinforcing influences drawing SCL and green logistics together, this study generates evidence supporting the interaction between both constructs, leading to better knowledge about how sustainability performance is realised.

The findings are valuable, although they come with methodological limitations endemic to purposive, non-probability sampling strategies. Based on administrative employees in pharmaceutical warehouses, the headline finding and emergent implications may not be broadly transferable if the sample is indicative or representative of all stakeholder groups affecting logistics and sustainability decisions. Such use of sampling is admissible in emergencies where respondents present a knowledgeable basis about the leadership and operational practices discussed. Future suggestions would be probabilistic, confirming extension to other domains and national contexts.

6.1 Theoretical and practical implications

The study makes a theoretical contribution to the literature by addressing a lacuna in our understanding of how SCL influences green logistics through the lens of sustainability, an almost under-researched link particularly in a developing context like Jordan. The study’s empirical findings elucidate how environmentally-friendly logistics practices are dissimilar in their respective environmental, operational and economic effects [1, 22, 42, 43].

In addition to this contribution, the study contributes theoretically by applying the Natural-Resource-Based View (NRBV) and Leadership Contingency Theory to the field of green logistics and green supply chain sustainability. In keeping with NRBV, we found that GLS represent strategic environmental capabilities whose essence lies in pollution prevention, resource efficiencies and operational sustainability, whose antecedents (green supply chain leadership) and consequent green qualities contribute to improvements in EP, OP and ECP dimensions. NRBV’s hypothesis that environmentally-related capabilities do lead to the opportunity for sustained competitive advantages is accentuated here in resource-intensive and regulated industries such as pharmaceutical warehouses in developing countries [48-50].

The study contributes to Leadership Contingency Theory by showing how the efficacy of SCL is contingent upon the availability of green capabilities and environmentally-related operating conditions. The literature argues that leaders who enact work behaviours relevant to sustainability objectives are more effective at mobilising an organisation’s resources, stimulating green innovation and increasing the extent to which green logistics capabilities generate SP [49-51]. This comprehensive theoretical framework conceptualises leadership as a contingency that promotes the impact of environmental capabilities on performance and provides insight into how leaders’ enactment of behaviours interacts with structural conditions to facilitate sustainability in complex logistical environments. The findings present a number of practical implications for managers of pharmaceutical warehouses. Pharmaceutical warehouse operators may benefit from investing in leadership development programs that encourage sustainability-oriented leader behaviours, bridging training with green logistics planning, environmental decision-making and collaborative problem-solving exercises. Building this competence assists leaders who support with scaffolding the application of green logistics. Pharmaceutical warehouse managers should dedicate resources to institutionalizing operational green practices ranging from adopting energy- and water-efficient technical solutions, improving the logistics operation in ways that improve transport path planning solution generation, waste reduction workflow, eco-efficient packaging and so forth. Finally fostering a sustainability-oriented culture in turn gently oriented employees towards green initiatives, linking rewards toward good performance against sustainability metrics and developing desirable EP metrics can yield improvements in environmental, operational and ECP whilst fostering resilience of pharmaceutical warehouses operating in environments that are highly dependent on local natural resources and also formally regulated.

6.2 Limitations and future research

Several limitations of this study should be acknowledged. First, this study examines GLS in pharmaceutical warehouses in Jordan, so the results cannot be generalised to other countries or cultural or industrial contexts. Women’s work behaviours related to leadership, sustainability adoption and existential land transport logistics in general are, for example, a function of national culture [42, 43]. Future studies could explore the relationships we examined in different countries to determine their comparability across countries. Second, this study uses a single-informant design – that is, we collected data in all cases only in a single report from a survey from administrative employees. Using a single informant opens up the likelihood of common-method variance or bias based on respondents’ subjective informant ratings of all survey items. Addressing this possible bias by using multi-informant or multi-source data in the form of managerial reports, trace data or environmental audits would enhance measurement validity [52]. We focus on self-reports as sampling methodology, given that many other studies in logistics and sustainability research ask respondents who are typically fore-members and thus experts in logistics work and leaders’ work behaviours. Third, we used a cross-sectional design that prevented us from inferring causal relationships within our data. Longitudinal designs provide additional evidence of the assumed temporal ordering of effects and stronger evidence of causal effects over longer terms. Examining how leaders influence the emission of GLS might be particularly fruitful in using this approach. Future studies that use introductory techniques for applying longitudinal or mixed-method research might be more salient for understanding the pace at which GLS are emplaced and the ways that leadership(s) and infrastructures influence or modulate emergent green-logistical paradigms. Finally, while we focused on GLS and SCL, other factors may also shape SP that we could not include in our modelling: Regulatory enforcement, infrastructures, or supplier fodder, would be potentially important to investigate in future research.