Impact of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) Practices on Organizational Performance: Review of Global Practice

Abstract

The articles were retrieved from Mendeley and 37 peer-reviewed articles were analyzed by applying the PRISMA 2020 screening protocol from 2014 to 2023. The practical question put forward in this review is what impact does GSCM have on the organizations which embrace it and whether the impact is similar across different sectors and settings? To this end, the study documents the drivers of GSCM uptake and advocates the use of a coherent analytical framework when evaluating the drivers and their impacts, ultimately to encourage the use of GSCM as a means of sustainable performance improvements. Two conditions have repeatedly arisen with regard to knowledge: the need for firms to develop relevant knowledge, and the need for the firms to actually put that knowledge into action. Findings based on the literature review demonstrate that companies with established knowledge bases are more responsive to regulatory signals, proactive in predicting market changes and adapting to consumer preferences, which is reflected in their capability to innovate and improve their products continuously. In multiple studies, a firm's self-assessment of its green capabilities seems to mediate the resulting knowledge effects, and how knowledge is applied determines the strength of the resulting confidence leading to GSCM commitment. The message that emerges from the literature reviewed is that GSCM works, and there is a need for more organizations to be using it. While there are challenges, especially in the developing world like Nepal, the evidence gathered here is always consistent that adopting GSCM is associated with better sustainability results. The review also highlights the lack of empirical coverage across the regions, which indicates the importance of expanding the spatial scope of future-oriented research. The insights provide a practical baseline for an organization considering entering GSCM in order to help them raise their sustainability performance and tackle the complexities of increasingly complex global supply chains.