Green logistics adoption among manufacturing enterprises in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam: Integrating Planned Behaviour and Technology–Organisation–Environment perspectives

Abstract

Background: Green logistics can reduce emissions and waste while sustaining cost and service performance, yet adoption remains uneven in emerging-economic provinces because of heterogeneous enforcement, technology access and managerial capabilities.
Objectives: This study examines the key determinants of green logistics adoption (GLP) among manufacturing enterprises in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam, by integrating the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework, and by testing whether environmental – social awareness mediates the effect of external pressure (EXT) on adoption.
Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 30 manufacturing enterprises, yielding 60 valid responses (two informants per firm). The model assesses the effects of environmental-social awareness (ENV), EXT, perceived cost-effectiveness, internal capabilities (INT) and technological infrastructure (TEC) on GLP. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with 2000 bootstrap resamples.
Results: Perceived cost-effectiveness, TEC, ENV and EXT show significant positive effects on adoption, whereas INT is not significant. External pressure significantly increases environmental – social awareness, and the indirect effect EXT → ENV → GLP is significant, indicating partial mediation. The model explains 63.8% of the variance in adoption and demonstrates predictive relevance.
Conclusion: Green logistics adoption in Thai Nguyen province is primarily driven by a clear business case, enabling technologies, and institutional and market pressures that are partly internalised through managerial awareness.
Contribution: The study provides provincial-level evidence from Vietnam, extends prior work that typically applies TPB or TOE in isolation, and clarifies an awareness-based mechanism through which EXT is translated into GLP.