The impact of green supply-chain management on logistics performance in the construction sector in South Africa

Abstract

Background: As a result of globalisation and the growing importance of environmental and social issues, construction companies are expected to reduce the environmental impact of their day-to-day activities and make the industry more environmentally friendly. Many research works published have ignored the critical parameters and dimensions of green supply-chain management (GSCM) and logistics performance as environmental protective practices in the construction industry. Therefore, there is a need to investigate how the construction sector should implement GSCM programmes and logistics performance as environmentally friendly practices in their business activities, which would be beneficial to all stakeholders.

Objectives: The present study intends to fill this gap by analysing the impact of environmentally friendly practices, such as GSCM and logistics performance in the construction industry in southern Gauteng. This study considered regulatory pressure, green information systems, green packaging, reverse logistics and logistics performance as environmental protective practices.

Method: This study adopted a quantitative approach to survey a sample of 440 suppliers and purchasers’ managers from construction companies in the southern Gauteng province. A judgemental or purposive sampling technique was applied to collect data from respondents. Data were analysed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 27.0) and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS 27.0). In addition, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to analyse the relationship between constructs and test the hypotheses.

Results: This study revealed that regulatory pressure, green information systems, green packaging and reverse logistics significantly influence logistics performance of construction companies.

Conclusion: Study demonstrated that through GSCM and logistics performance, construction companies can correlate their business activities and the environment effectively.