Green Supply Chain Management Implemented by Suppliers as Drivers for SMEs Environmental Growth with a Focus on the Restaurant Industry

This study was designed to better understand how restaurants can achieve effective environmental performance by focusing on their business relationships with suppliers that implement green supply chain management (GSCM). Restaurant suppliers’ GSCM was particularly assessed as a two-dimensional concept (external and internal) to explore if those two GSCM practices could possibly encourage restaurant ethical attitudes, thereby encouraging cooperative behaviors (‘joint action’, ‘information sharing’ and ‘flexibility in arrangement’) toward green suppliers. A total of 259 responses obtained from restaurant owners/managers were used for our analysis. Results revealed a significant effect of external GSCM on restaurant ethical attitudes, while internal GSCM was found to have no measurable effect. Further it was found that restaurant ethical attitudes facilitated cooperative behaviors toward green suppliers. More specifically, restaurant ‘information sharing’ and ‘flexibility in arrangement’ significantly improved their environmental performance; however, ‘joint action’ had no such effect. Based on our findings, several important theoretical and practical implications are proposed for restaurants to “go green” more effectively.