Title: Consumers' preferences for facets of green supply chain management

Authors: Bowon Kim; Kwangtae Park; Morgan Swink

Addresses: KAIST Graduate School of Management, Seoul 130-722, Korea ' Korea University Business School, Seoul 136-702, Korea ' The Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas 76129, USA

Abstract: This study explores the relationships between facets of a firm's green supply chain management (GSCM) efforts and the preferences expressed by its consumers for its products. Data obtained from over 300 consumers indicate that they find products more desirable when they perceive that a firm uses green management systems, engages in resource recovery efforts, and behaves in socially responsible ways. However, in some cases consumers' affinities for these efforts diminish for much higher priced products. Interestingly, the results provide no support for a relationship between a firm's internal management commitment to GSCM and consumers' preferences. In addition, consumers' preferences are significantly decreased by a firm's green (environmentally friendly) product design efforts. This negative relationship is even stronger for high priced products. We discuss consumers' possible assumptions and expectations regarding GSCM, and offer explanations for these contrasting relationships. We also discuss managerial implications of these findings, including the potential for firms to focus on specific GSCM activities that tend to be more effective in enhancing the consumer's value proposition. Such a strategy might be used to justify investments in GSCM that are repaid by increased revenues.

Keywords: supply chain management; green SCM; social responsibility; sustainability; survey methods; regression analysis; consumer preferences; environmental management; resource recovery; sustainable development; product design; green design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2014.060451

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2014 Vol.18 No.1, pp.74 - 98

Published online: 17 Jun 2014 *

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