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A Cross-Country Empirical Comparison of Environmental Supply Chain Management Practices in the Automotive Industry

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Abstract

In this paper we employ a ‘pressures–practice–performance’ framework to compare the adoption and influence of Environmental Supply Chain Management (ESCM) practices within the automotive sector in two economies on different trajectories, the UK and China. Using an empirical study of 128 organizations, 39 in the UK and 89 in China, we investigate and tease out some characteristic observations on ESCM pressures, practices and performance within the automotive industry. We provide a general comparative analysis of ESCM pressures, practices and performance, with a focus on the similarities and differences between these two countries. Using ipsative t-tests analysis, our results show that there are more similarities than differences between ESCM pressures, practices and performance in these two countries. The possibility of variations in market development stages has caused the UK's automotive organizations to experience fewer external pressures and greater internal pressures. Chinese automotive organizations implement generally higher levels of ESCM practices than UK automotive organizations; however, this difference has not resulted in significantly greater performance improvements.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Project (70772085).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning Province, 116024, P.R. China

    Qinghua Zhu

  2. Aston Business School, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK

    Jo Crotty

  3. Graduate School of Management, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester,, 01610, MA, USA

    Joseph Sarkis

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  1. Qinghua Zhu
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  2. Jo Crotty
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  3. Joseph Sarkis
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Zhu, Q., Crotty, J. & Sarkis, J. A Cross-Country Empirical Comparison of Environmental Supply Chain Management Practices in the Automotive Industry. Asian Bus Manage 7, 467–488 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/abm.2008.20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/abm.2008.20

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