The Impact of Responsible Practices on Operations Outcomes: a Study of US companies.

Our study investigates the benefits of adopting responsible practices across the supply chain. In particular, here we examine the relationship between responsible supply chain practices, operational outcomes and the factors that impact that relationship by examining the influence of a strategic sustainability orientation in the execution and outcome of responsible supply chain management (RSCM) practices and policies. This paper builds on earlier discussions of the development of a measurement instrument for RSCM (Marshall, McCarthy, Heavey, & McGrath, 2014). Here we focus on analysis of data from US-based respondents and address the research question "what are the moderating and mediating effects of a sustainability orientation of supply chain practices upon operational performance?" We found that the impact of innovation, strategic, and long-term orientations towards RSCM has a significant impact on operational outcomes. Our study is an empirical survey-based analysis and contributes to the literature on the link between corporate social responsibility and supply chain performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]