Ebenezer Afum, Yaw Agyabeng-Mensah and Charles Baah
This study aims to explore how logistics firms exploit lean logistics and corporate green practices as significant catalysts for achieving business excellence via the mediation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how logistics firms exploit lean logistics and corporate green practices as significant catalysts for achieving business excellence via the mediation roles of green internal stakeholder satisfaction and green external stakeholder satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire is used in garnering data from 137 Ghanaian logistics firms. Structural equation modeling, particularly partial least squares, was applied to test all hypotheses.
Findings
The results confirm the notion that although lean logistics has positive effect on business performance, the effect is insignificant; hence, it is the concurrent implementation of lean logistics and corporate green practices that leads to superior business performance. The mediation analysis further confirms that both green internal stakeholder satisfaction and green external stakeholder satisfaction are significant precursors through which logistics firms can achieve superior business performance when lean logistics and corporate green practices can influence business performance.
Research limitations/implications
Data is collected from logistics firms from a single country. Hence, the results obtained cannot be imported to reflect the general occurrence in other geographical settings.
Practical implications
This study informs managers of logistics firms that lean and green strategies are compatible when implemented together; hence, it should not be treated in isolation. Managers are further enlightened that in their pursuit of business excellence, there is a need to prioritize green internal stakeholder satisfaction and green external stakeholder satisfaction via prudent investment in lean and green practices.
Originality/value
The research model proposed in this study magnifies the literature on lean and environmental management via bridging the literature gap concerning the interrelationship between lean logistics, corporate green practices, green internal stakeholder satisfaction, green external stakeholder satisfaction and business performance.
Details
Keywords
Ebenezer Afum, Yaw Agyabeng-Mensah, Charles Baah and Essel Dacosta
This study aims to find out whether firms in the local textiles industry are benefiting from the combined implementation of lean practices (LPs) and quick-response manufacturing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to find out whether firms in the local textiles industry are benefiting from the combined implementation of lean practices (LPs) and quick-response manufacturing (QRM) during the era of COVID-19. The study further explores the mediating role played by quick response manufacturing in the relationship between LPs, internal process performance (IPP) and customer performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire is used to garner data from 123 local firms in Ghana’s textile industry. The analysis for all the hypothesized relationships is done using partial least square structural equation.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that LPs significantly strengthen the implementation of QRM. The result also suggests that LPs and QRM can be combined to influence IPP and customer performance. The results further suggest that QRM mediates the relationship between LPs, IPP and customer performance.
Originality/value
This study proposes and develops an integrated research model that explores the synergistic application of LPs and QRM in achieving improvements in IPP and customer performance from an emergent country perspective during the era of COVID-19. QRM serves as an important mechanism through which the relationship between LPs, IPP and customer performance can be explained.