Green Procurement and Manufacturing, Innovation Orientation and Operational Performance: A Firm Level Panel Data Analysis

Abstract

Based on stakeholder theory and resource dependence theory, this paper constructs a conceptual model of green procurement and manufacturing, innovation orientation, and corporate operational performance. We introduce innovation orientation as a mediating mechanism to explore how green procurement and manufacturing affects operational performance. With a sample of 290 listed manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2016 to 2018, we employ content analysis to extract annual report information to measure variables, and test the model through regression analysis. The findings show that green procurement and manufacturing practice promotes the level of innovation orientation, and innovation orientation plays a partially mediating role in the relationship of green procurement practice and operational performance. This study provides empirical support for the relationship between company green behavior and operational performance, and also has important implications for the effective implementation of green procurement to enhance competitiveness of the company.