Determinants of the impact of organizational environmental ethics and eco-innovation on green port performance: The moderating role of supplier involvement

Organizational environmental ethics and innovation are becoming increasingly critical in shaping green port performance. While prior research has examined the factors influencing this performance, limited attention has been given to the interaction between environmental ethics, eco-innovation, process innovation, and supplier involvement. Environmental ethics drives sustainable practices, while eco-innovation and process innovation introduce advanced technologies and operational processes to mitigate environmental impacts. Additionally, supplier involvement plays a vital role in collaborative sustainability efforts. This study explores the combined influence of these elements, offering valuable insights for enhancing green port performance and advancing sustainable port management practices. We used data collected from a sample of 181 container terminal workers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical regression methods were used for the data analysis. The findings indicated that both environmental ethics and eco-innovation significantly influenced process innovation and that green port performance was positively affected by process innovation and supplier involvement. Additionally, supplier involvement had a positive moderating impact on the relationship between process innovation and green port performance. This paper advances the practical implications of new knowledge regarding supplier involvement, which practitioners can use to capitalize on port operations and improve green port performance. This study also contributes theoretical implications in terms of how environmental ethics, eco-innovation, process innovation, and supplier involvement can assist green port performance, which has yet to be theorized or empirically examined for the port industry.