Investigating the factors influencing Australian logistics companies toward environmental activity adoption

PurposeThis paper aims to examine 12 factors influencing environmental activity adoption by Australian logistics companies.Design/methodology/approachAfter a literature review and collect the major factors influencing environmental activity adoption, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Friedman test are used to cluster and prioritize these factors through a Web survey.FindingsThe results of EFA show that these factors belong to three main groups including social and economic, pressure and governmental factors. The results of a Friedman test prioritizes 12 factors to find which factors have the greatest importance toward the adoption of environmental activity by managers of Australian logistics companies and reveals that governmental regulation, fuel and energy prices and the potential for achieving a competitive advantage, had the first to third ranking, respectively. Some new influencing factors in implementing environmental activities are found such as the willingness to be the market leader, responsibility and risk mitigation.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to the literature by exploring the new factors influencing environmental adoption.Practical implicationsAustralian logistics managers can use the results of this paper in developing their strategies and public policymakers can also use these results to improve sustainable development.Originality/valueThis is the first paper that clusters and prioritizes factors influencing environmental adoption in the Australian logistics industry.