Manufacturers' Closed-Loop Orientation for Green Supply Chain Management

The concept of green supply chain management (GSCM) is still in its infancy and has been implemented only to a limited extent. Strategic orientation is an important factor affecting its implementation. No reliable and valid strategic orientation construct has been developed for greening a supply chain. This study proposes closed-loop orientation (CLO) as the appropriate strategic orientation to implement GSCM practices successfully and develops a valid measurement of CLO. Data collected from 296 Chinese manufacturers were analyzed using the structural equation modeling method to examine the relationships among CLO, GSCM practice and environmental and economic performance. The results show that both CLO and GSCM have positive effects on the environmental performance and economic performance and that CLO positively impacts the level of implementation of GSCM. The results also show that GSCM completely mediates the relationships between CLO and environmental and economic performance.