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Pollution Prevention and Service Stewardship Strategies in the Third‐Party Logistics Industry: Effects on Firm Differentiation and the Moderating Role of Environmental Communication

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  • Steffen Maas
  • Tassilo Schuster
  • Evi Hartmann

Abstract

A growing number of firms are considering the incorporation of environmental thinking into their business strategies, hoping to improve their competitiveness. In this paper, we analyze the effects of pollution prevention and service stewardship capabilities on firm differentiation advantage in the third‐party logistics industry. Since prior research claims that complementary assets play an important role in fully understanding the environmental‐management‐competitiveness link, we furthermore examine the moderating role of environmental communication on the pollution‐prevention‐differentiation and the service‐stewardship‐differentiation linkages. We theoretically base our research in natural‐resource‐based thinking. Drawing on survey data, we apply multivariate regression and moderation analysis. The results highlight that pollution prevention and service stewardship capabilities can help third‐party logistics providers to achieve a differentiation advantage. Also, the results show that environmental communication moderates the effect of pollution prevention on differentiation advantage and can hence be considered a valuable complementary asset. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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  • Steffen Maas & Tassilo Schuster & Evi Hartmann, 2014. "Pollution Prevention and Service Stewardship Strategies in the Third‐Party Logistics Industry: Effects on Firm Differentiation and the Moderating Role of Environmental Communication," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 38-55, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:23:y:2014:i:1:p:38-55
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1759
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    3. Steffen Maas & Tassilo Schuster & Evi Hartmann, 2018. "Stakeholder Pressures, Environmental Practice Adoption and Economic Performance in the German Third-party Logistics Industry—A Contingency Perspective," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 167-201, February.
    4. Christian Schwens & Marcus Wagner, 2019. "The role of firm-internal corporate environmental standards for organizational performance," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(7), pages 823-843, September.
    5. Sara Perotti & Lorenzo Bruno Prataviera & Marco Melacini, 2022. "Assessing the environmental impact of logistics sites through CO2eq footprint computation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1679-1694, May.
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    7. Peter Seele & Lucia Gatti, 2017. "Greenwashing Revisited: In Search of a Typology and Accusation‐Based Definition Incorporating Legitimacy Strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 239-252, February.
    8. Barbaglia, Martina & Bianchini, Roberto & Butticè, Vincenzo & Elia, Stefano & Mariani, Marcello M., 2023. "The role of environmental sustainability in the relocation choices of MNEs: Back to the home country or welcome in a new host country?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    9. Eugene Kang & Nguyen Bao Lam, 2023. "The impact of environmental disclosure on initial public offering underpricing: Sustainable development in Singapore," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 119-133, January.
    10. Stekelorum, Rebecca & Laguir, Issam & Gupta, Shivam & Kumar, Sameer, 2021. "Green supply chain management practices and third-party logistics providers’ performances: A fuzzy-set approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    11. Enrico Massaroni & Alessandra Cozzolino & Mario Calabrese & Ewa Wankowicz & Maura Fiore, 2016. "Reporting di sostenibilit? degli operatori logistici in Europa: analisi degli indicatori," ECONOMIA E DIRITTO DEL TERZIARIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 303-334.
    12. Vieira, José Geraldo Vidal & Mendes, Juliana Veiga & Suyama, Suzi Sanae, 2016. "Shippers and freight operators perceptions of sustainable initiatives," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 173-181.
    13. Sofia Dahlgren & Jonas Ammenberg, 2022. "Environmental Considerations Regarding Freight Transport among Buyers of Transport Services in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-19, September.
    14. Jun Xie & Wataru Nozawa & Shunsuke Managi, 2020. "The role of women on boards in corporate environmental strategy and financial performance: A global outlook," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2044-2059, September.
    15. Maria Vittoria Franceschelli & Gabriele Santoro & Elisa Giacosa & Roberto Quaglia, 2019. "Assessing the determinants of performance in the recycling business: Evidence from the Italian context," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1086-1099, September.
    16. Sini Laari & Juuso Töyli & Lauri Ojala, 2018. "The effect of a competitive strategy and green supply chain management on the financial and environmental performance of logistics service providers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 872-883, November.
    17. Kang Tan & Abu Bakkar Siddik & Farid Ahammad Sobhani & Muhammad Hamayun & Mohammad Masukujjaman, 2022. "Do Environmental Strategy and Awareness Improve Firms’ Environmental and Financial Performance? The Role of Competitive Advantage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, August.
    18. Noorliza Karia, 2022. "Antecedents and Consequences of Environmental Capability towards Sustainability and Competitiveness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, September.
    19. Khan, Mehmood & Ajmal, Mian M. & Gunasekaran, Angappa & AlMarzouqi, Abdulla H. & AlNuaimi, Bader Khamis, 2021. "Measures of greenness: An empirical study in service supply chains in the UAE," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    20. Mark M. Davis & Euthemia Stavrulaki & Adi Wolfson, 2018. "A Framework for Increasing Sustainability in Services," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(2), pages 139-153, June.
    21. Pietro Evangelista & Lodovico Santoro & Antonio Thomas, 2018. "Environmental Sustainability in Third-Party Logistics Service Providers: A Systematic Literature Review from 2000–2016," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-34, May.

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