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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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    5. Венцислав Перков, 2017. "Възможности За Внедряване На Обратната Логистика В България," Scientific Research Almanac, D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Svishtov, Bulgaria, vol. 24(2 Year 20), pages 122-148.
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    9. 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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    12. 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.
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    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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).
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    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. 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).

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