The Relationship Between Supply Chain Integration, Green Supply Chain Management Practices and Sustainability Performance: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

A survey conducted by the SME Association among 1,713 SME members revealed that 20% of the respondents were considering permanently closing their business in the next six months due to this issue. In addition, the growth of SMEs in 2021 registered at -5.6% which was lower than Malaysia’s GDP in 2015. Taking note of these issues, this study is going to develop the framework for Malaysian SMEs by investigating the relationship between supply chain integration, green supply chain management (GSCM) practices and sustainability performance. Resource-based view (RBV) theory, and natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory are integrated to enlighten the probable relationship between the variables to develop a research framework. A total of 576 SME companies in Malaysia will participate in this study. The data will be collected via the survey method. Partial Least Squares (PLS) procedure will be applied to analyze the data and test the hypotheses of this study. The significance of this study will contribute to the body of knowledge and practice by providing a strong research framework for a clear understanding that describes the effect of implementing supply chain integration among SME companies and the role of GSCM practices towards sustainability performance that would be utilized by the companies and the academicians.