Mitigating External Barriers to Implementing Green Supply Chain Management: A Grounded Theory Investigation of Green‐Tech Companies' Rare Earth Metals Supply Chains

Abstract

The supply chain management literature has investigated myriad barriers to implementing green supply chain management (GSCM). However, little research has analyzed the role of capabilities to mitigate such barriers, a research gap we address in this study using an inductive research approach. Following a Straussian approach to grounded theory, the study analyzes data generated from ten Western green‐tech companies sourcing technically indispensable rare earth metals from Chinese suppliers. Our interpretive research findings show that these companies face two categories of salient, external barriers toGSCM–supply chain structure‐related and environmental standards‐related implementation barriers. To cope with these barriers, we argue that firms require three categories of dynamic capabilities: sensing capabilities, alignment capabilities, and resilience capabilities. By connecting our research findings with the dynamic capabilities literature, we derive theoretical propositions to guide further research on studying the role of dynamic capabilities in the implementation ofGSCM.

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