Drivers for adoption of sustainability initiatives in supply chains of large Russian firms under environmental uncertainty

Purpose: In reaction to the environmental challenge, many firms are looking for the ways how to integrate sustainability into their operations, business models and strategies. Very often sustainable initiatives go beyond the boundaries of a focal firm engaging a wide variety of partners within the supply chain. In conditions of countries with institutional deficiencies and voids such as emerging economies, the task of sustainability integration is challenging as many critical conditions needed for sustainability development are missing. To understand how firms can integrate sustainability initiatives in their supply chains under the conditions of environmental uncertainty, this paper aims to investigate firm-level and supply chain drivers that stimulate sustainability implementation in Russian firms. Design/methodology/approach: Using the sample of 273 large Russian firms the paper explores how firm-level drivers such as innovativeness, risk-taking and internationalization, as well as collaboration and integration in the supply chain are related to sustainability performance and sustainability transformation in supply chain. The hypotheses are tested using regression analysis and the bootstrapping technique. Findings: The study indicates the positive association between sustainability performance and sustainability transformation of the firm and such strategic drivers as a firm’s innovativeness and internationalization. The positive moderating effect of environmental uncertainty was found for innovativeness indicating that innovative firms show better sustainable performance in the supply chain under uncertain conditions. Also, the findings indicate that environmental uncertainty positively moderates the relationships between a firm’s transformation for sustainability, its internationalization and supply chain integration and coordination. Originality/value: The obtained results contribute to a better understanding of mechanisms that drive firms’ sustainability performance and transformation in conditions of emerging markets. The paper provides an adaptation and empirical testing of Silvestre’s (2015) theoretical model for sustainable supply chain management in emerging economies.