Do stakeholder pressures influence green supply chain Practices?Exploring the mediating role of top management commitment

Despite the ever-growing stream of research in GSCM, scholars continue to identify critical but understudied research areas. One such area – the role of top management in green practices – is the focus of this study. While the direct link between stakeholder pressures and green operations has been widely examined in the extant literature, the mediating role of a human factor – top management commitment (TMC) – on the above relationship remains largely unexplored. The present study addresses this gap. Based on a sample of 206 US firms, a proposed model and five hypotheses are tested using SEM analysis. The research findings highlight the vital mediating role of TMC in channeling stakeholder pressures into a firm's green operations. This study is the first that closely examines the mediating effect of TMC on the relationship between stakeholder pressures and green operations. It also demonstrates the critical role of green operations in transforming external and internal drivers – stakeholder pressures and TMC – into superior economic and environmental outcomes. Furthermore, it underscores the benefits of fostering TMC to instigate environmental sustainability efforts and, ultimately, provides researchers with a deeper understanding of how a human factor may greatly influence green supply chain practices and performance. •Stakeholder pressures significantly impact top management's commitment and their decisions as they engage in green operations.•Stakeholders pressures do not automatically lead to green operations without the presence of top management commitment.•Top management commitment fully mediates the link between stakeholder pressures and green supply chain management practices.•Top management commitment is a critical driver of green practices and firm performance.•Green operations have significant positive effects on economic and environmental performance.