Exploring social sustainability in last-mile delivery of emerging economies: trust as a mediator of supply chain practices and purchase intentions

Purpose This study examines the effect of e-tailers’ disclosure of social sustainability monitoring (SSM) of delivery providers and the disclosure of the relationship with delivery providers (RDP) on consumer trust and purchase intention in an emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach Two scenario-based role-playing experiments were conducted with online consumers using a full factorial 2 × 2 and 4 × 1 between-subjects design. The hypotheses were tested using linear regression models and MANOVA. Findings The findings indicate that disclosing a firm’s SSM and establishing a long-term relationship and partnership with last-mile delivery providers positively and indirectly affect purchase intentions. Trust was found to mediate the relationship between SSM disclosure, relationship type, and purchase intentions. Research limitations/implications This study expands the nomological network of constructs about social sustainability in last-mile delivery by including e-tailer-delivery provider relationships and consumer trust. Another implication is the mediating role of consumer trust between supply chain-level practices and individual-level behavior. Originality/value This study includes two constructs relevant to social sustainability in last-mile delivery. The first construct is the e-tailer’s long-term relationship and partnership with delivery providers. The second construct is consumer trust in the e-tailer. Finally, this study explores the topic of social sustainability in last-mile delivery in the context of emerging economies.