A holistic approach to greening manufacturing supply chains: integrating innovation, absorptive capacity and big data for sustainable performance

Purpose Environmental sustainability emerged as a crucial focus for manufacturing firms, serving as a pivotal strategy for preserving ecological balance and overall business performance improvement across environmental, financial and social aspects. Considering that supply chain (SC) management is a central and strategic function for manufacturing firms, companies are now embracing green supply chain management practices (GSCMP) and green supply chain integration (GSCI) to limit resource wastage and pollution levels, depletion of ecological resources, and emissions. Therefore, this study delves deep into the influence of GSCMP and GSCI on sustainable performance (SP) and the mediating impacts of green innovation (GI) and green absorptive capacity (GAC), alongside the moderating effect of big data analytics capability (BDAC). Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were sourced from the manufacturing firm’s managers working in Pakistan and analyzed through partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings Results indicated significant insights, demonstrating a positive effect of GSCMP and GSCI on GI and GAC, both of which ultimately result in improved SP. Thus, GI and GAC act as significant mediators and BDAC as a moderator among GSCMP, GSCI and SP. Practical implications The outcomes put forward that by adopting a synergistic approach to greening the SC and implementing green strategies, firms can reduce carbon emissions, enhance performance and work towards a greener future with carbon neutrality. Originality/value This research considerably adds to the field’s current knowledge by stressing the need for a holistic approach to greening the entire SC by integrating internal (GSCMP, GI, GAC) and external (GSCI) efforts strategically to minimize the contribution of manufacturing SCs to environmental demolition.