Diving into the business strategy: The strategy tripod's influence on supply chain sustainability orientation

Abstract Firm orientation is a key factor in the implementation of sustainability in supply chains (SCs). Although firms recognize the need to define strategies for success, they often overlook whatever strategies they do develop in their decision‐making process. To address this gap, we argue that the strategy tripod comprising the industry‐based view (IBV), resource‐based view (RBV), and institutional‐based view (INSBV) can influence SC orientation toward sustainability. This paper describes an investigation into this strategy tripod's impact on the cashew industry's SC sustainability orientation. Multiple case studies were conducted by gathering data from various cashew SC stakeholders. A deductive content analysis showed that, despite the existing influences from the three legs of the strategy tripod, emphasis was placed on the firm perspective (i.e., RBV), which affected SC sustainability orientation in that the industry‐ (i.e., IBV) and institutional‐ (i.e., INSBV) level views received less consideration in the creation of SC strategies. This research contributes to theory and practice by shedding light on under‐explored relations between business strategy and SC sustainability. Our results show that firms should move from pressure responsiveness to strategy management to implement sustainability‐oriented initiatives.