Firms’ motives towards Sustainability adoption

A supply chain perspective from the manufacturing sector in Mwanza, Tanzania

Abstract

Despite our general knowledge on the potential creation of competitive advantage of firms by being
environmentally responsive and socially responsible, coupled with the global emphasis through
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), little empirical research exists on what motivates firms in
developing countries to embrace sustainability along their supply chains. At the same time, while
acknowledging the efforts made through research to document the outcomes achieved in the
sustainability agenda in the developed west, the same falls short in developing countries. This paper
attempts to explain the drivers of sustainability adoption among manufacturing firms in Mwanza,
Tanzania. The data were collected from supply chain dyads comprising a sample of 106 firms in a mix
of focal firms, first-tier supplier, and customer firms. Using a probit model, we find that relative
advantage, compatibility and external pressure are the most influencing drivers for manufacturing
firms' adoption of sustainability. We further found that supply chain complexity is negatively
correlated and not a statistically significant contributor to sustainability adoption among the studied
firms. We conclude that firms’ internal factors are as powerful as external ones for sustainability
uptake among studied manufacturing firms. Based on these findings, we provide policy
recommendations before winding up the paper by presenting its limitations and directions for further
research