How environmental sustainability orientation translate into environmental performance under NROT. A moderated mediation model of inter-organizational learning and environmental strategies in manufacturing firms

Abstract

In Modern world, manufacturing and environmental damage go hand in hand, and Pakistan is not an exception. This study is conducted to check the impacts of environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) on manufacturing firms’ environmental performance (EP).  The study is based on the Natural Resource Orchestration Theory (NROT) to tests a model in which inter-organizational learning (IOL) is an important mediator of the ESO-EP relationship, and environmental Strategies (ES) is considered as a key moderator. The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from different Manufacturing Firms by simple random sampling in Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the model in Smart PLS. The results showed that ESO had a significant positive direct effect for both EP and IOL, However, IOL partially mediates the ESO-EP relationship. For firms that engaged with better Environmental Strategies proved worthy for EP directly and it also moderated the relationship of IOL and EP. The results are a complement to NROT as it demonstrates that the leveraging phase, which in the past was considered a single process, can be divided into several pathways with varying power in a manufacturing environment in a developing economy like Pakistan. The findings indicate that for managers and policy makers in Pakistan, it will be important to strengthen the environmental orientation of the firms directly, and not primarily through a reliance on inter-firm learning networks, as this is likely to yield the higher environmental return, although learning through alliances remain important, in firms with high long-term commitments and investments towards environment (ES).