Abstract The importance of supplier development programs to enhance supply chain environmental capabilities has often been posited. However, the literature is limited in identifying and explaining the factors that may influence or mediate the effectiveness of such programs. This paper examines the role of environmental supplier development programs led by the buying organization on supplier environmental practices, while testing the mediating effects of the supplier in the forms of resource allocation and collaboration with the buyer. The relationships are tested based on survey data from 267 supplier organizations in the UK using Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results indicate that supplier development in the form of setting requirements and audits has a wide, positive impact on all supplier environmental activities, while environmental supplier development in the form of direct projects only affects supplier environmental activities in logistics and transport. The results for the mediation effects tested are varied: while supplier collaboration is important to enhance the supplier logistics and transport activities, supplier resource allocation proves to be mediating the impact of environmental supplier development on the supplier energy efficiency and logistics and transport activities. The research sheds new light on the effectiveness of supplier development and environmental programs. The findings indicate that buying organizations should make explicit reference to the way they define supplier collaboration and resource allocation for their environmental plans and environmental supplier development programs to be effective.

中文翻译：

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买方主导的环境供应商发展：供应商真的能帮上忙吗？

摘要 供应商发展计划对提高供应链环境能力的重要性经常被提出。然而，文献在识别和解释可能影响或调节此类计划有效性的因素方面是有限的。本文考察了由采购组织领导的环境供应商发展计划对供应商环境实践的作用，同时测试了供应商在资源分配和与买方合作方面的中介效应。使用偏最小二乘法 (PLS) 根据来自英国 267 家供应商组织的调查数据对这些关系进行了测试。结果表明，以设置要求和审核的形式进行的供应商发展对所有供应商环境活动具有广泛的积极影响，而直接项目形式的环境供应商发展只影响物流和运输方面的供应商环境活动。测试的中介效应结果各不相同：虽然供应商协作对于加强供应商物流和运输活动很重要，但供应商资源分配被证明是中介环境供应商发展对供应商能源效率和物流运输活动的影响。该研究揭示了供应商发展和环境计划的有效性。调查结果表明，采购组织应明确提及他们定义供应商合作和资源分配的方式，以使其环境计划和环境供应商发展计划有效。