Enhancing operational performance through organizational culture: exploring social sustainability focus and practices in supply chains

Sustainable supply chain practices involve a range of initiatives that are critical for global supply chains, including health and safety, child and slave labour, working conditions, human rights and community impact programs. However, while they may improve supplier sustainability behavior, they do not necessarily lead to better sustainability performance. There is a need to explores the relationship between sustainability orientation and basic and advanced socially sustainable supply chain practices. This study had objectives, to examine the effect of social sustainability orientation on social sustainability supply chain, to determine the effect of social sustainability supply chain on operational performance, to assess the mediating role of social sustainability supply chain between the relationship of social sustainability orientation and operational performance. To achieve these objectives, the study employed quantitative method, stratified sampling technique with a sample size of 150. The study has a response of 145 representing a response rate of 96.6%. The study’s constructs have a KMO and Cronbach’s Alpha results of 0.8 and 0.75 respectively. The regression analysis results of the study indicated that social sustainability orientation has a positive and significant effect on social sustainability supply chain, the findings of the study concluded that social sustainability supply chain has a positive and significant effect on operational performance. Again, the findings of the study concluded that social sustainability supply chain positively and significantly mediates the relationship social sustainability orientation and operational performance. Also, the findings of the study concluded that organizational culture positively and significantly moderates the relationship between social sustainability orientation and social sustainability supply chain. The study recommended that organizations should be able to provide information to all employees to understand the importance of social sustainability so that they can all joins hands to pursue social sustainability practices that will guide the organization to be social responsible to be in operations. Management in organizations should try to promote social sustainability as a major goal across all departments so all employees will understand the essence of pursuing such a goal in their organizations. Organizations should have a clear policy statement urging social sustainability in every area of operations so in carrying out their activities.