Patterns of IT use: the impact on green supply chain management and firm performance

Purpose This study aims to explore how different patterns of IT use influence different types of green supply chain management (GSCM) with customers, and in turn, environmental and economic performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on data collected from 206 manufacturing companies in China, the authors used structural equation modeling (SEM) with the maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) method to test the conceptual model and the related hypotheses. Findings The results show that both IT use for exploitation and IT use for exploration are positively related to green strategy alignment and green process coordination, whereas the relationship between IT use for exploration and green strategy alignment is weaker. This study also finds that green strategy alignment has a marginal positive effect on economic performance, whereas its effect on environmental performance is not significant. Green process coordination has a positive effect on environmental performance, whereas its effect on economic performance is not significant. Originality/value This study extends the value of IT use in the GSCM field, enriching both literature on IT and GSCM. The findings provide significant managerial implications for managers to leverage IT resources to enhance GSCM and the corresponding performance.