THE EFFECT OF GREEN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON OPERATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY IN GREEK MANUFACTURING FIRMS

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of greening the operations management practices on the operational sustainability of manufacturing companies in Greece. In particular, the study evaluated the impact of green procurement, green manufacturing processes, green logistics and distribution, and waste management and recycling practices on operational sustainability. A quantitative research method with a crosssectional survey design was used. The sample consisted of 279 manufacturing companies in Greece selected using stratified random sampling and the data were gathered by using a structured questionnaire. A five-point Likert scale was used for the responses. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyse the data with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 29). The dependent variable was a binary one, high operational sustainability versus low operational sustainability (based on the average composite score of the variables), which meant that logistic regression was the most suitable technique to use in order to estimate the probability of having high operational sustainability with satisfaction of the assumptions for binary outcomes. The results showed that all dimensions of green operations management positively and statistically significantly impacted operational sustainability. The study confirms that the implementation of effective green operations management approaches has a significant impact on the sustainability of the operation by positively affecting the efficiency of different resources, the environmental performance, and the longterm viability of the organization. The study suggests that manufacturing companies should enhance their operational strategies that are geared towards sustainability to gain sustainable competitive advantage and operational resilience.