Engaging customers and suppliers for environmental sustainability: Investigating the drivers and the effects on firm performance

Abstract

While firms engage stakeholders in their sustainability practices to contribute to a better world resiliently and responsibly, little is known about what drives their ability to generate customer engagement (CE) and supplier engagement (SE) for sustainability purposes. This paper identifies, theorizes, and empirically validates the differential roles of board oversight and incentivization, along with contingencies (a chief marketing officer’s (CMO) presence and governance disclosure), in driving CE and SE. Using data from 308 firms, the paper finds that while board oversight and incentivization positively affect CE, only incentivization positively affects SE. The paper also finds significant moderation effects of CMO presence and governance disclosure. Through multiple post hoc analyses, the paper explores how CE and SE influence firm performance. The paper provides a nuanced understanding of incentive types’ effects and contributes to the literature on grand challenges connecting firms’ strategies and sustainability objectives to customer and supplier engagement.