Studying the impact of sustainable supply chain management enablers on competitive advantage in the automotive industry

Background and Objectives: Sustainable supply chain is considered as one of the main elements of sustainable business development in the current hyper-competitive environment. The supply chain is a value chain that includes from the seller to the final customer. Today, the supply chain has been transformed into a network; so that companies must interact and participate with each other to increase their competitive performance; therefore, the old concept of a static supply chain has changed direction to a complex network of dynamic relationships. Sustainable supply chain has been considered by many businesses as a means of overcoming environmental and unforeseen business challenges, and in this regard, having enablers can improve supply chain efficiency. The purpose of this research is to investigate the enablers of sustainable supply chain management and its effects on competitive advantage, emphasizing the role of company reputation. So far, several studies have discussed the field of supply chain management and its broader types such as green and sustainable supply chains, but according to the studies conducted, the role of sustainable supply chain management enablers in the form of management support and strategic purchasing in implementing the functions of this supply chain management method in Iran has not been studied so far. Also, in this study, the mediating role of company reputation in the relationship between sustainable supply chain management functions and the company's competitive advantage is evaluated, which shows the innovative aspect of the research compared to the research of Vargas, Eduardo, and Mantilla (2018). Therefore, in this study, we seek to answer the question of what effect do sustainable supply chain enablers, senior management support, and strategic purchasing have on the environmental functions and social functions of the sustainable supply chain? And on the other hand, what is the effect of these functions on the competitive advantage and reputation of companies?
Materials and Methods: The present study is of applied purpose and of descriptive-correlational type. In terms of data and information collection and analysis method, it is descriptive-non-experimental. In this study, the library method, field method and questionnaire were used. After formulating the research hypotheses, the questionnaires of Vargas, Indorado and Mantilla (2018) and Cantele and Zardini (2018) were used to measure the variables. In this questionnaire, the enablers of the supply chain were measured through two components of senior management support (4 questions) and strategic purchasing (8 questions). The social and environmental functions of the supply chain were also measured through 16 questions each, and the company's competitive advantage was measured through 6 questions. The company's reputation was also measured through 3 questions. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed through Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the results showed the reliability of the research tool. This study is cross-sectional in terms of time and its statistical population is Saipa Automotive Group, and the analysis of research data was carried out using Smart PLS and SPSS software.
Results: The findings of this study showed that supply chain enablers have a direct and significant impact on the environmental and social functions of the supply chain, and these functions themselves also have a significant impact on the reputation and competitive advantage of the company, while no significant relationship was observed between reputation and competitive advantage. Support from senior managers and strategic purchasing are among the enablers of the social and environmental functions of a sustainable supply chain. Given that supply chain enablers included two components: senior management support and strategic purchasing, the impact of each of these components on the environmental functions of the supply chain was tested separately. The results showed that both senior management support and strategic purchasing of the company had a direct and significant impact on the environmental functions of the supply chain and the social functions of the supply chain.
Conclusion: The results of this study help managers who are seeking supply chain sustainability to consider these two main pillars in the success of supply chain sustainability when developing strategic plans for purchasing raw materials and supporting the implementation of supply chain programs. In this regard, at the end of the study, practical suggestions based on the results of the research were presented to managers and those involved in the supply chain areas. The basis and foundation of any research is the information that is used to test the research hypotheses. Obviously, the more accurate and complete information the researcher has, the more reliable the research results will be and the more valid the research will be, Because the present research was conducted in the Saipa Automotive Group, the results should be generalized to other industries and societies with caution. Also the impact of environmental conditions on respondents and, as a result, the bias of individuals' attitudes and perspectives and the results of the questionnaire based on environmental conditions is another limitation of the research that cannot be controlled.