Improving Environmental Performance in the Automotive Manufacturing Industry: The Mediating Role of Green Supply Chain Practices and the Moderating Effect of Sustainability Orientation

Improving environmental performance has become a strategic imperative for the automotive manufacturing industry due to escalating regulatory pressures, increasing stakeholder expectations, and the growing urgency to address climate change and resource depletion. Automotive manufacturers face persistent challenges related to high energy consumption, carbon emissions, material waste, and environmentally inefficient supply chain operations, which necessitate the adoption of integrated managerial and operational sustainability practices. Against this backdrop, the present study examines how Just-In-Time practices and Total Quality Management contribute to improved environmental performance through the mediating role of Green Supply Chain Management Practices, while also assessing the moderating influence of Sustainability Orientation on these relationships. Grounded in Complementarity Theory and supported by contemporary green operations and supply chain literature, this research proposes that operational excellence initiatives alone are insufficient to achieve superior environmental outcomes unless they are strategically aligned with green supply chain practices and an organization-wide sustainability mindset. The study conceptualizes Green Supply Chain Management Practices as a higher-order construct encompassing green design, green operations, green purchasing, green logistics implementation, and reverse logistics, reflecting the multidimensional nature of environmental sustainability in automotive supply chains. A quantitative, explanatory research design is employed, utilizing survey data collected from managerial and supply chain professionals within automotive manufacturing firms. Keywords: Environmental Performance; Automotive Manufacturing Industry; Green Supply Chain Management Practices; Sustainability Orientation; Just-In-Time Practices; Total Quality Management; Green Design; Green Operations; Green Purchasing; Green Logistics Implementation; Reverse Logistics; Sustainable Manufacturing; Supply Chain Sustainability; Lean Management Practices; Environmental Sustainability.