Purpose Corporate sustainability initiatives have come under growing criticism for greenwashing practices that undermine the credibility of sustainability marketing and erode consumer trust. This study aims to explore how Generation Z consumers in Vietnam differentiate between authentic sustainability claims and greenwashing signals in digital marketing communications. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research design was adopted using semi-structured interviews with 15–20 Generation Z participants aged 18–27 in Vietnam. Data were analyzed using a hybrid inductive-deductive thematic analysis approach. Findings The findings reveal that Gen Z consumers rely strongly on evidence-based cues such as quantified environmental impact, third-party certifications and transparency signals to assess authenticity. In contrast, vague claims and aesthetic “green” imagery without supporting evidence trigger skepticism and perceptions of greenwashing. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by proposing a cue-based process model explaining how Gen Z forms green trust in digital marketing environments.
Purpose This study aims to combine the theory of planned behavior, social comparison theory, prototypical model of awe and Chinese cultural scenarios to explore how social norm evokes consumers’ willingness to avoid food waste. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 454 Chinese consumers using a questionnaire on the Credamo platform to test the research model. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling and importance-performance map analysis were used to test the relationship among variables. Findings The partial least squares-structural equation modeling results indicated that social norm influence consumers’ willingness to avoid food waste through the chain mediating effects of social comparison and awe. Face consciousness positively moderates the mediating effect of awe. The importance-performance map analysis results found that social norm was the most important predictor of consumers’ willingness to avoid food waste. Originality/value The findings provide theoretical grounding for designing more effective strategies to combat food waste, especially by leveraging psychological and social factors to promote sustainable consumption behaviors.
Purpose This study aims to examine sustainable packaging adoption in fresh and short food supply chains (FSFSCs). It identifies the critical success factors (CSFs) that shape adoption and explains how institutional pressures interact with organizational and inter-organizational environmental capabilities. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory design using reflexive thematic analysis was used to examine CSFs for sustainable packaging in FSFSCs. Thirty-four semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders across all stages of the FSFSCs, including primary producers, food processors, distributors/aggregators and retailers. The data were analyzed iteratively to develop codes, subthemes and higher-order CSFs. Findings This study identifies eight CSFs that play complementary roles in the adoption of sustainable packaging in FSFSCs. “Institutional pressures influencing organizational action” serve as antecedents, while “legitimacy, reputation and market acceptance” provide motivation. “Resource readiness and capability availability,” together with “cost structures and investment constraints”, establish the boundary conditions for adoption. Implementation is supported by “supply chain alignment and collective resource deployment”, alongside “operational and environmental capability development.” “Technological and infrastructure enablement”, combined with “organizational learning and environmental capability accumulation,” supports renewal. Adoption thus emerges as a reciprocal process in which legitimacy demands stimulate action, available capabilities shape organizational responses and implementation reinforces normative and mimetic diffusion. Practical implications This study emphasizes that sustainable packaging preserves freshness and food safety while reducing material and energy burdens, supporting traceability and enabling feasible reuse or recovery. The findings provide guidance for producers, processors, packaging providers, distributors, retailers and policy and industry bodies. Originality/value This study integrates institutional theory and the natural resource-based view through a legitimacy capability co-evolution mechanism. It also introduces localized circular supply to explain how proximity, shared infrastructure and coordinated routines for return, reuse and recovery support sustainable packaging in FSFSCs.
Purpose The significance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in business operations has increasingly been recognized, with research indicating that socially responsible initiatives can improve multiple facets of firm performance. However, the impact of CSR on inventory management, a critical component of operational efficiency, remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate the influence of CSR on inventory management. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on 8,385 firm-year observations from 645 Chinese A-type listed companies from 2010 to 2022. The study employs fixed-effect, panel EGLS and system GMM models to ensure the results robustness. Findings The study finds that CSR positively influences inventory management, as firms with higher CSR engagement achieve better inventory turnover ratios. In addition, asset tangibility, firm size and firm efficiency contribute to improved inventory management. Practical implications Corporate managers should integrate CSR into core business strategies to enhance inventory management and overall operational efficiency. CSR-driven firms can achieve better inventory turnover while contributing to social and environmental goals, reinforcing the business case for responsible practices. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the rare studies empirically examining the impact of CSR on inventory management specifically within the context of Chinese A-type listed companies.
Purpose This study aims to examine how owner-managers’ responsible entrepreneurship influences employee safety participation through the serial mediation of safety involvement and prohibitive safety voice. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 417 owner-managers of manufacturing SMEs in Ghana. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings The results show that responsible entrepreneurship positively influences employee safety participation. While safety involvement does not moderate this relationship, it significantly mediates the link between responsible entrepreneurship and both prohibitive safety voice and employee safety participation. The serial mediation analysis further indicates that responsible entrepreneurship enhances safety involvement, which fosters prohibitive safety voice and, in turn, increases employee safety participation. Practical implications Owner-managers should involve employees in identifying workplace hazards, discuss safety concerns during routine meetings and provide simple channels for reporting unsafe practices. Policymakers can support SMEs through practical safety guidelines, short training programmes and advisory services that help businesses implement affordable employee-centred safety practices. Originality/value This study develops a process-oriented framework explaining the employee-level behavioural mechanisms through which responsible entrepreneurship fosters proactive safety practices in SMEs, particularly under the resource and structural constraints common in developing economies.
