Assessing and prioritizing biogas barriers to alleviate energy poverty in Pakistan: an integrated AHP and G-TOPSIS model

Biogas is a promising renewable technology to alleviate energy poverty. Pakistan has a capacity of 5 million bio digesters that can be installed in different farming areas. However, this target has never been achieved because many barriers hamper the biogas industry development. In previous studies, some researchers have indicated these barriers in different geographical contexts: however, these barriers are rarely examined in Pakistan. To fulfill the research gap, this study prioritizes potential barriers. Using a literature review and a modified Delphi technique, we identify 25 sub-barriers and catalog them into 5 main categories. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) prioritizes the main barriers and sub-barriers based on potential. Grey Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (G-TOPSIS) ranks the practical alternatives to combat these barriers. The study findings specify that the "financial barrier" is the top-ranked barrier among the main categories, followed by technical, socio-cultural, institutional and administrative, and environmental barriers. The overall ranking shows that the "high starting price tag" is ranked first among all sub-barriers in all categories. It has been proposed that "appropriate financial incentives" and "promotion of customized technology" would be feasible alternative solutions to combat the issues. Based on the research findings, some policy recommendations were suggested for biogas uptake in Pakistan. This study may assist policymakers, stakeholders, and government institutions in accelerating the potential of biogas energy to alleviate energy poverty in rural areas of Pakistan.

Digital transformation: fresh insights to implement green supply chain management, eco-technological innovation, and collaborative capability in manufacturing sector of an emerging economy

The increasing significance of green supply chain management in developing countries' manufacturing sector is primarily driven by the deteriorating environment, signified by decreasing raw material resources, a surplus of waste sites, and rising pollution levels. Green supply chain management can provide competitiveness while boosting a company's environmental sustainability if implemented effectively. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the effect of green supply chain management practices on the firm performance of the manufacturing sector. This research aims to determine the moderating effect of collaborative capability and the mediating influence of eco-technological innovation and environmental strategy on the relationship between green supply chain management and firm performance. Five hundred fifty survey questionnaires are gathered from manufacturing firms of China. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), the proposed hypotheses have been analyzed and investigated. The results show that green supply chain management indirectly affects the firm performance. Moreover, green supply chain management is positively related to environmental strategy and eco-technological innovation, which effectively enhance firm performance. The findings further indicate that environmental strategy and eco-technological innovation significantly mediate the association between green supply chain management and firm performance. Furthermore, collaborative capability significantly and positively moderates the relationship between green supply chain management and firm performance. As a result, the adoption of these factors influences firm performance positively and will assist the manufacturing sector in meeting diverse yet radically changing requirements and overcoming obstacles originating from a dynamic global business environment. Consequently, it is of the utmost importance that businesses must utilize green practices with relatively low environmental impacts. Companies can considerably maintain and improve their firm performance by reducing the environmental impact if they have effective collaborative capabilities, eco-technological innovation, and environmental strategies.

Greening the manufacturing firms: do green supply chain management and organizational citizenship behavior influence firm performance?

The spontaneous organizational citizenship behavior towards environment (OCBE) of employees in the workplace is crucial to businesses' green development and low-carbon transition. However, it was not considered how such behavior could be encouraged for enhanced firm performance. From the natural resource-based view theory perspective, this study tests a model that investigates how green supply chain management practices, green culture, top management commitment, and OCBE, and influences firm performance. A structural equation model (SEM) was utilized to test the hypotheses using 600 survey questionnaires collected from manufacturing firms. The results show that green supply chain management indirectly affects firm performance through green culture and top management commitment. The results reveal that green culture and top management commitment positively and significantly mediate the relationship between green supply chain management and firm performance. Furthermore, the findings show that OCBE has a direct effect on firm performance. Moreover, the results highlight that OCBE has a positive moderating effect on the association between green supply chain management and firm performance. Finally, the study's findings and implications are disclosed to be useful policy instruments for organizations, administrations, and other stakeholders.

Nexus between corporate social responsibility and firm performance: a green innovation and environmental sustainability paradigm

Climate change concerns have become severe challenges in developing countries' sustainable development due to the immense usage of fossil fuels. The government has effectively employed green practices to solve these challenges in developing countries. This study explores how corporate social responsibility influences firm performance by analyzing the data collected from 650 respondents of manufacturing firms in a developing country, i.e., China. Structural equation modeling has been applied to analyze and investigate the proposed hypotheses. The results showed that corporate social responsibility does not directly affect the firm performance. In contrast, corporate social responsibility is positively related to green transformational leadership and green innovation, which improve firm performance. The results further indicated that green innovation and green transformational leadership significantly mediate the link between corporate social responsibility and firm performance. This study offers essential insights for managers and policymakers of manufacturing firms in managing corporate social responsibility, green innovation, and green transformational leadership when analyzing firm performance. It may aid general managers of major manufacturing firms in strengthening internal resources to improve the firm performance.

Going green: how do green supply chain management and green training influence firm performance? Evidence from a developing country

Using the natural resource-based view theory, we investigated the relationship between green supply chain management, green training, green organizational culture, and firm performance. Using a survey questionnaire, we obtained data from 650 respondents from the Chinese manufacturing sector. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses in this research. The study's findings indicate that green supply chain management positively influences firm performance. The findings also showed that green training mediates the relationship between green supply chain management and firm performance. Our study's results generally support all direct and indirect impact hypotheses and have several theoretical and practical consequences. Moreover, the findings showed that green organizational culture positively moderates the relationship between green training and firm performance. Furthermore, this study gives vital information to managers and legislators of the manufacturing sector while assessing firm performance. It may assist the senior management in strengthening their internal strategy to optimize their influence on environmental sustainability.

The current developments and future prospects of solar photovoltaic industry in an emerging economy of India

Solar photovoltaic (PV) is a novel and eco-friendly power source. India's vast solar resources present tremendous solar energy use prospects. The solar PV growth in India has spanned over fifty years, with a significant increase during the past decade. To meet the requirements of the rapidly expanding PV power market in India, it is essential to define, scrutinize, and comprehend the industry's development path and features. This study comprehensively analyzes the current state of solar resources, the future growth prospects of the solar PV sector, and the major factors that influence the industry's smooth growth. The study relates to the following five major factors: technological R&D, industrial planning, rules and regulations, power pricing guidelines, and projects enticement programs. To explore these elements, a multifaceted approach consisting of an inclusive literature research, statistical data inquiry, legislation review, and regulatory and policy analysis is undertaken. Analyzing the usual occurrences, the development process, and the features of the five elements permits the growth of development route models. The findings of this study provide information regarding the current development and future prospects of PV power sector in India. In today's rapidly changing social, economic, and technological landscapes, policymakers have the opportunity to gain better understanding from the ever-evolving practices and new advances in the business paradigm.

Relating green information acquisition, absorptive capacity, institutional pressure, and firm performance: an environmentally sustainable perspective

Numerous Chinese manufacturing organizations are grappling with the challenge of absorbing and using green information acquisition across the supply chain to achieve excellent firm performance. Utilizing the organizational learning theory's indirect stream of research, we address this research gap by developing a moderated-mediation framework to investigate the impact of green information acquisition and institutional pressure on a firm's performance. Hypotheses are evaluated by taking a sample of 567 manufacturing enterprises in China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been applied to analyze and investigate the proposed hypotheses. Empirical results indicate that absorptive capacity significantly mediates the relationship between green information acquisition and firm performance. In a similar vein, institutional pressure significantly moderates the relationship between green information acquisition and firm performance. Study findings have essential managerial recommendations for Chinese manufacturing enterprises, proposing that they considerably enhance their absorptive capacity and continuously monitor institutional pressure to reap the advantages of green information acquisition on firm performance.

Exploring the technical and behavioral dimensions of green supply chain management: a roadmap toward environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability issues have become an increasing concern for enterprises and organizations due to new tendencies in climate change. Green supply chain management (GSCM) practices are growing worldwide in this context. Based on socio-technical systems and institutional theory, the present study develops a conceptual model highlighting a mediating effect between two distinct categories of GSCM dimensions, i.e., technical practices and behavioral practices, along with the moderating effect of institutional pressure on organizational performance. Data were collected from 260 Pakistani manufacturers, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed to analyze the hypotheses. The classification of technical and behavioral GSCM practices and findings of this research contributes to the literature on GSCM. Empirical results reveal that behavioral practices of GSCM (top management support, supplier, and customer involvement) mediate the relationship between technical GSCM practices (eco-design, green manufacturing, and reverse logistics) and organizational performance (economic, environmental, and social). The results also demonstrate that institutional pressure positively moderates the relationship between technical practices and organizational performance. These findings suggest that organizations in developing countries must focus on the behavioral dimensions of GSCM first for the successful implementation of technical dimensions of GSCM to gain effective environmental, economic, and social performance.

Relating Sustainable Business Development Practices and Information Management in Promoting Digital Green Innovation: Evidence From China

Digital green innovations are being implemented in manufacturing to help organizations achieve sustainability by adopting sustainable development practices (SDPC). However, little is known about the impact of the information management process (IMP) on organizations' digital green innovation. To address this gap, we devised a multidimensional framework based on the resource-based view (RBV) theory that serves as a basis for sculpting how the IMP captured and sustained organizational digital green innovation via SDPCs. 533 respondents from big and medium-sized manufacturing businesses in China were surveyed, and data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The study makes numerous significant findings. Firstly, the SDPC's dimensions (environment, economic, and social) are considerably improved by the IMP' dimensions (acquisition, dissemination, and application). Secondly, SDPC's dimensions are critical for attaining organizations' digital green innovation. Thirdly, SDPCs' implementation mediates the linkage between the IMP and organizations' digital green innovation. Our findings suggest that investing in and implementing cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices are critical for long-term success. Still, soft issues, such as organizational information management, are equally critical in today's information-based economy. Finally, in light of the study findings, we present theoretical and managerial implications.