How Managers’ Communication and Satisfaction Affect Their Perceived Importance of Value Chain Sustainability

We define value chain sustainability as the firm’s sustainability, perceived by the managers in the context of its supply chain or value chain. Consistent with the literature, we put forth that it is a latent concept consisting of three dimensions, i.e., stakeholder economics (economic), stakeholder ethics (social), and environmental dimension. We further hypothesize that managers’ communication and satisfaction influence their perception of the value chain sustainability. Using the survey data from 216 managers at a company, we conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the hypotheses. From the analysis, we conclude the following. First, the value chain sustainability is indeed comprised of the three dimensions. Managers’ satisfaction with their job and company determines the level of communication among the managers. Finally, the managers’ communication influences their perception of the firm’s value chain sustainability, i.e., the more the managers communicate with each other, the more important they perceive the firm’s value chain sustainability. We discuss how the firm can utilize the research outcome to develop an effective sustainability strategy