Green Supply Chain Practices and Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Vietnam's Retail Sector

This study examines the relationship between green supply chain practices and competitive advantage within Vietnam's rapidly expanding retail sector. Drawing upon resource-based view theory and stakeholder theory, the research investigates how environmental sustainability initiatives influence organisational performance and market positioning. The study employs a mixed-method approach, utilising structural equation modelling (SEM) through SmartPLS4 and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyse data collected from 342 retail enterprises across Vietnam's major urban centres. The findings reveal that green supply chain practices significantly enhance competitive advantage through three distinct pathways: cost efficiency improvements, brand differentiation, and stakeholder relationship enhancement. The research demonstrates that environmental collaboration with suppliers, green logistics optimisation, and sustainable product development collectively explain 68.4% of variance in competitive advantage. Supplementary fsQCA results identify four configurational pathways to achieving superior competitive positioning, with consistency scores exceeding 0.85. The study contributes to sustainability literature by proposing an integrated theoretical framework that bridges environmental management and strategic management perspectives, whilst providing practical insights for retail managers seeking to leverage sustainability as a competitive strategy. The research addresses a critical gap in understanding green supply chain implementation within emerging market contexts, offering implications for both theoretical development and managerial practice in sustainable retail operations.