Ethical Sourcing, Green Supply Chain Management, and Sustainable Performance: A Green Innovation and CSR Orientation Mechanism in Middle Eastern Fashion

The fashion industry in the Middle East faces mounting demands for supply chain transparency and environmental accountability. This study proposes and tests an integrated practice–capability–orientation–performance mechanism in which ethical sourcing (ES) and green supply chain management (GSCM) are positively associated with sustainable performance (SP) through the sequential mediating roles of green innovation (GI) and CSR orientation (CSRO). Drawing on stakeholder theory and absorptive capacity, we theorize that ES and GSCM function as knowledge‐enabling operational practices that are positively associated with GI, which is subsequently consolidated within CSRO and jointly predicts SP. Cross‐sectional survey data from 210 fashion and apparel firms operating across six Middle Eastern markets were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) with 5000 bootstrap resamples. Results indicate that both ES and GSCM are positively and significantly associated with GI, which in turn positively predicts SP both directly and indirectly through CSRO. The model shows moderate to substantial explanatory power and meaningful out‐of‐sample predictive relevance. Complementary mediation pathways indicate that GI partially mediates the ES/GSCM–SP relationships, and that CSRO further mediates the GI–SP relationship. An exploratory analysis suggests that digital orientation positively moderates the GI–SP relationship, amplifying performance returns for digitally capable firms. The proposed ordering shows better explanatory and predictive fit than a rival ordering in which CSRO precedes GI on both explanatory and predictive grounds. These findings contribute an empirically tested, mechanism‐based account of how upstream sustainability practices are associated with innovation capability and CSR governance institutionalization in a strategically significant but under‐researched regional context.