Implementation of Sustainable Practices and the Impact of the Institutional Environment

Abstract

In recent years, the concept of sustainability has become one of the key concepts in the academic world and also in business practice. Concerns regarding environmental issues and social responsibility have increased the importance of research related to the field of sustainability. Moreover, many researchers in the field of management have always been concerned with ways to achieve competitive advantage for organizations. The implementation of sustainability practices has been seen by many researchers and business practitioners as a way to achieve competitive advantage. So far, most of the research has been conducted in developed countries, while in developing countries there is a significant lack of research related to the field of implementation of sustainable practices. The purpose of this study is to present an overview regarding the level of implementation of these practices in Kosovo. This study also aims to reveal the causal relationship between the institutional environment and the implementation of sustainable management practices along the supply chain. The study uses the survey method for data collection. The selection of cases was done through a random sample using the business register from the Kosovo Business Registration Agency. The questionnaires were sent through the Google Forms platform. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses of this study. With little awareness of sustainability and disregard for environmental effects, firms in Kosovo are still in the early phases of implementing sustainable supply chain management practices. Meanwhile, regression analysis reveals coercive and mimetic forces are positively related to the implementation of sustainable management practices.