Institutional Norms and Leadership Dynamics: Assessing Internal Human Resource Capabilities and Organizational Culture in Driving Sustainable SCM Practices in Petroleum Infrastructure

• Abey Litty

  Texas University

  Author

The petroleum infrastructure sector faces mounting pressure to integrate sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices amid intensifying institutional demands and environmental imperatives. Despite growing recognition of external institutional pressures, the internal organizational mechanisms that translate these pressures into sustainable outcomes remain inadequately understood. This study investigates the interplay between institutional norms, leadership dynamics, internal human resource capabilities, and organizational culture in driving SSCM practices within petroleum infrastructure organizations. Employing a quantitative research design with survey data from 159 petroleum infrastructure firms operating in developing economy contexts, the study utilizes structural equation modeling and regression analysis to test hypothesized relationships. The findings reveal that coercive and normative institutional pressures significantly enhance SSCM adoption (β = 0.417, p < 0.001), with leadership commitment emerging as the strongest internal predictor (β = 0.462). Organizational culture demonstrates a significant mediating effect, explaining 34.7% of the relationship between HR capabilities and SSCM implementation. The integrated model achieves predictive accuracy of 89.4% in distinguishing high-performing SSCM adopters. This research contributes a validated framework explaining how institutional norms interact with internal organizational resources to drive sustainable supply chain practices. Practical implications include actionable recommendations for enhancing leadership development programs and culture-building initiatives to improve SSCM outcomes in petroleum infrastructure operations.

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