Ecological modernisation of Chinese export manufacturing via green logistics management and its regional implications Kee-hung Lai a, ⁎, Christina W.Y. Wong b,1 , T.C.E. Cheng a,2 a Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong b Business Division, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong article info abstract Article history: Received 1 April 2011 Received in revised form 4 August 2011 Accepted 5 October 2011 Available online 3 November 2011 We investigate how various ecological modernisation forces in terms of environmental regula- tions, customer pressure, and economic pressure are associated with the implementation of green logistics management (GLM) by Chinese export manufacturers to manage the logistics life cycle of their products. Based on survey data from 128 Chinese export manufacturers, we find that customer pressure is a significant factor affecting the extent of their GLM implementa- tion, which in turn is positively associated with their environmental, financial, and operational performance. Contrary to our expectation and previous findings on environmental management in developed countries, both environmental regulations and economic pressure are not significant drivers for Chinese export manufacturers to pursue GLM. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ecological modernisation Environmental management Chinese export manufacturing Developing economy Empirical 1. Introduction Under growing pressure for ecological modernisation, which stresses implementing innovative management practices to mit- igate the negative environmental impacts from the pursuit of profitable growth, enterprises in China are increasingly seeking en- vironmentally sustainable solutions that improve business performance while preserving the local, as well as the global environment [1,2]. In particular, Chinese export manufacturers face the need to mitigate the environmental damage of their ac- tivities by implementing management systems with formal procedures to monitor, report, and control their merchandise's logis- tics life cycle [3,4]. Green logistics management (GLM) aims to deploy processes that produce and distribute goods in a sustainable way, with a view to reducing waste and conserving resources in performing logistics activities [5]. GLM can be viewed as a management ap- proach by which firms formally manage, evaluate, report, and control the environmental impacts of their actions throughout the life cycles of their products [6]. This management approach requires firms to: (i) adopt procedures to formally operate, document, and report their logistics activities, (ii) conduct evaluation of their performance, (iii) inform and communicate with various stake- holders regarding their logistics activities, and (iv) comply with environmental standards. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 79 (2012) 766–770 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 852 2766 7920. E-mail addresses: lgtmlai@polyu.edu.hk (K. Lai), tcchris@polyu.edu.hk (C.W.Y. Wong), lgtcheng@polyu.edu.hk (T.C.E. Cheng). 1 Tel.: +852 2766 6415. 2 Tel.: +852 2766 5215. 0040-1625/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2011.10.004 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Technological Forecasting & Social Change