Leadership, complexity, and carbon footprints: Unveiling the path to sustainable supply chains

The urgent need to mitigate climate change has driven manufacturing firms to adopt low-carbon emission (LCE) practices; however, limited empirical research has explored the internal and external drivers influencing this adoption, particularly in developing economies. This study addresses this gap by investigating how coercive, normative, and mimetic institutional pressures, low-carbon values (LCV), and low-carbon attitudes (LCA) affect the adoption of LCE practices in manufacturing firms, with supply chain complexity (SCC) examined as a moderating factor. By integrating institutional and contingency theories, the study developed a conceptual framework, and data from surveys were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) from 318 managers in Jordanian manufacturing companies. The findings revealed that institutional pressures significantly influence top management commitment (TMC), and that TMC and LCA both positively affect LCE adoption. LCV was found to be a strong antecedent of LCA. Surprisingly, SCC did not moderate the relationships as expected. The scientific contribution lies in the integrated theoretical model that elucidates the interplay between institutional forces and managerial cognition in shaping sustainability transitions particularly in developing nations. This study provides actionable recommendations for managers to align environmental strategies with institutional expectations and cultivate pro-environmental values within leadership. It also highlights the need for policymakers to enhance regulatory clarity and stakeholder incentives to facilitate carbon reduction in complex supply chain environments.