The bright and dark sides of green customer integration (GCI): evidence from Chinese manufacturers

Based on resource dependence theory and transaction cost economics this study explores how green customer integration (GCI) affects financial performance via information sharing and opportunistic behavior, and the moderating effects of dependence and trust.

This study develops a theoretical model and tests it using data from two-waved survey data of 206 Chinese manufacturers. The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear regression analysis.

The results show that GCI has a significant and positive impact on information sharing, but its impact on opportunistic behavior is insignificant. Notably, information sharing has a significant and positive impact on financial performance, while opportunistic behavior has an insignificant impact on financial performance. In addition, dependence negatively moderates the impact of GCI on information sharing and positively moderates the impact of GCI on opportunistic behavior. Trust negatively moderates the impact of GCI on opportunistic behavior.

Although GCI has received widespread attention, how it affects a firm's performance remains unclear. Most previous studies have focused only on its bright side and ignored its dark side. This study highlights how GCI affects financial performance through information sharing and opportunistic behavior, and the moderating effects of dependence and trust. This enriches the understanding of how and under what conditions GCI affects a firm's performance.