**Table 4.**

*Discriminant validity (correlation).*

*Enhancing the Resilience of Sustainable Supplier Management through Combination with Lean… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102465*

#### **4.2 Estimation of the theoretical framework**

The PLS analysis test results are shown in **Table 5**. This table shows the path coefficients, results of the t-statistics value, and an explanation of the construct variances. In terms of the construct variances, we find that each of the endogenous variables is adequate, explaining 20% of the variance for enhancing manufacturing


**Table 5.** *PLS structural model results.* process coupling, 19.4% of the variance for enhancing responsible purchasing, 35.6% of the variance for enhancing emergency-response ability, 29.7% of the variance for enhancing the prevention ability of resilience, 23.7% of the variance for preventing and controlling opportunistic behavior, and 20.6% of the variance for triggering trade-off.

Regarding the test results of the hypotheses, the path coefficient for the relationship between the enhancement of resilience and the prevention and control of opportunistic behavior is 0.487 (p < .01); thus, enhancing the prevention ability of resilience has a positive effect on the prevention and control of opportunistic behavior, which supports H1. The path coefficient for the relationship between enhancing responsible purchasing and enhancing the prevention ability of resilience is 0.310 (p < .01); thus, enhancing responsible purchasing has a positive effect on enhancing the prevention ability of resilience, which supports H2a. H2b is supported because the path coefficient is 0.321 (p < .01); thus, enhancing emergency-response ability has a positive effect on enhancing the prevention ability of resilience. The path coefficient for the relationship between enhancing manufacturing process coupling and enhancing emergency-response ability is 0.195 (p < .01); thus, enhancing manufacturing process coupling has a positive effect on enhancing emergency-response ability, which supports H2c.

The path coefficients for the relationship between the control of dysfunctional behavior, enhancement of responsible purchasing, enhancement of emergencyresponse ability, and enhancement of manufacturing process coupling are 0.193 (p < .01), 0.385 (p < .01), and 0.301 (p < .01); thus, the control of dysfunctional behavior has a positive effect on enhancing responsible purchasing, enhancing emergency-response ability, and enhancing manufacturing process coupling, which supports H3a, H3b, and H3c. The path coefficient for the relationship between the control of dysfunctional behavior and the triggering of a trade-off is 0.454 (p < .01), the path coefficients for the relationship between the triggering of a trade-off and the


**Table 6.** *Sobel test results.*

*Enhancing the Resilience of Sustainable Supplier Management through Combination with Lean… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102465*

enhancing of responsible purchasing with enhancing emergency-response ability and enhancing manufacturing process coupling are 0.318 (p < .01), 0.168 (p < .05), and 0.221 (p < .01), respectively; thus, we find that the triggering of a trade-off has mediating effects on the relationships between controlling dysfunctional behavior and enhancing responsible purchasing, enhancing emergency-response ability, and enhancing manufacturing process coupling, which supports H4a, H4b, and H4c, respectively. In terms of measuring model fit, the SRMR is the main index used. According to the test, the SRMR is 0.087, and the model fit can be accepted.

This study also adopts the Sobel test to verify mediating effects, and the test results are shown in **Table 6**. According to **Table 6**, the test results of the p-value for hypotheses H4a, H4b, and H4c are lower than 0.01, which means that the mediating effect of the triggering of a trade-off exists and has a positive effect on the relationships between the control of dysfunctional behavior, enhancing of responsible purchasing, enhancing of emergency-response ability, and enhancing of manufacturing process coupling.

## **5. Discussion**

This section discusses the test results and answers further research questions. The first question is, how do manufacturers make good use of pull production and employee involvement under lean practices that can strengthen supplier management robustness and enhance the ability of resilience to prevent and control opportunistic behavior by suppliers? Our test results indicate that because the good use of pull production and employee involvement under lean practices enhances responsible purchasing and emergency-response ability to promote supplier management robustness, this practice has a positive effect on enhancing the prevention ability of resilience and further proves and controls opportunistic behavior by suppliers. Specifically, enhancing responsible purchasing is much like attributing responsibility. If a supplier exhibits opportunistic behavior based on a profit orientation, its purchasing efficiency will appear unusual and its purchasing quality will decrease, which will indirectly cause an increase in pollution. Due to the attribution of responsibility, each supplier has its own responsible purchase sourcing and needs to bear responsibility for its raw material quality; as a result, manufacturers can quickly become aware of opportunistic behavior by suppliers, which produces a warning effect and restrains any intention of opportunistic behavior. This is just like strengthening supplier management robustness and can be deemed that the prevention ability of resilience is enhanced.

The enhancement of emergency-response ability is based on the promotion of employee involvement. To ensure that lean practices are followed, lean usually encourages employee involvement. To promote involvement efficiency, manufacturers usually design related training programmes. In addition to employees from manufacturers, employees from related suppliers also need to be trained. Through effective training, employees from manufacturers and suppliers can come to possess rich knowledge and cognition not only to improve lean practices and their responseability but also to increase them [74]. A few researchers, such as Minh et al. [75], have found that increasing response-ability has a positive effect on supplier management. Therefore, when a supplier exhibits opportunistic behavior, employees of manufacturers and other suppliers can adopt emergency responses and further control. Therefore, it can be deemed that supplier management robustness is strengthened and has a positive effect on enhancing the prevention ability of resilience.

Pull production also enhances manufacturing process coupling. When a complex process between manufacturers and suppliers is an effective coupling, it has a positive effect on the promotion of emergency-response ability. More employees of manufacturers or other suppliers will have the chance to intervene in the manufacturing process. Therefore, when any supplier exhibits unusual behavior, employees of manufacturers or other suppliers become aware of this behavior faster and can thus prevent or control it more quickly. Based on the above, manufacturing process coupling can be deemed to have a positive effect on strengthening supplier management robustness and indirectly enhancing the prevention ability of resilience. Therefore, manufacturers make good use of pull production and employee involvement under lean practices that can strengthen supplier management robustness and enhance resilience to prevent and control opportunistic behavior.

The second research question is why does the combination of lean practice with an audit mechanism strengthen the practice effect of pull production and employee involvement and produce synergy to strengthen the prevention ability of resilience and further control opportunistic behavior by suppliers? Developing related standards and criteria and improving follow-up/assessment are two important aspects of the audit process. These standards and criteria are guidelines that guide suppliers to cooperate with the practices of pull production and employee involvement. When suppliers fully follow these guidelines, their emergency-response ability, responsible purchasing, and manufacturing process coupling will be enhanced. The development of these standards and criteria is based on real situational demands. However, before requiring suppliers to follow these guidelines, manufacturers as auditors have the responsibility to explain these standards and criteria and help suppliers to understand efficiency and how they can maintain profits by following these standards and criteria to improve pull production and employee involvement [76]. Actually, the appearance of opportunistic behavior is based on profit orientation. For the appearance of opportunistic behavior, the supplier must exhibit some dysfunctional behavior during the cooperation process. If suppliers can understand the positive efficiency of these standards and criteria and ensure that their profits can be maintained, these standards and criteria can control suppliers' dysfunctional behavior and further eliminate opportunistic behavior [77].

However, to ensure that these suppliers can fully follow these standards and criteria, manufacturers usually play the role of auditors in follow-up and assessment. Under the follow-up and assessment process, manufacturers have the responsibility to communicate with suppliers and help them to understand the risk of opportunistic behavior and the potential damage to profits. In the real world, considerations of profit maintenance certainly trigger a trade-off mindset in terms of risk and profit. According to Bahr and Sweeney [78], this is a powerful influence that guides suppliers to follow the standards and criteria that improve pull production and employee involvement and eliminate opportunistic behavior. Based on the above, this is why combining audit mechanisms with lean practices can strengthen the practice of pull production and employee involvement and enhance the preventive ability of resilience to deal with opportunistic behavior by suppliers.
