Supplier ESG Activities and Trust Formation in Sustainable B2B Supply Chains: A Dyadic Perspective

ABSTRACT

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities have become increasingly important in sustainable supply chain management, yet limited research has examined how supplier ESG engagement influences interfirm trust and long‐term buyer–supplier relationships in B2B contexts. Drawing on 205 matched supplier–buyer dyads in South Korea, this study examines associations among supplier ESG activities, buyers' perceptions of warmth and competence, benevolence‐based and credibility‐based trust, long‐term orientation and relationship extendedness. The hypotheses were examined using covariance‐based structural equation modeling, supplemented by continuous moderation tests with heteroskedasticity‐robust standard errors and bootstrap confidence intervals. This study further examines buyer ESG awareness as a moderator of the associations between supplier ESG activities and relational perceptions. The findings show that environmental activities are positively associated with perceptions of warmth, whereas governance activities are positively associated with perceptions of competence. Both benevolence‐based and credibility‐based trust are positively associated with long‐term relational outcomes. The continuous moderation analysis identified one significant boundary condition: ESG awareness attenuated the association between supplier social activities and perceived warmth, supporting Hypothesis 8b. The remaining three moderation hypotheses were not supported. The study extends research on ESG‐related warmth and competence perceptions to B2B relationships by linking supplier‐reported activities with buyer‐reported perceptions, two dimensions of interfirm trust, and relational outcomes, while examining ESG awareness as a potential boundary condition. The findings identify cross‐sectional associations and do not establish a causal mediation process.