Sustainability Synergies in Logistics: The Role of Green Practices and Social Performance in Driving Competitiveness in Morocco

Sustainability has become a strategic priority in logistics and supply chain management, yet empirical evidence from emerging economies remains scarce, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This study investigates how green logistics practices (GLPs) and social performance (SP) influence the organizational performance (OP) of logistics service providers (LSPs) in Morocco, a Euro-Mediterranean hub undergoing rapid transformation. Based on survey data from 210 managers, analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the results show that GLPs have a significant positive effect on both SP (β = 0.494, p < 0.001) and OP (β = 0.263, p < 0.001), while SP strongly enhances OP (β = 0.379, p < 0.001). Together, GLPs and SP explain 31.1% of the variance in OP and 24.4% in SP, confirming their complementarity. The findings demonstrate that social sustainability acts as a key pathway through which environmental practices translate into improved competitiveness. By highlighting the interdependence between environmental and social dimensions, this study contributes to the Triple Bottom Line and Resource-Based View frameworks and provides actionable insights for policymakers and managers aiming to align logistics operations with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 8, 9 and 12).