Introduction:
In Iran, with the growth of e-commerce performance across various cities, the future outlook for e-commerce appears promising. However, a critical question requiring immediate attention is how environmental sustainability in the e-commerce sector would be achieved, given the escalating environmental challenges in Iran. This significant issue has not been deeply explored in existing e-commerce research, both in Iran and globally. Moreover, stakeholders and decision-makers in this field lack sufficient in-depth knowledge of the dimensions and influencing factors necessary to implement environmental sustainability in e-commerce. Therefore, this study aimed to design a paradigmatic model for the environmental sustainability of e-commerce and identify the key influencing variables.
Materials and Methods:
This applied research adopts an exploratory and descriptive approach in terms of data collection. The first phase involved a comprehensive literature review, focusing on credible scientific sources related to the research topic. The findings from this phase helped establish the theoretical foundations and analyze prior research, ultimately identifying and extracting influential variables. The second phase involved surveying experts through exploratory interviews to gather insights on the variables affecting environmental sustainability in Iran's e-commerce sector. These interviews aimed to refine and supplement the identified factors and develop an optimal paradigmatic model. The collected data were analyzed using “content analysis” and a three-stage coding process. This three-stage coding process, comprising open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, to systematically extract and interpret the findings. After identifying the variables through literature review and interview analysis, relevant indicators were extracted and reviewed by experts. To examine the relationships between variables, a two-dimensional matrix known as the cross-impact matrix was employed. In this matrix, variables listed in the rows influence those in the columns. Thus, the row sum indicates the degree of a variable's influence on others. The column sum reflects the degree of its dependence on other variables. For N identified variables, an N×N matrix was constructed, explicitly mapping the directional impacts between variables. At the end of this process the final set of indicators was used to examine variable relationships and interaction effects matrix by using MICMAC software.
Results:
The findings indicate that the paradigmatic model includes: Contextual factors including of economic and social elements. Intervening factors, including of organizational, legislative, and environmental policy aspects. Causal conditions, such as resource and environmental crises, as well as climate and energy challenges. Strategies, involving sustainable transportation and logistics, sustainable supply chain networks, digital transformation, smart systems, and stakeholder collaboration. Outcomes, manifest at both the corporate and macro levels of environmental sustainability in e-commerce.
Discussion:
The most critical variables influencing the implementation of environmental sustainability in e-commerce include: Raw material and natural resource scarcity, Conservation efforts, Environmental accountability, Eco-consciousness and future-oriented thinking, Top management commitment, Cost management, National and international environmental protection laws, Government incentives for waste reduction, Sustainable transportation and logistics policies, Optimal delivery routes, Supply chain software, and Social branding. To effectively implement this model, key variables such as: Corporate social responsibility strategies, Ethical and cultural imperatives, Organizational sustainability training, Biodiversity loss risks, Supplier selection, Geographic distribution of facilities, Storage and warehousing, Shared economy principles, and Collaborative innovation; must be prioritized by e-commerce managers and policymakers. Therefore, present study provides a foundational framework for enhancing environmental sustainability in Iran's e-commerce sector, offering actionable insights for stakeholders.