Despite great academic interest in global green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, its effectiveness for environmental management systems (EMS) and market competitiveness during COVID-19 remains untapped. Existing literature suggests that a fundamental link between GSCM, EMS, and market competitiveness is missing, as supply management is critical to maintain market competitiveness. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examines whether environmental management systems influence the link between GSCM practice and market competitiveness in China. We also propose the articulating role of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) and environmental visibility toward these associations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the proposed model using regression-based structural equation modeling (SEM) with primary data (n = 330). This result provides empirical evidence of the impact of GSCM on EMS and market competitiveness. Moreover, the results show that the BDA-AI and the environmental visibility enhanced the positive relationship between GSCM-EMS and EMS and market competitiveness in China. Recent research shows that supply chain professionals, policymakers, managers, and researchers are turning to formal EMS, BDA-AI, and environmental visibility to help their organizations achieve the competitiveness that the market indicates they need.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effect of brand authenticity on consumer brand loyalty in the Pakistani frozen food industry sector in the light of the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory.Design/methodology/approach: The quantitative approach utilized a survey questionnaire to acquire customers’ perceptions. A simple random technique was used to collect data. About 255 questionnaires were analysed, and the response rate was 72.86%. The measurement and structural model were constructed through Smart PLS-4 and fsQCA.Findings: The findings indicated that brand authenticity positively affects brand loyalty in the Pakistani frozen food industry. Results further proved that brand involvement has a full mediation effect, fsQCA supports the same results, and customer satisfaction has a partial mediation effect. These findings offer valuable insights into the frozen food industry in Pakistan and other countries, allowing them to create successful tactics to engage customers and foster brand loyalty. The findings reveal the complexity and ever-changing nature of how consumers assess brand authenticity in the frozen food industry.Practical implications: These findings also have implications for the frozen food business’s marketing and brand positioning strategies, particularly its utilization of brand authenticity to attract and retain consumers.Originality/value: This is the first paper in the frozen food sector from the perspective of brand authenticity.