Business to business reverse logistics processes are shaped in large part by a firm's strategy to meet regulatory
(e.g. waste electrical and electronic equipment directive) and certification (e.g. ISO 14000) requirements.
Firms adopt both recommended and internally developed reverse logistics metrics in order to monitor the performance
of these processes along the entire value chain, and especially amongst both buyer and supplier marketing
interactions. Unfortunately, literature regarding antecedents to and outcomes of reverse logistics metric
development is scarce, leaving industrial marketing professionals with limited guidance as to how to establish
and gain value from a sophisticated metric program. This study uses goal-setting theory and the knowledgebased
view to conceptualize a model that examines transactions from the perspective of both the supplier
(inbound reverse logistics) and customer (outbound reverse logistics) in a business to business context. This
granular view reveals how actors occupying different supply chain positions manage collaborative marketing
processes such as reverse logistics. Survey data were gathered from organizations affiliated with the United
States Department of Defense supply chain and hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural
equation modeling. The results corroborate the assertion that information support capabilities and stated goals
are antecedents to establishing metrics; however, the study uncovers outcome disparities between inbound
and outbound reverse logistics processes. As the roles of both suppliers and customers in complying with takeback
regulation continue to grow, the findings of this study provide marketing professionals and scholars with
important insights regarding the use of reverse logistics metrics