In this study, we seek to contribute to the literature by further investigating the relationship between GSCM adoption and competitive advantage. To do so, the remainder of this manuscript is organized as follows. First, we review extant GSCM literature and introduce a common operationalization of GSCM, green reverse logistics (GRL). This study uses the case of GRL to investigate diffusion of GSCM; thus, the idea of GRL is developed through discussion of the overlap between GSCM and RL. We then review literature regarding perceived quality, where we describe why we use perceived quality as a proxy for competitive advantage. Next, we review literature on diffusion of innovation theory, which leads to a discussion of Grawe's (2009) logistics innovation model and R‐A theory. This discussion builds the case for our study's hypotheses. We follow with an explanation of our research methodology, where we describe a survey method to measure relationships between GRL adoption and consumers' perceived quality. The findings of the research are then reported and our hypotheses are tested. Finally, conclusions are discussed, to include practical and theoretical implications along with recommendations for future research.