Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the deployment of pro-active and re-active practices in the implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) and analyze their impact on environmental, economic, and intangible performance by considering business strategy as organizational focus. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from a sample of 190 ISO 14001 certified manufacturing companies in Thailand and used to test the research hypotheses. Factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity while multivariate linear regression was used to test criteria validity. Findings - The threat of legislation and regulation (re-active practices) was a consideration that resulted in companies enhancing their environmental, economic, and intangible performance. Reverse logistics practices (pro-active practices) had low levels of adoption and do not have a significant impact on GSCM performance. Research limitations/implications - This study did not consider some aspects of organizational culture interaction between key customers and suppliers in the supply chain. Originality/value - The results of this study suggest that organizations need to be aware that pursuing a low-cost strategy may impact negatively on their ability to invest in GSCM. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.