IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v182y2016icp196-212.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Implementing sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: Strategies and contingencies in managing sub-suppliers

Author

Listed:
  • Wilhelm, Miriam
  • Blome, Constantin
  • Wieck, Ellen
  • Xiao, Cheng Yong

Abstract

Buying firms must pay increased attention to supply chain sustainability issues, as stakeholders might hold them responsible for non-sustainable supply chain activities. Frequently, sustainability problems occur upstream at the sub-supplier level. Building on the literature on multi-tier supply chains (MSCs), we investigated the sustainability management strategies of buying firms in the food, apparel, packaging, and consumer electronics with regard to second-tier suppliers and beyond. In particular, we analyzed seven cases of global MSCs and found four different characteristic MSC types—open, closed, third party, and “don't bother”. We identified three main factors—supply chain complexity, the sustainability management capabilities of the first-tier supplier, and the type of sustainability in focus (i.e., environmental or social sustainability)—that determine when and how buying firms actually extend their sustainability strategies to their sub-suppliers.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilhelm, Miriam & Blome, Constantin & Wieck, Ellen & Xiao, Cheng Yong, 2016. "Implementing sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: Strategies and contingencies in managing sub-suppliers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 196-212.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:182:y:2016:i:c:p:196-212
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.08.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527316301852
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.08.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Golini, Ruggero & Longoni, Annachiara & Cagliano, Raffaella, 2014. "Developing sustainability in global manufacturing networks: The role of site competence on sustainability performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PB), pages 448-459.
    2. BLOME, Constantin & SCHOENHERR, Tobias & ECKSTEIN, Dominik, 2014. "The impact of knowledge transfer and complexity on supply chain flexibility: a knowledge-based view," LIDAM Reprints CORE 2603, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    3. Rob van Tulder & Ans Kolk, 2001. "Multinationality and Corporate Ethics: Codes of Conduct in the Sporting Goods Industry," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(2), pages 267-283, June.
    4. Rob Tulder & Jeroen Wijk & Ans Kolk, 2009. "From Chain Liability to Chain Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 399-412, April.
    5. Xiaomin Yu, 2008. "Impacts of Corporate Code of Conduct on Labor Standards: A Case Study of Reebok’s Athletic Footwear Supplier Factory in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 513-529, September.
    6. Grimm, Jörg H. & Hofstetter, Joerg S. & Sarkis, Joseph, 2014. "Critical factors for sub-supplier management: A sustainable food supply chains perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 159-173.
    7. Michael Maloni & Michael Brown, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: An Application in the Food Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 35-52, September.
    8. Wong, Christina W.Y. & Lai, Kee-hung & Shang, Kuo-Chung & Lu, Chin-Shan & Leung, T.K.P., 2012. "Green operations and the moderating role of environmental management capability of suppliers on manufacturing firm performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 283-294.
    9. van der Vaart, Taco & van Donk, Dirk Pieter, 2004. "Buyer focus: Evaluation of a new concept for supply chain integration," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 21-30, November.
    10. Karen Locke & Karen Golden-Biddle & Martha S. Feldman, 2008. "Perspective---Making Doubt Generative: Rethinking the Role of Doubt in the Research Process," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(6), pages 907-918, December.
    11. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    12. Wuttke, David A. & Blome, Constantin & Henke, Michael, 2013. "Focusing the financial flow of supply chains: An empirical investigation of financial supply chain management," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 773-789.
    13. Fu, Xiaoyong & Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph, 2012. "Evaluating green supplier development programs at a telecommunications systems provider," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 357-367.
    14. Mena, Carlos & Terry, Leon A. & Williams, Adrian & Ellram, Lisa, 2014. "Causes of waste across multi-tier supply networks: Cases in the UK food sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 144-158.
    15. Michael Gibbert & Winfried Ruigrok & Barbara Wicki, 2008. "What passes as a rigorous case study?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(13), pages 1465-1474, December.
    16. WUTTKE, David A & BLOME, Constantin & HENKE, Michael, 2013. "Focusing the financial flow of supply chains: an empirical investigation of financial supply chain management," LIDAM Reprints CORE 2601, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    17. Carter, Craig R. & Jennings, Marianne M., 2002. "Social responsibility and supply chain relationships," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 37-52, January.
    18. Glover, J.L. & Champion, D. & Daniels, K.J. & Dainty, A.J.D., 2014. "An Institutional Theory perspective on sustainable practices across the dairy supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 102-111.
    19. Thomas Dyllick & Kai Hockerts, 2002. "Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 130-141, March.
    20. Gimenez, Cristina & Sierra, Vicenta & Rodon, Juan, 2012. "Sustainable operations: Their impact on the triple bottom line," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 149-159.
    21. Blome, Constantin & Schoenherr, Tobias & Eckstein, Dominik, 2014. "The impact of knowledge transfer and complexity on supply chain flexibility: A knowledge-based view," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PB), pages 307-316.
    22. Mari Sako, 2004. "Supplier development at Honda, Nissan and Toyota: comparative case studies of organizational capability enhancement," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(2), pages 281-308, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Lujie & Zhao, Xiande & Tang, Ou & Price, Lydia & Zhang, Shanshan & Zhu, Wenwen, 2017. "Supply chain collaboration for sustainability: A literature review and future research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 73-87.
    2. Sadaat Ali Yawar & Stefan Seuring, 2017. "Management of Social Issues in Supply Chains: A Literature Review Exploring Social Issues, Actions and Performance Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 621-643, March.
    3. Fu Jia & Yan Jiang, 2018. "Sustainable Global Sourcing: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-26, February.
    4. Graham, Stephanie & Graham, Byron & Holt, Diane, 2018. "The relationship between downstream environmental logistics practices and performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 356-365.
    5. Graham, Stephanie, 2018. "Antecedents to environmental supply chain strategies: The role of internal integration and environmental learning," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 283-296.
    6. Geyi, Dan’Asabe Godwin & Yusuf, Yahaya & Menhat, Masha S. & Abubakar, Tijjani & Ogbuke, Nnamdi J., 2020. "Agile capabilities as necessary conditions for maximising sustainable supply chain performance: An empirical investigation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    7. Graham, Stephanie & Potter, Antony, 2015. "Environmental operations management and its links with proactivity and performance: A study of the UK food industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(PA), pages 146-159.
    8. Mani, Venkatesh & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Papadopoulos, Thanos & Hazen, Benjamin & Dubey, Rameshwar, 2016. "Supply chain social sustainability for developing nations: Evidence from India," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 42-52.
    9. Oguz Morali & Cory Searcy, 2013. "A Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices in Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 635-658, October.
    10. El-Khalil, Raed & Mezher, Mohamad Ali, 2020. "The mediating impact of sustainability on the relationship between agility and operational performance," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 7(C).
    11. Deniz Köksal & Jochen Strähle & Martin Müller & Matthias Freise, 2017. "Social Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Textile and Apparel Industry—A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-32, January.
    12. Venkatesh, V.G. & Zhang, Abraham & Deakins, Eric & Mani, Venkatesh, 2021. "Antecedents of social sustainability noncompliance in the Indian apparel sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    13. Anh Huu Nguyen & Thinh Gia Hoang & Vu Minh Ngo & Loan Quynh Thi Nguyen & Huan Huu Nguyen, 2023. "Sustainability-oriented supply chain finance in Vietnam: insights from multiple case studies," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 259-279, March.
    14. Siying Long & Zhongju Liao, 2023. "Green relational capital, integration capabilities and environmental innovation adoption: The moderating role of normative pressures," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1570-1580, June.
    15. Nudurupati, Sai Sudhakar & Bhattacharya, Arijit & Lascelles, David & Caton, Nicholas, 2015. "Strategic sourcing with multi-stakeholders through value co-creation: An evidence from global health care company," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 248-257.
    16. Beske, Philip & Land, Anna & Seuring, Stefan, 2014. "Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 131-143.
    17. Cristina Gimenez & Vicenta Sierra, 2013. "Sustainable Supply Chains: Governance Mechanisms to Greening Suppliers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 189-203, August.
    18. Samuel Roscoe & Nachiappan Subramanian & Romina Prifti & Lin Wu, 2020. "Stakeholder engagement in a sustainable sales and operations planning process," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3526-3541, December.
    19. Seongtae Kim & Claudia Colicchia & David Menachof, 2018. "Ethical Sourcing: An Analysis of the Literature and Implications for Future Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1033-1052, November.
    20. Mani, Venkatesh & Gunasekaran, Angappa, 2018. "Four forces of supply chain social sustainability adoption in emerging economies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 150-161.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:182:y:2016:i:c:p:196-212. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.