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Assessment sharing intra-industry strategic alliances: Effects on sustainable supplier management within multi-tier supply chains

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  • Lechler, Sabrina
  • Canzaniello, Angelo
  • Hartmann, Evi

Abstract

Focal companies have to manage both first-tier suppliers and lower-tier suppliers in order to prevent reputational damage due to sustainability violations in their supply chains. However, the involvement of sub-suppliers in supplier management practices creates new challenges, which can be managed more effectively in collaboration with other firms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore from an extended agency theory perspective how companies collaborate within assessment sharing strategic alliances (ASSAs) to manage suppliers with respect to sustainability and to reveal the resultant effects on the management of suppliers within multi-tier supply chains. Therefore, an embedded multiple case study with multiple units of analysis was conducted. Results show that, dependent on the experience in ASSAs, supplier assessment and optionally supplier collaboration practices are executed collaboratively among the members of those strategic alliances to improve suppliers' compliance with the focal company's corporate sustainability standards. However, the configuration of jointly executed activities as well as membership conditions vary between strategic alliances and consequently influence the effects on supplier management. Nevertheless, the observations revealed that the causes for agency risk, namely information asymmetry and goal conflicts, can be mitigated through collaboration within ASSAs and thus multi-tier suppliers' compliance with corporate sustainability standards is fostered.

Suggested Citation

  • Lechler, Sabrina & Canzaniello, Angelo & Hartmann, Evi, 2019. "Assessment sharing intra-industry strategic alliances: Effects on sustainable supplier management within multi-tier supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 64-77.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:217:y:2019:i:c:p:64-77
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.01.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Iain J. Fraser & Julia Schwarzkopf & Martin Müller, 2020. "Exploring Supplier Sustainability Audit Standards: Potential for and Barriers to Standardization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-31, October.
    3. Benz, Lukas & Münch, Christopher & Hartmann, Evi, 2021. "Development of a search and rescue framework for maritime freight shipping in the Arctic," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 54-69.
    4. Jamalnia, Aboozar & Gong, Yu & Govindan, Kannan, 2023. "Sub-supplier's sustainability management in multi-tier supply chains: A systematic literature review on the contingency variables, and a conceptual framework," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    5. Sabrina Lechler & Angelo Canzaniello & Anton Wetzstein & Evi Hartmann, 2020. "Influence of different stakeholders on first-tier suppliers’ sustainable supplier selection: insights from a multiple case study in the automotive first-tier industry," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 13(2), pages 425-454, July.
    6. Adel Hatami-Marbini & Siavash Hekmat & Per J. Agrell, 2022. "A strategy-based framework for supplier selection: a grey PCA-DEA approach," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 263-297, March.
    7. Damberg, Sarah V. & Hartmann, Julia & Heese, H. Sebastian, 2022. "Does bad press help or hinder sustainable supply chain management? An empirical investigation of US-based corporations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    8. Iain J. Fraser & Martin Müller & Julia Schwarzkopf, 2020. "Dear supplier, how sustainable are you?," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 127-149, December.
    9. Sudusinghe, Jayani Ishara & Seuring, Stefan, 2022. "Supply chain collaboration and sustainability performance in circular economy: A systematic literature review," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    10. Jamalnia, Aboozar & Gong, Yu & Govindan, Kannan & Bourlakis, Michael & Mangla, Sachin Kumar, 2023. "A decision support system for selection and risk management of sustainability governance approaches in multi-tier supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    11. Wohlleber, Annika & Münch, Christopher & Hartmann, Evi, 2022. "Prevailing technologies and adoption obstacles in maritime logistics," Chapters from the Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics (HICL), in: Kersten, Wolfgang & Jahn, Carlos & Blecker, Thorsten & Ringle, Christian M. (ed.), Changing Tides: The New Role of Resilience and Sustainability in Logistics and Supply Chain Management – Innovative Approaches for the Shift to a New , volume 33, pages 559-588, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute of Business Logistics and General Management.

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