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Humanizing Research on Working Conditions in Supply Chains: Building a Path to Decent Work

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  • Vivek Soundararajan
  • Miriam M. Wilhelm
  • Andrew Crane

Abstract

Research on managing working conditions in the supply chain is currently conducted under the umbrella of “social” sustainability. In this introduction to the 2021 Emerging Discourse Incubator, “Managing Working Conditions in Supply Chains: Towards Decent Work,” we argue that the trajectory of this research may be insufficient for addressing decent work. This is due to four characteristics of the extant literature—buyer‐centrism, product‐centrism, techno‐centrism, and social‐centrism. As an alternative, we offer ways to ‘humanize’ research on working conditions in supply chains across four dimensions: actors, issues, contexts, and methods. Through humanization, supply chain research has the potential to make a significant scholarly impact as well as to contribute to the realization of decent work in supply chains. We use our proposed path forward as a lens to elaborate on the core contributions of the four invited papers in the Emerging Discourse Incubator.

Suggested Citation

  • Vivek Soundararajan & Miriam M. Wilhelm & Andrew Crane, 2021. "Humanizing Research on Working Conditions in Supply Chains: Building a Path to Decent Work," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(2), pages 3-13, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jscmgt:v:57:y:2021:i:2:p:3-13
    DOI: 10.1111/jscm.12260
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kelsey M. Taylor & Eugenia Rosca, 2023. "Sink, swim, or drift: How social enterprises use supply chain social capital to balance tensions between impact and viability," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 59(2), pages 62-86, April.
    3. Alin Kadfak & Miriam Wilhelm & Patrik Oskarsson, 2023. "Thai Labour NGOs during the ‘Modern Slavery’ Reforms: NGO Transitions in a Post‐aid World," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 54(3), pages 570-600, May.
    4. Genevieve LeBaron, 2021. "The Role of Supply Chains in the Global Business of Forced Labour," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(2), pages 29-42, April.
    5. Rutledge, Zachariah & Richards, Timothy J., 2023. "Health Coverage and Farmworker Productivity," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335436, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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