scholarly journals Tools and Technologies of Transparency in Sustainable Global Supply Chains

2021 ◽  
pp. 000812562110459
Author(s):  
Paul McGrath ◽  
Lucy McCarthy ◽  
Donna Marshall ◽  
Jakob Rehme
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Effective Application ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Control Orientation ◽  
Relational Orientation

This article explores the role that technology plays in creating and fostering transparency in global supply chains. Transparency is deemed vital in the creation of sustainable and resilient supply chains and overall effective corporate governance. There are two distinct orientations toward the use of technology by multinational corporations (MNCs) in creating sustainability transparency within their global supply chains: control and relational. A control orientation views technology as a tool to gather the ever-increasing levels of sustainability data on supplier practices in an efficient, secure, and progressively automated manner. A relational orientation adopts a view where technology is a tool to help build social relations and improve dialogue and collaboration on sustainability throughout the supply chain. A key difference in the two orientations lies in the mindset of the MNC manager toward the development of supply chain sustainability transparency. The article illustrates the effective application of both approaches and offers advice to managers on the design choices they need to consider in choosing technologies.

scholarly journals Global supply chains, institutional constraints and firm level adaptations: A comparative study of Chinese service outsourcing firms

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 510-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingqi Zhu ◽  
Glenn Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Global Supply Chain ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Lead Firm

The focus on inter-firm governance relations within global supply chains analysis has left social relations at workplaces as a ‘black box’ and relatively underdiscussed. Through an in-depth, comparative study of two Chinese IT service providers for Japanese clients, this article explores how the work and employment relations in the supplier firm are shaped by the institutional contexts of both the supplier firm and the lead firm as well as by the nature of the global supply chain in which they are located. The article shows how the intersection of global supply chains and local institutional environments creates potential gaps between what is required by the lead firms and what is feasible within the supplier firms. Therefore, managers in the supplier firm have to negotiate ways of managing these expectations in the light of their own institutional constraints and possibilities. We identify three forms of adaptation made by the suppliers that we describe as wholesale adaptation, ceremonial adaptation and minimal adaptation to lead firms’ expectations. We argue that these interactions and forms of adaptation can be extended and explored more generally in global supply chains and provide the basis for a fruitful integration of institutional approaches with global supply chain analysis.

scholarly journals Pivoting technology: understanding working conditions in the time of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-215
Author(s):  
Hannah Thinyane ◽  
Michael Gallo
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Labour Exploitation ◽  
Travel Restrictions

State lockdowns and travel restrictions introduced in response to COVID-19 have limited the ability of frontline responders to conduct on-site visits and inhibited their efforts to assess working conditions and monitor for labour exploitation within global supply chains. These challenges have increased multinational corporations’ reliance on remote technologies to assist in their supply chain due diligence processes. Our research investigates the use of one such example, Apprise Audit, which is a digital solution used for worker interviews in social compliance auditing that was modified to enable remote data collection. Based on a series of interviews with implementing partners and industry experts, our research finds that Apprise Audit Remote helps to overcome the difficulties of gathering worker feedback in the presence of COVID related constraints. Using this work as a case study, we then further elaborate on the practical opportunities and limitations associated with ICT-enabled remote auditing.

scholarly journals Mind the gap: Grass roots ‘brokering’ to improve labour standards in global supply chains

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah J Kaine ◽  
Emmanuel Josserand
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Whistle Blowing ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
Implementation Gaps

While governance and regulation are a first step in addressing worsening working conditions in global supply chains, improving implementation is also key to reversing this trend. In this article, after examining the nature of the existing governance and implementation gaps in labour standards in global supply chains, we explore how Viet Labor, an emerging grass-roots organization, has developed practices to help close them. This involves playing brokering roles between different workers and between workers and existing governance mechanisms. We identify an initial typology of six such roles: educating, organizing, supporting, collective action, whistle-blowing and documenting. This marks a significant shift in the way action to improve labour standards along the supply chain is analysed. Our case explores how predominantly top-down approaches can be supplemented by bottom-up ones centred on workers’ agency.

scholarly journals From Suspicion to Sustainability in Global Supply Chains

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-418
Author(s):  
Robert C. Bird ◽  
Vivek Soundararajan
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Trust Building ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Economic Survival ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Sustainability Practices

Global supply chains power 80% of world trade, but also host widespread environmental, labor, and human rights abuses in developing countries. Most scholarship focuses on some form of sanction to motivate supply chain members, but we propose that the fundamental problem is not insufficient punishment, but a lack of trust. Fickle tastes, incessant demands for lower prices, and spot market indifference force suppliers into a constant struggle for economic survival. No trust can grow in such an environment, and few sustainability practices can take meaningful root. Responding to multiple calls for scholarship in the supply chain literature, we propose a trust-building process by which supply chains can evolve from indifference and hostility to a relational partnership that produces joint investments in sustainable practices. The result is a supply chain that is more efficient, more humane, and embeds sustainability in the supply chain for the long-term.

scholarly journals Ethical Issues in Global Supply Chains

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bodo B. Schlegelmilch ◽  
Magdalena Öberseder
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
Production Methods ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Consumer Demands

Despite all technological advances, global supply chains are always based on the interaction of people. And wherever people interact, a kaleidoscope of ethical issues emerges. While consumer demands and concerns have undoubtedly led to an increased awareness of unethical conduct in the supply chain, contravening forces, such as the relentless pressures for low cost products and the ease by which consumers are purchasing non-deceptive counterfeits, should also not be ignored. Many retailers are now embracing ethical issues by emphasising, for example, that they take care of the production methods and working conditions pertaining to the goods they offer.

Moving toward a Global Supply Chain Operations and the Impact on International Competition

2012 ◽  
pp. 1626-1636
Author(s):  
Seyed-Mahmoud Aghazadeh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Supply Chain ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Domestic Firms ◽  
Foreign Products ◽  
The Impact

As the domestic businesses expand, many are making the choice to use foreign products, labor, and services to aid in their production. Global supply chains are minimizing the costs of the production process but are also creating vulnerabilities to home countries. As the global economy changes, the competitiveness between countries grows. Competitiveness can affect everything from a country’s economy to how a firm conducts international business. Addressing the need to find a method to increase the United States competitiveness in the world economy by improving the use of global supply chains would help to make domestic firms more successful in the global economy. Studying how companies position themselves abroad is important to providing insight into how to become more competitive. Worldwide companies are diversifying by moving more of their supply chain to international locations. This is providing them with many benefits such as better markets for products, lower costs, and more advanced technologies. As a result, the competitive strategy of companies is to increase production and decrease costs through the most efficient global supply chain. Maximizing the potential of domestic firms’ global supply chains is one of the most effective ways to increase U.S. competitiveness. If more big businesses in the United States are willing to participate on the global level, then the US will be able to improve their competitiveness.

Moving toward a Global Supply Chain Operations and the Impact on International Competition

2013 ◽  
pp. 466-476
Author(s):  
Seyed-Mahmoud Aghazadeh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Supply Chain ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Domestic Firms ◽  
Foreign Products ◽  
The Impact

As the domestic businesses expand, many are making the choice to use foreign products, labor, and services to aid in their production. Global supply chains are minimizing the costs of the production process but are also creating vulnerabilities to home countries. As the global economy changes, the competitiveness between countries grows. Competitiveness can affect everything from a country’s economy to how a firm conducts international business. Addressing the need to find a method to increase the United States competitiveness in the world economy by improving the use of global supply chains would help to make domestic firms more successful in the global economy. Studying how companies position themselves abroad is important to providing insight into how to become more competitive. Worldwide companies are diversifying by moving more of their supply chain to international locations. This is providing them with many benefits such as better markets for products, lower costs, and more advanced technologies. As a result, the competitive strategy of companies is to increase production and decrease costs through the most efficient global supply chain. Maximizing the potential of domestic firms’ global supply chains is one of the most effective ways to increase U.S. competitiveness. If more big businesses in the United States are willing to participate on the global level, then the US will be able to improve their competitiveness.

Blockchain Integration Into Supply Chain Operations

2021 ◽  
pp. 329-350
Author(s):  
Yigit Sever ◽  
Pelin Angin
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Central Authority ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Trusted Data

Following the globalization initiated by containerization of logistics, supply chains might be due another revolution by the integration of the disruptive blockchain technology that addresses the current issues with the management of complex global supply chains. Blockchains are distributed digital ledgers that require no central authority to operate while offering a tamper-proof and transparent history of each transaction from the very beginning. Distributed nature of these ledgers ensure that every participant of the supply chain has access to trusted data. The industry has already begun experimenting with blockchain integration into their operations. For the majority of the organizations, however, these experiments stay in proof-of-concept stages or small pilot studies. In this chapter, the authors discuss the supply chain characteristics that make blockchain integration favorable, lay the groundwork for how blockchain can be used for supply chain operations and how it has been used so far.

Manufacturing SMEs, network governance and global supply chains

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-147
Author(s):  
Tony Cragg ◽  
Tom McNamara ◽  
Irena Descubes ◽  
Frank Guerin
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Demand Uncertainty ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Informal Networks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Research ◽  
Effective Form ◽  
Supply Chain Governance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how small manufacturing firms develop and manage relationships with global suppliers and distributors. In so doing the authors aim to contribute to knowledge about SMEs and supply chain management (SCM). Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted 12 in-depth case studies of SME final assemblers of machinery in the French farm equipment sector. Findings The most effective form of global supply chain governance used by successful SMEs is informal networks involving managers in similar complementary firms, which serve to concatenate links with foreign suppliers and distributors. Research limitations/implications The principal limitation of this research is that it is specific to one sector and therefore questions of transferability are raised. Practical implications The important implication for managers in manufacturing SMEs is that links with other complementary local firms in the same sector need to be developed, leveraged and valued. Originality/value The originality of this case research is that the authors draw on inter-organisational boundaries, power asymmetries and network governance to develop a conceptual framework for the study of SMEs and global supply chains. By focusing on the perceptions of boundary-spanning managers, the authors show how, in circumstances of demand uncertainty, soft network governance is an effective strategic choice.

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