۱- Introduction

۲- Sustainable supply chain management in global supply chains

۳- Methodology

۴- Results

۵- Discussion and future research directions

۶- Conclusion

References

Abstract

Recurring controversies involving supply chain-related sustainability incidents suggest that firms with a global presence struggle to improve environmental, social and economic outcomes in global supply chains. Sustainable supply chain management has been suggested for improving sustainability outcomes in supply chains, yet global supply chains pose unique challenges. This paper aims to provide a synthesis of the key elements of sustainable supply chain management in global supply chains. To achieve this goal, we conduct a rigorous systematic literature review of articles focused on sustainable supply chain management in global supply chains and apply structured content analysis to * mentioned articles spanning 15 years of research published in English-language, peer-reviewed journals. The research contributes by identifying configurations and governance mechanisms as key elements characterizing sustainable supply chain management in global supply chains and synthesizing their relationship with sustainability outcomes. Overall configurations characterized by a greater connection between the focal firm and multi-tier suppliers, managed directly or through third parties, are increasing trends suggested to better serve sustainability development and offer several areas for future research. The research also contributes to practice by providing managers of focal firms with global supply chains directions for improving sustainable outcomes in their supply chains.

Introduction

Firms are increasingly considered accountable for the environmental, social and economic outcomes caused by their internal operations and by their suppliers’ operations (Hartmann and Moeller, 2014). Over the past two decades, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), which is concerned with integrating environmental, social and economic goals across a focal firm’s supply chain processes, has emerged as an approach for firms to improve sustainable (i.e. environmental, social and economic) outcomes in their supply chains (Carter and Rogers, 2008; Seuring and Muller, 2008). Managing sustainability, however, continues to be challenging in Global Supply Chains (GSCs). From Nike struggling with child labor at supplier factories in the 1990’s (Lim and Phillips, 2008) to Apple besieged by employee suicides at supplier Foxconn in the early 2000’s (Clarke and Boersma, 2017) to pharmaceutical companies coming under pressure for the waste management practices of their Indian suppliers in 2016 (Marriage, 2016), supply chain-related sustainability scandals are recurring for firms with GSCs. GSCs are complex, composed of different organizations dispersed across multiple tiers and different geographies (Choi and Hong, 2002). Distance between buyers and suppliers in GSCs poses challenges for managing sustainability. Environmental and social outcomes frequently need to be evaluated at the production site (Grimm et al., 2014), and cultural elements can cause divergent expectations regarding sustainability between buyers and suppliers (Wu and Pullman, 2015). Moreover, managers may have no visibility of the supply base beyond the first tier of suppliers and of suppliers located in developing economies where environmental and labor laws are lax or, where laws exist, enforcement is dubious (Carter et al., 2015).