An examination of sustainable development of supply chain using foreignness perspective

Abstract

This multidisciplinary paper examines the sustainability of supply chain partners from a foreignness perspective. The arguments draw from the research on institutional theory to explain the underlying mechanisms. We propose and discuss a comprehensive conceptual framework evaluating the relationships of foreignness to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In addition, we consider contingent factors such as the level of development of supplier's nation, level of global integration of buyer, and type of industry, on sustainable development of focal firms. The direct and contingency frameworks introduced in this paper are presented along with research propositions that provide valuable insight into the sustainable supply chain management from the international business perspective.

Sustainable development considerations in supply chains: Firms' relationships with stakeholders in their business sustainability practices—A triangular comparison

“…Cultural factors influence how stakeholders in a society interpret and capture issues of sustainability (Caprar & Neville, 2012;Elsbach & Sutton, 1992;Joardar & Sarkis, 2021) and, therefore, are relevant in considerations of business sustainability in supply chain networks (Laurell et al, 2019), as well as corporate cultures. Dyck et al (2019) report on different corporate cultures in terms of Elkington's (1994Elkington's ( , 1997 triple bottom line that vary from those stressing environmental, financial, or social well-being or adhocracy cultures, with a holistic view on incorporating the three elements of the triple bottom line.…”

“…Inspired of and in line with previous works, we define business sustainability as the firm's efforts to go beyond only focusing on profitability, but to also manage its environmental, social, and broader economic impact on the marketplace and society as a whole (Svensson et al, 2018). Moreover, we argue that the focus on business sustainability goes beyond the focal firm and includes all the stakeholders in the supply chain network as well as other actors in a firm's environment (Baranova, 2022; Golicic & Smith, 2013; Joardar & Sarkis, 2021). To be a legitimate actor in a market, a firm needs to address sustainability issues towards all its different stakeholders (e.g., customers, suppliers, personal, governmental institutions, and interest groups) (Hristov & Appolloni, 2022).…”

“…The importance of sustainability has received a great deal of interest in the supply chain management (SCM) literature. Earlier research dealing with supply chain sustainability has predominantly focused on relationships with their first‐tier suppliers; however, recently, a broader view including both up‐stream and downstream stakeholders in the value chain has been acknowledged (Frostenson & Prenkert, 2015; Joardar & Sarkis, 2021; Sauer & Seuring, 2018; Tachizawa & Wong, 2015). Some newer studies have shifted their focus from single buyer–supplier relationships to include all relevant stakeholders in the value chain (Alinaghian et al, 2021).…”

“…Therefore, a firm that truly wants to work with sustainability needs to consider not only their own firm and closest stakeholders (e.g., suppliers) but also other stakeholders (e.g., suppliers' suppliers, co‐operation partners, and activist groups (Gupta et al, 2019; Svensson et al , 2018). Such connections affect the supplier's own strategy and sustainability, and there has been calls for more research that include a firms linkages to multiple stakeholders and layers in a supply chain in a sustainability perspective (e.g., Joardar & Sarkis, 2021). In the face of these claims, and in line with Svensson et al' s (2018) stakeholder model that explains a firm's considerations of other stakeholders within a supply chain in business sustainability practice, in this research, we consider a focal company business sustainability and the associated consideration of upstream, downstream, market, and societal stakeholders.…”

“…Moreover, we argue that the focus on business sustainability goes beyond the focal firm and includes all the stakeholders in the supply chain network as well as other actors in a firm's environment (Baranova, 2022;Golicic & Smith, 2013;Joardar & Sarkis, 2021). To be a legitimate actor in a market, a firm needs to address sustainability issues towards all its different stakeholders (e.g., customers, suppliers, personal, governmental institutions, and interest groups) (Hristov & Appolloni, 2022).…”