SMEs as “transmitters” of CSR requirements in the supply chain

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to develop understanding of the role of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to sustainable supply chain management, i.e. how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is integrated in their relationship with customers and suppliers. Design/methodology/approach -Drawing from a survey of CSR requirements among 410 Spanish SMEs, the paper examines the extent to which SMEs receive social and environmental requirements from diverse customer typologies and the extent to which they pass on such requirements to different supplier typologies. Findings -Based on survey results, it is concluded that large businesses are the most demanding customers in terms of the CSR requirements imposed to their SME suppliers. In turn, SMEs are able to transfer the requests received from their (larger) customers to their own suppliers. Research limitations/implications -The data are confined to companies located in a particular region (Catalonia in Spain), which questions its generalizability to other geographical contexts. Practical implications -The research shows that small and medium companies can be effective in spreading the CSR requirements received from large companies through the supply chain. Originality/value -The paper contributes to research on sustainable supply chain management from the SME perspective and offers a systematic analysis of the CSR activities of SMEs, both as suppliers and buyers. In addition, it proposes a rigorous way to measure the CSR-related supply chain pressure.

Piggy in the Middle: How Direct Customer Power Affects First-Tier Suppliers’ Adoption of Socially Responsible Procurement Practices and Performance

“…Third, we are surprised that mediated power use has no impact on the adoption of processbased or market-based practices, as suggested by previous power (Nyaga et al 2013;Zhao et al 2008 and sustainable supply chain studies, either positively for process-based practices (Ayuso et al 2013;Ciliberti et al 2009;Zhu and Sarkis, 2007) or negatively for market-based practices (Boyd et al 2007;Perry and Towers 2013).…”

“…When powerful supply chain members enforce social supply chain certification, Social Accountability 8000 (Ciliberti et al 2009) or monitoring practices with suppliers (Ayuso et al 2013), suppliers implement these socially responsible practices and pass them on to their own suppliers (Ayuso et al 2013). Additionally, in a study of a food supply chain, Touboulic et al (2014) find that buyer dominance positively impacts the adoption and implementation of sustainable supply chain practices, with less powerful suppliers more willing to quickly fill in and return sustainability questionnaires.…”

“…These studies point to the dyadic relationship as the key relationship that impacts the adoption of sustainability practices, as a firm may not have influence further than its first tier of suppliers (Awaysheh and Klassen 2010;Ayuso et al 2013;Ciliberti et al 2009;Pedersen 2009;Touboulic et al 2014). Touboulic et al (2014) highlight the central role of the first-tier supplier in ensuring engagement with second-tier suppliers.…”

“…First, cultural differences may play a role, as these studies took place in Spain (Ayuso et al 2013), Italy (Ciliberti et al 2009) and China (Zhu and Sarkis 2007). Zhu and Sarkis (2007), for example, find a positive impact of coercive power on environmental sustainability practices in China.…”

“…Few studies examine the impact of power use on socially responsible procurement practices (with the exception of Ayuso et al 2013;Boyd et al 2007;Ciliberti et al 2009), and even fewer examine the effect of power on first-tier suppliers adopting socially responsible procurement practices with their suppliers. An exception here is the work of Touboulic et al (2014), which explores a single case with multiple dependent relationships to understand how dependence impacts the adoption of sustainable supply chain management practices.…”