The Role of Purchasing in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Structural Equation Analysis

Abstract

Researchers over the past several years have advocated that the role of logistics must expand to encompass social responsibility (Bowersox 1998;Poist 1989;Stock 1990). Most recently, Murphy and Poist (2002) noted that research in the area of socially responsible logistics has lagged behind that of other functional areas of the firm, despite logistics managers' beliefs that social responsibility is an important component of logistics that will increase in importance over time. Somewhat similarly, the subject of purchasing and supply management has received insufficient coverage in the past (La Londe 1988) and continues to be underrepresented vis-à-vis other logistics topics (Miyazaki, Phillips, and Phillips 1999), despite the key role that purchasing plays in a firm's overall logistics system including product design and selection, procurement of transportation and third-party logistics services, supplier selection, and the management of inventory and supplier relationships (Bowersox et al. 1992; Cavinato 1992;Gentry and Farris 1992;Lambert and Stock 1993).Purchasing managers span the boundary between the firm's internal functions and its external stakeholders, including suppliers and third parties (Cavinato 1992;Webster 1992). These managers are advantageously positioned to affect a firm's involvement in socially responsible activities. The literature in the area of purchasing and supply management has begun to investigate several issues relating to socially responsible logistics, including environmental purchasing (Carter and Carter 1998), purchasing from minority/women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) suppliers (Dollinger, Enz, and Daily 1991), labor conditions at supplier plants (Emmelhainz and Adams 1999), and ethical issues in buyer-supplier relationships (Turner, Taylor, and Hartley 1994). These issues, however, have been examined in a standalone fashion, without theoretical or empirical consideration of their relationship to a higher-order construct of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which can largely be defined as, "corporate activity and its impact on different social groups" (Sethi 1995, p. 18).

Corporate Social Responsibility in Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Is it Beneficial for Top-Tier Suppliers to Market their Capability to Ensure a Responsible Supply Chain?

“…At the level of the top-tier supplier's own organization, the purchasing function manages the upstream supply chain, a function that scholars have only recently recognized as strategic (e.g., Gadde and Hakanson 2001;Monczka, Trent, and Handfield 2005). With CSR's emergence as a prominent topic in the SCM discipline, a number of scholars have investigated the role of purchasing in the context of a responsible, or sustainable, supply chain (e.g., Carter and Jennings 2004;Hollos, Blome, and Foerstl 2012;Leppelt, Foerstl, Reuter, and Hartmann 2011;Tate, Ellram, and Kirchoff 2010), a major area of future SCM research (Schoenherr, Modi, Benton, Carter, Choi, Larson, Leenders, Mabert, Narasimhan, and Wagner 2012). On the business practice level, Paulraj (2011) pointed to the critical role of a firm's purchasing function, which selects and manages the sub-suppliers.…”

Purchasing Social Responsibility Activities in Malaysia: A focus in Labour, Health, and Safety

“…Thus, it was also mentioned that large scale companies should support SMEs in CSR activities (Ciliberti, et al, 2009) The previous PSR researches included PSR dimensions, PSR drivers, PSR barriers, and PSR activities. Carter & Jennings (2004, 2000 initiated researches in United States on the aspects of PSR dimensions, drivers and barriers. The research on PSR dimensions was followed by Antonio in Hong Kong/ Pearl River.…”

Sustainable food procurement in British and Irish zoos

“…Traceability and Fairtrade foods were two further indicators that achieved high scores in the human food supply chain, with the latter being the top priority for social sustainability. Both issues reflect valid concerns amongst consumers about food safety (Carter and Jennings, 2004) and about food producers in developing countries (Rimmington et al, 2006) respectively. As retailers and caterers of food for people, zoos also reflect these consumer trends (Hill, 2008;Schram, 2008;Swannie Sigsgaard, 2009).…”