Third party social sustainability assessment: Is it a multi-tier supply chain solution?

Abstract

Third party social sustainability assessment: Is it a multi-tier supply chain solution?http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/10793/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. AbstractThe paper examines the different third party approaches used to assess the social sustainability of global multi-tier supply chains. Information asymmetries between supply chain actors and stakeholders can result in uncertainty about how a good has been produced and traded, resulting in sustainability uncertainty. Third party social sustainability assessment is one mechanism used to monitor and communicate the credentials of everyday products to stakeholders. We frame our study using information processing theory to discuss how third party assessors can help to reduce sustainability uncertainty. As social sustainability is of particular importance in labor-intensive industries, empirical data is drawn from agriculture, textiles, handicrafts, footwear and consumer electronics supply chains. The analysis of semi-structured interviews with assessors reveals differering approaches to assessment. We show how these approaches utilize differing numbers of supply chain tiers. Some, for example, focus only on the farmer or raw material supplier when assessing social sustainability, which raises questions about the credentials of actors further downstream. The communities and livelihoods of supply chain actors, often located in the global South, can be dependent on the new, niche and potentially more profitable markets made available to goods that can demonstrate their social sustainability credentials. Robust assessment is therefore integral in accessing these new markets. The study offers a comparison between different assessors that will be of interest to scholars and also to supply chain actors considering engaging in social sustainability assessment.

The role of intermediaries in establishing a sustainable supply chain

“…For suppliers, logging information with SCIs eases the burden of having to complete multiple audits, questionnaires and certifications for prospective buyers. Where suppliers can demonstrate their social sustainability credentials and have the opportunity to partake in robust assessment, access to new markets is more likely and more successful (Hannibal and Kauppi, 2018).…”

“…Examples of sustainability SCIs include not-for-profit organisations such as Sedex, Ecovardis and Maplecroft, though they are scarcely mentioned in the academic literature. In fact, Hannibal and Kauppi (2018) is one of the few studies to utilise empirical data collected across these types of SCIs rather than focussing on the buyer and/or supplier. They provide insights into the position and assessment focus of SCIs, but do not investigate how and why the role of the SCI changes.…”

“…The not-for-profit aspect of the SCI in the social sustainability arena accounts for a need to investigate this actor specifically, even though sustainability risk management is still relevant. Despite Vedel and Ellegaard (2013) confirming that the sourcing intermediary is a growth market, there has been a lack of SCI research published since their paper, confirmed by Hannibal and Kauppi (2018). More focus has been put on NGOs and multistakeholder initiatives assisting with supplier development after a supplier selection has been made and the parties have been commercially linked; the exception being Cole and Aitken (2019) who consider supplier development activities as a pre-requisite to transactional exchange between buyers and suppliers.…”

“…This has led to the growth of supply chain intermediary (SCI) organisations which provide platforms for buyers and suppliers to align their supply chain objectives at the sourcing outset (Vedel and Ellegaard, 2013). However, the role that SCIs perform in establishing SSCM is a topic which requires greater understanding and clarity to support organisations in addressing this increasingly important societal issue (Hannibal and Kauppi, 2018).…”

“…How SCIs perform this service and the role they play when developing the bridge between firms or beyond, is not evident in the literature (Nakamba et al, 2017). This paper focuses upon the role of SCIs in supporting firms to establish sustainable supply chains (SSCs) at the point where buyers and suppliers are linked for the first time (e.g., SRP), complementing studies where supply chain partners are considered at later stages such as in supplier development (Rodriguez et al, 2016a(Rodriguez et al, , 2016bHannibal and Kauppi, 2018).…”