Social Responsibility in Supply Chains

Abstract

We start with four questions facing managers and researchers as regards how social responsibility can or should be incorporated into supply chains. These questions pertain to: (1) delineating the scope and context of supply chain operations, (2) dealing with the huge number of definitions and objectives of social responsibility, (3) figuring out how to work with the ‘poor’, and (4) developing an overarching framework across the company or supply chain. We outline the views in the literature culminating with the stakeholder resource-based view (SRBV; Sodhi (POM 24(9):1375–1389, 2015)) and how it helps address these questions. We report the findings in terms of how organizations are working with the poor as well as implications for companies wishing to fulfil their social responsibility using their supply chains. Finally, we describe potential areas for application and further research.