Supplier Relationship Management Approaches for Diffusing Social Sustainability in Supply Chains: a Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

By reviewing 65 papers, this study explores how firms can diffuse social sustainability practices in their supply chain by effectively managing their supplier relationships. We highlight the challenges of diffusing social sustainability in global supply chains, identify assessment and collaboration approaches in supplier relationship management (SRM) as the main themes in the literature, and discuss the effectiveness of approaches in addressing the identified challenges of social sustainability diffusion. We discuss that while the governance mechanisms of assessment and collaboration are commonly used, they both have limitations. By analysing the strengths and limitations of different approaches to managing supplier relationships, the article provides managerial implications for firms seeking to extend social sustainability practices upstream in their supply chain.