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RESPONSIBLE SOURCING

Shared-Savings Contracts for Indirect Materials in Supply Chains: Channel Profits and Environmental Impacts

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    There are many materials for which the quantity needed by a firm is at best indirectly related to the quantity of final product produced by that firm, such as solvents in manufacturing processes or office supplies. For any such “indirect” materials, an ...
Responsible Sourcing in Supply Chains

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    We analyze the sourcing decision of a buyer choosing between two supplier types: responsible suppliers are costly but adhere to strict social and environmental responsibility standards, whereas risky suppliers are less expensive but may experience ...
Supplier Evasion of a Buyer’s Audit: Implications for Motivating Supplier Social and Environmental Responsibility

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Prominent buyers’ brands have been damaged because their suppliers caused major harm to workers or the environment, e.g., through a deadly factory fire or release of toxic chemicals. How can buyers motivate suppliers to exert greater care to prevent such ...
Sourcing Under Supplier Responsibility Risk: The Effects of Certification, Audit, and Contingency Payment

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Companies that source from emerging economies often face supplier responsibility risks, namely, financial and reputational burdens that the companies have to bear when their suppliers’ engagement in noncomplying labor and environmental practices becomes ...
Improving Supplier Compliance Through Joint and Shared Audits with Collective Penalty

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    When suppliers (i.e., contract manufacturers) fail to comply with health and safety regulations, buyers (retailers) are compelled to improve supplier compliance by conducting audits and imposing penalties. As a benchmark, we first consider the independent ...
Supply Chain Visibility and Social Responsibility: Investigating Consumers’ Behaviors and Motives

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Consumers increasingly want to know more about where and how the products they purchase are being made. To create transparency requires a company to both gain visibility into its supply chain and disclose information to consumers. In this paper, we focus ...
Combating Child Labor: Incentives and Information Disclosure in Global Supply Chains

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: We investigate multinational firms’ inspection and pricing strategies to address the challenges of combating child labor in global supply chains. We also examine how several factors (such as information disclosure, goodwill loss, ...
Designing Contracts and Sourcing Channels to Create Shared Value

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    In complex supply chains, the benefits and costs of technological innovations do not always accrue equitably to all parties; thus, their adoption may critically depend on sourcing relationships and incentives. In a setting with uncertain and endogenous ...
Ensuring Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility Through Vertical Integration and Horizontal Sourcing

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Firms have recently vertically integrated with suppliers to ensure corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) in sourcing. We investigate the conditions under which CSER concerns will drive vertical integration, and how actions of ...
Managing Supplier Social and Environmental Impacts with Voluntary Versus Mandatory Disclosure to Investors

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    A buying firm might in the future incur costs associated with a supplier’s carbon dioxide emissions, safety violations, or other social or environmental impacts. Learning about a supplier’s impacts requires costly effort, but it is necessary (and ...
Reveal the Supplier List? A Trade-off in Capacity vs. Responsibility

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: Under what conditions and how can a buying firm, by committing to publish a list of its suppliers and/or the identities and violations of terminated suppliers, increase its expected profit and supplier responsibility? Academic/...
Motivating Supplier Social Responsibility Under Incomplete Visibility

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: We examine how a profit-driven firm (she) can motivate better social responsibility (SR) practices by a supplier (he) when these practices cannot be perfectly observed by the firm. We focus on the firm’s investment in the supplier’s SR ...
Supplier Centrality and Auditing Priority in Socially Responsible Supply Chains

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: A key question in socially responsible supply networks is as follows: When firms audit some, but not all, of their respective suppliers, how do the degree centralities of the suppliers (i.e., the number of firms to which they supply) ...
Cooperative Approaches to Managing Social Responsibility in a Market with Externalities

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: This paper studies two cooperative approaches of firms in managing social responsibility violations of their supplier: auditing a common supplier jointly (joint auditing) and sharing independent audit results with other firms (audit ...
Responsible Sourcing Under Supplier-Auditor Collusion

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: Although they enjoy low costs in sourcing from emerging economies, global brands also face serious brand and reputation risks from their suppliers’ noncompliance with environmental and labor standards. Such a supplier problem can be ...
How Transparency into Internal and External Responsibility Initiatives Influences Consumer Choice

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Amid growing calls for transparency and social and environmental responsibility, companies are employing different strategies to improve consumer perceptions of their brands. Some pursue internal initiatives that reduce their negative social or ...
Sourcing from a Self-Reporting Supplier: Strategic Communication of Social Responsibility in a Supply Chain

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: To manage supplier social responsibility (SR), some firms have adopted a self-assessment strategy whereby they ask suppliers to self-report SR capabilities. Self-reported information is difficult to verify, and this leads to an ...
Social Responsibility Auditing in Supply Chain Networks

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    We study a buyer’s problem of auditing suppliers within an existing network to ensure social responsibility compliance. The buyer suffers economic damages if a violation at a supplier is exposed (whether by the media, regulator, or nongovernmental ...
Managing Social Responsibility in Multitier Supply Chains

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: We study the management of social responsibility in a three-tier supply chain with a tier 2 supplier selling to a tier 1 supplier, in turn selling to a tier 0 buyer. The tier 2 supplier may violate social and environmental standards, ...
Implementing Environmental and Social Responsibility Programs in Supply Networks Through Multiunit Bilateral Negotiation

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    Involving suppliers deep in the supply chain is critical for the success of environmental and social responsibility (ESR) initiatives. Administering ESR programs throughout a complex supply network, however, is challenging. In this paper, we apply a ...
Supplier Audit Information Sharing and Responsible Sourcing

Published Online:

Management Science

    Abstract
    We develop a game-theoretic model to study the incentive for competing manufacturers to share supplier audit information. Based on the audit information, each manufacturer decides whether to source from a common supplier who has uncertain responsibility ...
Sustainability in the Fast Fashion Industry

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: A fast fashion system allows firms to react quickly to changing consumer demand by replenishing inventory (via quick response) and introducing more fashion styles. In this paper, we study the environmental impact of the fast fashion ...
Is Adopting Mass Customization a Path to Environmentally Sustainable Fashion?

Published Online:

M&SOM

    Abstract
    Problem definition: In high-product-variety businesses like fashion, mass production (MP) systems create environmental waste in the form of overproduction on a colossal scale. Mass customization (MC) has been proposed—without solid evidence—as a solution. ...
A radical plan to end plastic waste

TED

Andrew Forrest

Published Online: September 2019

Teaching Case: Sustainability at IKEA Group

V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael W. Toffel, Vincent Dessain, Jerome Lenhardt

Published September 2, 2014
Harvard Business Publications

Teaching Case: Global Sourcing at Nike

Nien-he Hsieh, Michael W. Toffel, Olivia Hull

Published March 7, 2019
Harvard Business Publications

Teaching Case: Wal-Mart's Sustainability Strategy (A)

Lyn Denend, Erica Plambeck

Published Online: 2007
Stanford Business School

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