How collective supplier behavior influences CSR in Bangladeshi apparel supply chains

Working conditions in many supply chains continue to be poor and little is known about corporate social responsibility (CSR) drivers at the beginning of global value chains. Whilst the majority of studies focus on buyer-supplier relations, some studies claim that suppliers actually don’t want to engage in CSR. This Misum Academic Insight argues for the importance of an inter-organizational network approach and examines how suppliers influence on each other shapes their CSR engagement.

Image by Enrico Fontana

The Insight is based on the article “Non Sibi, Sed Omnibus: Influence of Supplier Collective Behavior on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Bangladeshi Apparel Supply Chain” published in 2019 in the Journal of Business Ethics. Read the Misum Academic Insight here.

The research garnered empirical evidence from local executives atop 30 large first-tier supplier firms in the Bangladeshi apparel supply chain. Data in the form of interviews and fieldwork was collected in 2016.

Authors:

Enrico Fontana, Misum Affiliated Researcher with the Sustainable Business Development Through Entrepreneurship and Innovation Platform and Lecturer in Management and Organization at the Sasin School of Management, Chulalongkorn University.
Niklas Egels-Zandén, Professor in Business Administration at the University of Gothenburg.