Understanding the political nature of supply chain management: a case study of the coffee supply chain

Amanda Bille, Katinka Bjørndal Thomsen, Philip Beske-Janssen, Andreas Wieland
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Abstract

Purpose

Due to new regulations, changing customer preferences and strategic reorientation, the role of responsible decision-making has become increasingly complex for both small and large firms. In relation to this, this article contends that companies are turning into political actors with political responsibility for sustainability-related issues in their supply chain and beyond. Therefore, this article aims to investigate (1) how companies have become political in their supply chain and (2) which mechanisms contribute to this development.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate the political nature of companies in their supply chain, this research draws on a critical realist case study inspired by process tracing. A total of 30 interviews were conducted with actors from within global coffee supply chains to get a wide overview of the different perspectives on how coffee companies deal with political complexity.

Findings

It is found that companies in the coffee supply chain are increasingly acting like traditional political actors. Their engagement in political activities emphasizes three contextualized causal mechanisms driving this transformation: (1) customer pressure, (2) attention to trust and transparency and (3) personal motivation.

Research limitations/implications

The results point to the political nature of companies’ supply chain management (SCM)-related activities, indicating they should recognize that their role in the supply chain gives them the capacity to act as state-like actors.

Originality/value

Political SCM is introduced as a new conceptual element in the SCM discourse by defining the term “political” and linking political theory and sustainable SCM literature. This provides a better understanding of SCM and offers guidance on how SCM can be understood as a set of political activities.

了解供应链管理的政治本质:咖啡供应链案例研究
由于新的法规,不断变化的客户偏好和战略重新定位,负责任的决策的作用对于小型和大型公司来说都变得越来越复杂。与此相关,本文认为,公司正在转变为政治行动者,对其供应链及其他领域的可持续发展相关问题负有政治责任。因此,本文旨在研究(1)公司如何在其供应链中变得政治化,以及(2)哪些机制有助于这种发展。设计/方法/方法为了调查公司在其供应链中的政治性质,本研究借鉴了一个受过程追踪启发的批判性现实主义案例研究。我们对来自全球咖啡供应链的参与者进行了总共30次访谈,以全面了解咖啡公司如何应对政治复杂性的不同视角。研究发现,咖啡供应链上的公司越来越像传统的政治角色。他们对政治活动的参与强调了推动这种转变的三个情境化因果机制:(1)客户压力;(2)对信任和透明度的关注;(3)个人动机。研究局限/启示研究结果指出了公司供应链管理(SCM)相关活动的政治性质,表明他们应该认识到他们在供应链中的角色赋予了他们作为国家行为体的能力。通过定义“政治”一词,并将政治理论与可持续供应链文献联系起来,政治供应链管理作为供应链管理话语中的一个新的概念元素被引入。这提供了对供应链管理的更好理解,并提供了如何将供应链管理理解为一组政治活动的指导。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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