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The chapter explores factors that help define ‘socially responsible value chains’, in which firms create and deliver goods and services that provide social and economic value, but minimize negative externalities, operate in environmentally and socially sustainable ways, and address the concerns of all stakeholders. We use the case method to capture nuances of complex value-chain relationships extending into the unfamiliar territory of emerging markets. We chose three cases, involving Apple, Nike and Nestle, which have become landmarks in corporate responsibility policy and practice. We identify fundamental questions pertaining to social responsibility that arise when firms’ value chains extend across countries and deep into the bottom of the pyramid, and discuss how information gaps, institutional environment and socio-political actors affect outcomes. The chapter provides value by defining the role of governments, inter-governmental organizations, NGOs and managers in creating socially responsible value chains, and laying out specific recommendations.

This paper aims to address the question of how value can be created through social responsibility programs or other means, so that sustainability is achieved through increasing stakeholders' participation in the process of design and selection of such programs, so that transparency is maximised and trust can be built with the lasting benefits of co-creation of value.

This paper studies the relationship between sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and value co-creation based on qualitative research data gathered from two embedded case studies. The first case study in a large mining company operating in New Zealand and the second case study is based on the New Zealand Merino Company.

Findings of this research suggest that sustainability is built with the participation of many interconnected entities, that is, suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, or more generally stakeholders whose actions are fostered by social responsibility that fuels the pride, trust, and consistency of the members of the value chain. Value in all forms – functional value, hedonic value, symbolic value and cost value – is a recurrent theme in this research data; however it is value co-creation, working together, living up to the values that their products and services promise that ultimately supports sustainability.

This paper shows how the scope of sustainability has broadened from environmental matters to include other topics such as good corporate citizenship, business relationships and the value that is created and shared, not only with shareholders, but also within a wider community of stakeholders.

This paper seeks to critically analyse the list of principles on the extractive phase of the electronics supply chains, proposed for consumer electronic companies, by the non‐governmental campaign MakeITfair. The purpose is to understand whether conformance with these principles could positively influence the socio‐environmental conditions at the mining level.

The paper reviews the literature on incorporation of corporate social responsibility in supply chain management. It then examines how metals are mined, traded and used in electronics, as well as how the mining industry has been managing its own socio‐environmental problems. This information underpins the qualitative discussion of the principles.

MakeITfair's principles were found to be constructive insofar as they draw the attention of electronic companies to their shared responsibility for the problems of distant‐tier suppliers. Nevertheless, some principles may lead to potentially undesired outcomes such as biased prioritization of mining companies or regions, adoption of contentious “standards”, and conflicts concerning the sovereign rights of nations over their natural resources. Overall, the principles stress traceability mechanisms as means of influencing the mining phase of supply chains without considering the costs and benefits of overcoming the complexities involved in the metal trade and other barriers. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to consider additional ways of positively influencing metals supply.

The paper points out specific research priorities in the value chains of metals.

The paper provides a critical analysis of intricate responsibility issues in the supply chain of the world's top electronic companies.

Firms are increasingly resorting to responsible supply chain management as they align their economic success with socially responsible initiatives in their value chain. This contribution aims to suggest that there are opportunities for global corporations who are keen on integrating responsible practices into their business operations. It is in their interest to report about their responsible supply chain management, social performance and sustainable innovations to their stakeholders.

This paper identifies future research avenues in the promising areas of responsible procurement and global supply chain management.

The corporations’ differentiated strategies as well as their proactive engagement in responsible supply chain management can lead them to achieve a competitive advantage in the long term. The low-cost producers may be neglecting the marketplace stakeholders, including suppliers, distributors among others. Moreover, the smaller businesses’ could not be in a position to follow responsible procurement practices, as they may lack the scarce resources to do so.

This paper raises awareness about the integration of socially responsible behaviours and sustainable practices in business operations. It contends that a responsible supply chain management necessitates an improved relationship with suppliers and distributors in the value chain. This stakeholder engagement with ultimately create value to the businesses themselves.

The paper investigates how the alignment of two corporate functions, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and trade compliance (TC) can help companies to take corporate value chain responsibility (VCR). In particular, the authors investigate how evolutionary system theory can explain the coevolution of two distinct VCR functions (SSCM and TC) and the potential and challenges for their future alignment.

The authors introduce evolutionary system theory as a powerful explanatory perspective to the field of VCR, SSCM and TC. By applying evolutionary system theory to the VCR debate, the authors analyze the potential for aligning both functions. They further analyze the inherent challenges of such an alignment by discussing the concept of organizational path dependencies.

The paper spells out a research agenda and formulates testable propositions for further investigating the interplay of environment and system as well as the structural options for a functional alignment of SSCM and TC.

The corporate function of TC has been widely overlooked by supply chain and sustainability scholars. This paper adds the function of TC to the wider discussion on SSCM and corporate VCR. Furthermore, the paper develops a research agenda for a pioneer topic and triggers discussion in academia and corporate practice.

In recent years, both academics and institutions have acknowledged the crucial role multinational enterprises (MNEs) can play in addressing the sustainability challenges, as formalized by the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Nevertheless, because of their extensiveness and their design as country-level targets, SDGs have proven challenging to operationalize at a firm level. This problem opens new and relevant avenues for research in international business (IB). This chapter attempts to frame the topic of extended value chain sustainability in the IB literature. In particular, it addresses a specific topic, that is, how sustainability and resilience-building practices interact in global value chains (GVCs). To do so, the present study develops the case of STMicroelectronics (ST), one of the biggest semiconductor companies worldwide.

This paper aims to explore the effect of business strategy on socially responsible supply chain management (SR‐SCM).

This study draws on data from 178 UK‐based companies, and 340 buyer‐supplier relationships. A novel data collection approach is used, which minimizes social desirability and common methods bias, to capture socially responsible supply chain management. The data are analysed through a set of OLS regressions.

Business strategies significantly influence socially responsible supply chain management. Low‐cost producers largely neglect their social responsibilities in the supply chain. In contrast, firms pursuing differentiation strategies are considerably more engaged with these issues, partly because they have better supply chain processes.

Practitioners should carefully consider the fit between strategic position and level of engagement with SR‐SCM, since our results emphasise the relationship between SR‐SCM and business strategy. Proactive engagement with SR‐SCM, however, also implies sound supply chain processes, which must also be aligned with business strategy. Policy‐makers should consider the low engagement with SR‐SCM of low‐cost producers and the implications for SR‐SCM in cost sensitive and competitive global markets.

This is the first systematic cross‐sectional study of the relationship between business strategy and socially responsible supply chain management (SR‐SCM). These results suggest that there is a clear relationship between the strategic position of the firm and their SR‐SCM practices. These results contribute to the on‐going debate on relationships between strategy and supply chain management, and the emerging debate on the relationships between strategy and SR‐SCM.

This paper seeks to bring together ethical governance theory and empirical findings to examine the shifting nature of governance in global value chains, and the implications of this shift for mainstream companies. In particular, it aims to examine one of the more mature models of ethical value chain governance, Fairtrade, and how this is being used by business.

Information is derived from a longitudinal study of multi‐stakeholder co‐governance in Kenya and the UK, and an analysis of the literature on similar co‐governance models.

The paper shows that mainstream companies are looking to multi‐stakeholder models not only to protect their reputation, but as a way of governing ethical dimensions of their value chains. However, rather than a form of co‐governance, it has become a way of outsourcing governance, enabling companies to strengthen their public credibility, while simultaneously transferring an especially difficult element of modern value chain governance to organizations enjoying high consumer trust. Yet, primary data suggest that these governance systems are not delivering the benefits promised, at least at the producer level.

By outsourcing governance to initiatives with dubious credibility in this way, companies may seem at risk. However, the mismatch between the promise and delivery of Fairtrade does not seem to be affecting consumer confidence and, until it does, companies may continue to benefit from the halo effect of being a Fairtrade ally. But there are also opportunities for companies to use Fairtrade's weaknesses to make the value chain a better avenue for delivering ethical governance, with implications for similar co‐governance models.

The study draws on one of the very few pieces of longitudinal field research on the impacts of Fairtrade. It approaches Fairtrade from a governance rather than reputations perspective, and emphasizes the implications for mainstream business rather than the co‐governance movement.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the anatomy of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) that try to manage corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the supply chain.

The data used for analysis stem from a large‐scale survey of 1,071 Danish SMEs carried out in 2005.

It is concluded that CSR activities directed towards the supply chains still remain the privilege of a small group of SMEs with quite advanced CSR systems.

The survey was not specifically designed for this article. Moreover, only Danish SMEs participated in the survey. Whether the evidence from Denmark can be generalised to cover SMEs in other countries is left to determine.

The results indicate that there may be a need for more differentiated initiatives to promote CSR that will enable smaller enterprises to address CSR issues in the supply chain. Thus far, CSR has often been associated with large, high‐profile multinationals that have been trying to protect their image and brands from negative press, NGO activism, consumer boycotts and governmental sanctions. Little has been done to examine how SMEs can improve social and environmental conditions in cooperation with suppliers.

This article contributes to the existing body of literature by examining how a number of key SME characteristics affect the management of CSR.

This paper aims to analyse the organizational and geographical (by nation-states) boundaries of the firm and their impact on labour and to develop a theoretical framework in which firms’ boundaries are analysed from the point of view of labour as a main stakeholder in the firm.

The paper considers the boundaries in terms of: perspectives (legal/proprietary, responsibility and control); stakeholders (shareholders and managers as well as labour, governments and suppliers) and dimensions (organization of production, geographical/by nation-state and sectoral). The paper analyses various organizational forms of production in terms of control (over labour process and brand), responsibility for labour employed across the value chain and labour bargaining power. The firm is seen in the context of labour as main stakeholder and of strategic control versus the property rights view of the firm. The paper contains references to some real-life cases which support the arguments developed at the theoretical level.

In terms of organizational boundaries, the paper analyses hybrid forms of firm organization and their implications for the position of labour. In the context of geographical boundaries, conclusions are drawn on the impact of transnational corporations (TNCs)’ direct activities on labour. Changes in organizational and geographical boundaries are seen as strategic moves that lead to the fragmentation of labour and to the weakening of its bargaining position. There is an analysis of the role of nation-state regulatory regimes in creating opportunities for TNCs’ advantages towards labour. The basic pillars of this theoretical approach are emphasis on labour as a main stakeholder as well as one of the main actors towards whom firms develop strategies and who, in turn, develops countervailing strategies; and the assignation of responsibility for labour over that part of the value chain – which could be the whole of it – over which the firm exercises strategic control.

More case study work would further support the arguments in the paper and lead to refinements of the theory.

For labour, cross-country strategies are developed, and it is argued that the principal firm should take responsibility for the labour force on the basis of the “control” perspective rather than the “legal/proprietary” one. At the macro level, it could be argued for policies that lead to more homogeneous regulatory regimes across countries and in particular within the EU. There are implications for the strategies of trade unions within and across countries. There is also a call for overcoming academic disciplinary boundaries in research specifically those between economics, business strategy and sociology of labour and industrial relations.

The work puts labour at the forefront of analysis in the boundaries of the firm. It develops a theoretical framework for this analysis and for its policy implications including policies by trade unions.