Managers’ psychological challenges in implementing corporate responsibility in supply chains

Pages564-578
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/CG-03-2017-0045
Published date26 February 2018
Date26 February 2018
AuthorDavid Eriksson,Göran Svensson
Subject MatterCorporate governance,Strategy
Managers’ psychological challenges
in implementing corporate responsibility
in supply chains
David Eriksson and Göran Svensson
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to conceptualize managers’ psychological challenges with respect to
implementing corporate responsibility throughout supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach Four areas of psychological theory are introduced to expand the
understanding of the challenges involved in implementing corporate responsibility in supply chains,
namely, relationship and humanization theory; the number-of-people-suffering theory; superficial-
identification theory; and the bystander effect theory.
Findings The common denominator between the introduced areas of psychological theory is that all
consider the expected degree of corporate responsibility in supply chains to extend beyond managers’
ability to cope so that failure is probable.
Research limitations/implications Supply chain management research needs to consider various
psychological challenges to effectively address corporate responsibility in supply chains. This research
shows that it is important to include theory from psychology to truly understand the challenges faced by
managers, although only a few theories are presented here. More comprehensive reviews are needed in
the future.
Practical implications Managers require guidelines based on psychological theory to assist them in
overcoming their inabilities in this context.
Originality/value SCM research advocates responsibility for all those affected by this phenomenon,
but the lack of theoretical grounding to meet the prevailing psychological challenges hampers the
efficacy of putting the current recommendations into business practice. The paper is one of only a few to
address managers’ psychological challenges in dealing with corporate responsibility across
organizational borders and judicial boundaries in supply chains.
Keywords Sustainability, Supply chain management, Management, Corporate responsibility
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Research on supply chain management (SCM) has, over time, become increasingly
intertwined with various different concepts of corporate responsibility, such as corporate
social responsibility (CSR), triple bottom line (TBL) and business sustainability (Fassin and
Van Rossem, 2009; Aguinis and Glavas, 2012; Baden and Harwood, 2013). There are
several definitions in the literature on CSR, TBL and business sustainability. For example,
Aguinis and Glavas (2012) use a definition of CSR that establishes it as a corporate
concern. Bansal and DesJardine (2014) argue that sustainability requires a long-term
perspective, which is related to the definition of sustainable development proposed by the
WCED (1987, p. 43), including a responsibility for future generations. Svensson and
Wagner (2012) define business sustainability as an organization’s efforts to manage its
impact on Earth’s life and eco-systems and its entire business network.
David Eriksson is an
Associate Professor at
Jo
¨nko
¨ping University,
Jo
¨nko
¨ping, Sweden. Go
¨ran
Svensson is based at Oslo
School of Management,
Oslo, Norway.
Received 2 March 2017
Revised 4 October 2017
6 December 2017
Accepted 23 January 2018
PAGE 564 jCORPORATE GOVERNANCE jVOL. 18 NO. 3 2018, pp. 564-578, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1472-0701 DOI 10.1108/CG-03-2017-0045

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