Supply chain learning of sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: A resource orchestration perspective

TY - JOUR

T1 - Supply chain learning of sustainability in multi-tier supply chains

T2 - A resource orchestration perspective

AU - Gong, Yu

AU - Jia, Fu

AU - Brown, Steve

AU - Koh, S. C. Lenny

PY - 2018/4/3

Y1 - 2018/4/3

N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how multinational corporations (MNCs) orchestrate internal and external resources to help their multi-tier supply chains learn sustainability-related knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory multiple case study approach was adopted and three MNCs’ sustainable initiatives in China were examined. The data were primarily collected through 43 semi-structured interviews with managers of focal companies and their multi-tier suppliers. Findings: The authors found that in order to facilitate their supply chains to learn sustainability, MNCs tend to orchestrate in breadth by internally setting up new functional departments and externally working with third parties, and orchestrate in depth working directly with their extreme upstream suppliers adopting varied governance mechanisms on lower-tier suppliers along the project lifecycle. The resource orchestration in breadth and depth and along the project lifecycle results in changes of supply chain structure. Practical implications: The proposed conceptual model provides an overall framework for companies to design and implement their multi-tier sustainable initiatives. Companies could learn from the suggested learning stages and the best practices of case companies. Originality/value: The authors extend and enrich resource orchestration perspective (ROP), which is internally focused, to a supply chain level, and answer a theoretical question of how MNCs orchestrate their internal and external resources to help their supply chains to learn sustainability. The extension of ROP refutes the resource dependence theory, which adopts a passive approach of relying on external suppliers and proposes that MNCs should proactively work with internal and external stakeholders to learn sustainability.

AB - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how multinational corporations (MNCs) orchestrate internal and external resources to help their multi-tier supply chains learn sustainability-related knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory multiple case study approach was adopted and three MNCs’ sustainable initiatives in China were examined. The data were primarily collected through 43 semi-structured interviews with managers of focal companies and their multi-tier suppliers. Findings: The authors found that in order to facilitate their supply chains to learn sustainability, MNCs tend to orchestrate in breadth by internally setting up new functional departments and externally working with third parties, and orchestrate in depth working directly with their extreme upstream suppliers adopting varied governance mechanisms on lower-tier suppliers along the project lifecycle. The resource orchestration in breadth and depth and along the project lifecycle results in changes of supply chain structure. Practical implications: The proposed conceptual model provides an overall framework for companies to design and implement their multi-tier sustainable initiatives. Companies could learn from the suggested learning stages and the best practices of case companies. Originality/value: The authors extend and enrich resource orchestration perspective (ROP), which is internally focused, to a supply chain level, and answer a theoretical question of how MNCs orchestrate their internal and external resources to help their supply chains to learn sustainability. The extension of ROP refutes the resource dependence theory, which adopts a passive approach of relying on external suppliers and proposes that MNCs should proactively work with internal and external stakeholders to learn sustainability.

KW - Case study

KW - Governance mechanisms

KW - Multi-tier supply chain

KW - Resource orchestration

KW - Supply chain learning

KW - Sustainability

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85043486962&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1108/IJOPM-05-2017-0306

DO - 10.1108/IJOPM-05-2017-0306

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85043486962

SN - 0144-3577

VL - 38

SP - 1061

EP - 1090

JO - International Journal of Operations & Production Management

JF - International Journal of Operations & Production Management

IS - 4

ER -