Striving for Enterprise Sustainability through Supplier Development Process

Patrycja Hąbek and Juan J. Lavios
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Patrycja Hąbek: Department of Production Engineering, Faculty of Organization and Management, Silesian University of Technology, Roosevelt Street 26-28, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
Juan J. Lavios: Escuela Politecnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos, Av. Cantabria s/n, 09005 Burgos, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: Much research has already been dedicated to the impact of the supply chain, but less attention has been paid to the potential of supplier development (SD) processes in strengthening enterprises’ sustainability performance. This study aimed to indicate how the approach to socially responsible supplier development has changed over the years (2010–2019) in the automotive sector considering the types of practices and the applied areas of social responsibility. The study was based on original and empirical content analysis research of sustainability reports of car producers. To identify changes in the approach to socially responsible supplier development (SRSD) practices, 17 criteria were identified within direct as well as indirect types of supplier development practices. Considering areas of social responsibility, we applied the core subjects of social responsibility based on the ISO 26000 standard. The findings revealed that during the analyzed period, there has been a recursive use of both direct and indirect SD practices by the car producers but to varying degrees. The environmental protection, human rights, labor practices, fair operating practices, and organizational governance issues were the major concerns. When comparing 2010 and 2019, a clear increase was observed within all identified SRSD initiatives. The study outputs and examples of SRSD practices of car producers can act as a role model for automotive suppliers as well as other industries regarding how to incorporate sustainability into supplier development processes.

Keywords: socially responsible supplier development; supply chain; content analysis; sustainability reports; ISO 26000; car producers; direct and indirect supplier development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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