Resource Dependencies and the Legitimatization of Grocery Retailer’s Social Evaluations of Suppliers

Matthew Gorton, Klaus Kastenhofer, Fred Lemke (), Luis Esquivel () and Mariana Nicolau ()
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Fred Lemke: Vlerick Business School
Luis Esquivel: Collaborating Centre On Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP)
Mariana Nicolau: Collaborating Centre On Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP)

Journal of Business Ethics, 2024, vol. 192, issue 4, No 5, 729-744

Abstract: Abstract Multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly judged not only on their own social impacts but also on those of their supply chain partners. To reduce this environmental dependence, many MNCs implement social evaluations and codes of conduct which suppliers must follow. But how do MNCs legitimise and implement social evaluations in their supply chains? To address this, we draw on and augment resource dependence and legitimacy theories, to analyse a multinational grocery retailer’s implementation of labour standards for its fruit and vegetable suppliers. The case study utilises interviews, analysis of a database of audits, internal documents, and observational data. It provides the basis for theorizing corporate reputation as a resource dependency, with social evaluations a distinct means to co-opt external actors to preserve the focal organization’s autonomy while reducing environmental contingencies. The legitimacy of social evaluations of supply chain partners depends on processes that reconcile both moral and pragmatic concerns, allowing the focal organization to mitigate resource dependencies without ceding control over enforcement and enabling actions.

Keywords: Multinational organizations; Resource dependency theory; Social evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05509-7

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