Social supply chain risk management: A taxonomy, a framework and a research agenda

Abstract

The risk management inherent in a company's supply chain has become a decisive line for its growth, generating a competitive differential. The literature on risk management is diverse; however, much has been studied on the financial risks and little on the social risks in which the supply chain of a company may be involved. The current scenario is critical. For example, the Global Slavery Index shows that by 2014 more than 35 million workers were in situations analogous to slaves in the world. Scandals have been recently increasing in the media, such as the use of child labor by large brands, making consumers more aware and companies more negatively affected. The present research aims to study social risk and proposes a taxonomy, a framework and a research agenda to support future works on social supply chain risks. A systematic literature review is conducted, and after analysing 77 abstracts and 43 full papers, we identify twenty-four social risks and thirteen consequences that those risks can generate for the company and consequently affect the entire supply chain. We also develop a Social Supply Chain Risk Management (SSCRM) taxonomy and a framework that integrates the literature frameworks and the risks and consequences in order to make it viable for practitioners managing social supply chain risks. Finally, a research agenda is provided to enhance the conceptual foundations of social supply chain risk management towards the formalisation and improvement of the field.