Supplier socioenvironmental compliance: A survey of the antecedents of standards decoupling

Abstract

Abstract Socioenvironmental performance of suppliers is a matter of critical concern in buyer-supplier relationships. Studies have shown that many times adoption of socioenvironmental standards (SES) by the suppliers remains ceremonial and does not translate into concrete performance. This phenomenon called ‘decoupling’ has serious implications for both buyers and suppliers, and the need arises to understand the underlying dynamics of SES decoupling. This paper builds on a systematic review of the literature to discuss the antecedents of decoupling. The paper has three main contributions. First, it identifies the antecedents of SES decoupling; second, it develops a taxonomy of the antecedents, and finally, it develops a model comprising a set of propositions explaining how the identified antecedents bring about decoupling. The framework developed in this paper can help buyers and supplier in preventing decoupling and developing integrated systems at suppliers’ end. Overall, the framework is useful for making decisions regarding supplier selection, retention, development, and prevention of supplier opportunism.