• The student shall be able to write a readable and well-structured mini-project that meets basic academic requirements regarding references, literature list etc.
• The student shall be able to select and apply relevant theories from the course's literature list on the case/problem being addressed in the written assignment
• The student shall be able to argue for the appropriateness of the theory/theories selected for the case/problem
• The student shall be familiar with different theories and approaches presented at the course regarding the management of corporate sustainability in global supply chains
• The student shall be able to combine theories and approaches depending on the problem being addressed in the written assignment
• The student shall be able to select relevant theory to address a particular problems in managing supply chains
• The student shall be able to conduct a satisfactory analysis of the case/problem using the theories/models selected.
• The student shall be able to critically evaluate the theories, models, and methods in the written assignment.

An increasing number of companies in the Western world outsource parts of their production to low-wage countries with poor social and environmental standards. Such long-distance outsourcing makes it difficult for companies to ensure that their products are being produced under socially and environmentally sound conditions. The course attempts to make the students capable of understanding and managing the opportunities and barriers facing companies, which seek to exercise social and environmental responsibility in their supply chains.

The course will in particular deal with the following topics:

- Introduction to the concept of corporate sustainability and CSR.

- The rise of global supply chains.

- The costs and benefits of corporate sustainability.

- Non-governmental organizations and their influence on corporate behavior.

- Theoretical and practical approaches to understanding the integration of social and environmental issues into supplier relations.

- Social and environmental audits, standards and labels.

- Responses by Third World suppliers.

- Circular economy and global supply chains

This course is part of the minor in Sustainable Business

• Roberts, S. (2003). Supply Chain Specific? Understanding the Patchy Success of Ethical Sourcing Initiatives. Journal of Business Ethics 44, 159–170.

• Carter, C.R. and Rogers, D.S. (2008). A framework of sustainable supply chain management: moving toward new theory. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 360-387.

• Touboulic, A. and Walker, H. (2015). Theories in sustainable supply chain management: a structured literature review. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 45 No. 1/2, pp. 16-42.

• Pedersen, E.R. & Andersen, M. (2006). Safeguarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Global Supply Chains: How Codes of Conduct are managed in Buyer-Supplier Relationships, Journal of Public Affairs, 6, p. 228-240.

• Villena, V.H. and Gioia, D.A. (2020), A More Sustainable Supply Chain. Harvard Business Review, 98(2):84-93.

• Baden, D.A., Harwood, I.A., Woodward, D.G. (2009), The effect of buyer pressure on suppliers in SMEs to demonstrate CSR practices: An added incentive or counter productive?, European Management Journal, 27(6): p. 429-441.

• Karaosman, H. and Marshall, D. (2023), "Impact pathways: just transition in fashion operations and supply chain management", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 43 No. 13, pp. 226-237.

• Gustavo Picanço Dias, Minelle E. Silva, Stefan Gold, Microfoundations of supply chain sustainability practices: A social capital perspective, International Journal of Production Economics, Volume 263, 2023, 108947, https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1016/​j.ijpe.2023.108947.

• Ingenbleek, P., Binnekamp, M., Goddijn, S. (2007), Setting standards for CSR: A comparative case study on criteria-formulating organizations, Journal of Business Research, 60, 539-548.

• Kauppi, K. & Hannibal, C. (2017). Institutional Pressures and Sustainability in Supply Chains, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 22(5), 458-472.

• Nath, S. D., & Eweje, G. (2021). Inside the multi-tier supply firm: exploring responses to institutional pressures and challenges for sustainable supply management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 41(6), 908-941.

• Beske-Janssen, P., Johnson, M.P., Schaltegger, S. (2015), 20 Years of Performance Measurement in Sustainable Supply Chain Management – What has been Achieved? Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 20(6): 664-680.

• Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., Wood, D. J. (1997), Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience: Defining the Principles of Who and What Really Counts, Academy of Management Review, 22 (4), 853-886.

• Hörisch, J., Freeman, R. E., & Schaltegger, S. (2014). Applying Stakeholder Theory in Sustainability Management: Links, Similarities, Dissimilarities, and a Conceptual Framework. Organization & Environment, 27(4), 328–346.

• Gualandris, J., Klassen, R. D., Vachon, S., & Kalchschmidt, M. (2015). Sustainable evaluation and verification in supply chains: Aligning and leveraging accountability to stakeholders. Journal of Operations Management, 38, 1-13.

• Kortmann, S. and Piller, F. (2016), Open Business Models and Closed-Loop Value Chains, California Management Review, 58(3): 88-108.

• Julian Kirchherr, Denise Reike, Marko Hekkert (2017). Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 127, 221-232.

• Geissdoerfer, M., Morioka, S.N., Carvalho, M.M., Evans, S. (2018). Business Models and supply chains for the Circular Economy, Journal of Cleaner Production, 190, 712-721.

• Lise Smit, Gabrielle Holly, Robert McCorquodale & Stuart Neely (2021), Human rights due diligence in global supply chains: evidence of corporate practices to inform a legal standard, The International Journal of Human Rights, 25:6, 945-973, DOI:  10.1080/​13642987.2020.179919.

• Crane, A., LeBaron, G., Allain, J. and Behbahani, L. (2019), Governance gaps in eradicating forced labor: From global to domestic supply chains. Regulation & Governance, 13: 86-106.

• LeBaron, G. (2021), The Role of Supply Chains in the Global Business of Forced Labour. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 57: 29-42. 

• Boyd, E., Spekman, R.E., Kamauff, J.W., and Werhane, P. (2007), Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Supply Chains: A Procedural Justice Perspective, Long Range Planning, 40, 3, p. 341-356.

• Pagell, M. & Shevchenko, A. (2014), Why research in Sustainable Supply Chain Management should have no future, Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50(1), 44-55.

• Montabon, F., Pagell, M., Wu, Z. (2016), Making Sustainability Sustainable, Journal of Supply Chain Management, 52(2): 11-27