A framework for socially responsible supply chain practices: A multiple case analysis of the social enterprises in the Philippines

• Main Author: Guia, Junnell E.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Business logistics—Philippines; Social entrepreneurship—Philippines; Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations; Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/9538
• Institution: De La Salle University

Social entrepreneurship with an embedded social purpose has been on the rise in the recent decades (Austin, Stevenson, & Wei-Skillern, 2006). Social enterprises, like any other undertakings, pursue a triple bottom line approach of economic, social, and environmental goals. Among the dimensions of sustainability, many researchers (Carter and Rogers, 2008; and Agrawal and Toktay, 2010) have noted that the area of socially responsible supply chain is not well understood, and some scholars (Seuring and Muller, 2008; and Tang and Zhou, 2012) added that the socially responsible supply chain remains to be a nascent research in operations management. Tang (2018) exposed in his study that the environmental sustainability is a well-studied area compare to social sustainability. However, a question that needs to be answered is if the supply chain initiatives of social enterprises socially responsible. That is, how socially responsible supply chain affects the performance of social enterprises in the country considering an obvious trade-offs between the sustainability dimensions? The study proposed a framework for socially responsible supply chain and the respondents were the selected social enterprises in the Philippines: Gifts that Give Back (GTGB) Trading, Uniquease Restaurant and Weavoo CK Gem Trading. Multiple-embedded case study method has been used to test the framework and the findings of the study shows that the selected social enterprises are practicing socially responsible supply chain by creating jobs and business opportunities for the poor as suppliers/producers and retailers. The socially responsible practices affects the social performance of the social enterprises. An individual case report and cross-case table has been utilized to show the differences and similarities of the selected social enterprises. Various practices of the selected social enterprises manifest socially responsible supply chain practices. Future researches may include other variables that could affect social performance of social enterprises in the country.