Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) Governance Mechanisms and Configurations applied in Swedish companies

Abstract: Background: There are several strategies that focal companies can opt for to manage their supplychain. Different combinations of configurations and governance mechanisms are argued to havedifferent sustainability outcomes. First, main firms need to decide if they manage the relationshipwith suppliers themselves or if they hire a third party. Second, the buying companies could leadthe relationship with providers by incorporating collaboration or relying on industry certificates.Besides, Swedish companies, as well as Swedish citizens, are claimed to be highly sustainable.Purpose: The goal of this project is to discover the strategies top Swedish companies implementin their supply chains regarding sustainability, and their influence on the position of the companyin the Sustainable Brand Index. As a result, this project will help to determine which specificactions are most likely to lead to increased supply chain sustainability.Method: To fulfil the research purpose, a qualitative study has been conducted. Seven case studies,consisting of five semi-structured interviews with employees from Swedish companies, and twoperipherical secondary-data based ones, were coded and analysed using the grounded analysisfollowing an abductive approach.Conclusion: The results show that the configuration framework available in the literature is notas accurate as it could be, therefore, a new one is proposed. The combination that appeared to havethe best sustainability outcomes entailed a partially closed configuration i.e., extending monitoringto lower tiers, and a spectrum in the governance mechanisms gathering focal company owninitiatives and certifications.