Exploring Middle Manager’s Motivations for Social Sustainability adoption in Sustainable Supply Chain Management : From an Organisation Culture Perspectivein Swedish Multinational Companies

Abstract: Sustainability and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is increasingly gainingattention from researchers and practitioners, while social sustainability practices researchinitiated by middle management is yet to be explored in both breadth and depth. Middlemanager, as an intermediary between top management and the frontline staff, holds acritical role for social sustainability adoption in the SSCM. Human centric approach is anessential factor that contributes to SSCM in multinational companies (MNCs) andsignificantly affecting stakeholders along the global supply chain. This paper tries to bridge the gap in the existing literature and understand how middlemanagers adopt social sustainability in their supply chain, their motivations withinorganisational culture, and the challenges for social sustainability integration in SSCM.The study stays in the context of Swedish MNCs and follows a qualitative researchapproach by conducting semi-structured interviews across different industries. The dataanalysis contributes empirical knowledge into the role of middle managers for socialsustainability adoption in supply chain, exploring different motivation from organisationalculture and middle managers leadership practices. This research proves that the organisational culture and supply chain leadership are criticalfactors to motivate middle managers to adopt social sustainability activities and leadsuccessful collaborations within the supply chain. Further, middle managers’ practicalchallenges are analysed, and possible improvement suggestions are discussed to enhancethe middle manager’s role in SSCM. These findings contribute to practical implicationsfor academia and businesses alike by providing insights and recommendations fororganisations seeking to enhance their social sustainability pillar.