Abstract
This article examines corporate responsibility in the supply chains of four of the largest Scandinavian multinational corporations – IKEA, Nokia, Novo Nordisk, and StatoilHydro – and offers two key findings. First, these Scandinavian companies have all implemented responsible supply chain practices where suppliers in developing nations, and the communities of these suppliers, are engaged as key stakeholders and treated as partners. Second, these supply chain practices all share the common bond of having honesty and the establishment of trust-based relationships at their foundation. As a result, these Scandinavian companies have developed a “cooperative advantage” in their ability to form successful, long-term partnerships in their respective supply chains.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Dr. Annik Magerholm Fet and Dr. Rolf Lunheim of the Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) and Dr. Norman Bowie of the University of Minnesota for their guidance and mentorship. This work was supported in part by the US-Norway Fulbright Foundation, the Research Council of Norway via the Corporate Responsibility in the US and Norway (CRUSAN) project, and the Lois Roth Endowment.
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Strand, R. Corporate Responsibility in Scandinavian Supply Chains. J Bus Ethics 85 (Suppl 1), 179–185 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9937-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9937-3