Abstract
Outsourcing has led both to the embedding of questionable sustainability practices in opaque supply chains and to anti-sweatshop challenges demanding more transparent supply chains. Previous research has argued that supply chain transparency can be both a consumer tool empowering consumers to pressure disclosing firms to improve sustainability conditions and a corporate tool for increasing revenues. Based on a study of the transparency project of Swedish company Nudie Jeans, the authors demonstrate that consumers do not leverage transparency but that transparency improves consumer willingness to buy. In doing this, the authors contribute to the literature in two important ways. First, the authors provide one of the first, if not the first, studies of whether consumers in practice leverage increased supply chain transparency, challenging the previous research claim that supply chain transparency is a useful consumer tool. Second, the authors move beyond studies of purchasing intentions and willingness to buy in experimental settings and confirm that supply chain transparency is a useful corporate tool in practice. The authors conclude by discussing the policy implications of companies being able to use transparency to increase sales without subjecting themselves to increased consumer pressure.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The term “stakeholders” is used in this paper to refer to multiple actors such as consumers, governments, NGOs, labour unions, investors, media, and employees.
“Transparency” can roughly be defined as the disclosure of information (Doorey 2011; Mol 2014); “supply chain transparency” can therefore be defined as the disclosure of supplier names and information about sustainability conditions at suppliers (see the section “Supply chain transparency” for a detailed discussion of this matter).
There is, of course, also the possibility that supply chain transparency could lead to improvements through self-discipline on the part of firms (Doorey 2011).
In this paper, the term “pressure” is used to denote any instances in which a consumer questions or criticizes the disclosing firm, i.e., simply asking for more information or clarification is classified as “pressure” in this paper.
It is worth noting that studies focusing on food traceability for some reason seem to find more negative results in terms of consumers’ not being particularly interested (e.g., Kuchler et al. 2010).
Convertible countries are those countries to which Nudie ships products, i.e., countries where website traffic can be converted into purchases. Most visitors to Nudie’s website come from convertible countries.
References
Augustine, D. (2012). Good practice in corporate governance transparency, trust, and performance in the microfinance industry. Business & Society, 51(4), 659–676.
Barrientos, S., & Smith, S. (2007). Do workers benefit from ethical trade? Assessing codes of labour practice in global production systems. Third World Quarterly, 28(4), 713–729.
Bartley, T. (2007). Institutional emergence in an era of globalization: The rise of transnational private regulation of labor and environmental conditions. American Journal of Sociology, 113(2), 297–351.
Bhaduri, G., & Ha-Brookshire, J. E. (2011). Do transparent business practices pay? Exploration of transparency and consumer purchase intention. Clothing & Textiles Research Journal, 29(2), 135–149.
Biel, A., & Dahlstrand, U. (2005). Values and habits: A dual-process model. In S. Krarup & C. S. Russel (Eds.), Environment, information and consumer behavior (pp. 33–50). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Boring, E. G. (1954). The nature and history of experimental control. American Journal of Psychology, 67(4), 573–589.
Boström, M., & Klintman, M. (2011). Eco-standards, product labelling and green consumerism. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Boström, M., Börjeson, N., Gilek, M., Jönsson, A. M., & Karlsson, M. (2012). Responsible procurement and complex product chains: The case of chemical risks in textiles. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 55(1), 95–111.
Bradu, C., Orquin, J. L., & Thøgersen, J. (2014). The mediated influence of a traceability label on consumer’s willingness to buy the labelled product. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(2), 283-295.
Carter, C. R., & Rogers, D. S. (2008). A framework of sustainable supply chain management: Moving toward new theory. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 38(5), 360–387.
Chapman, J. (1995). Transparency? What transparency? Business Ethics: A European Review, 4(3), 139–142.
Cochoy, F. (2012). In datamatrix veritas? Managing wine flow and information overflow with a two dimensional barcode. In B. Czarniawska & O. Löfgren (Eds.), Managing overflow. New York: Routledge.
Connolly, J., & Prothero, A. (2008). Green consumption: Life-politics, risk and contradictions. Journal of Consumer Culture, 8(1), 117–145.
Cramer, J. M. (2008). Organising corporate social responsibility in international product chains. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16, 395–400.
Dingwerth, K., & Eichinger, M. (2010). Tamed transparency: How information disclosure under the global reporting initiative fails to empower. Global Environmental Politics, 10(3), 74–96.
Doorey, D. J. (2011). The transparent supply chain: from resistance to implementation at Nike and Levi-Strauss. Journal of Business Ethics, 103(4), 587–603.
Dubbink, W. (2007). Transparency gained, morality lost: A critique of the administrative conceptualization of CSR, illustrated by Dutch policy. Business and Society Review, 112(2), 287–313.
Egels-Zandén, N. (2007). Suppliers’ compliance with MNCs' codes of conduct: Behind the scenes at Chinese toy suppliers. Journal of Business Ethics, 75(1), 45–62.
Egels-Zandén, N. (2014). Revisiting supplier compliance with MNC codes of conduct: Recoupling policy and practice at Chinese toy suppliers. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(1), 59–75.
Egels-Zandén, N., & Merk, J. (2014). Private regulation and trade union rights: Why codes of conduct have limited impact on trade union rights. Journal of Business Ethics, 123, 461–473.
Egels-Zandén, N., Hulthén, K., & Wulff, G. (2014). Trade-offs in supply chain transparency: The case of Nudie Jeans Co. Journal of Cleaner Production (in press).
Eisenhardt, K., & Graebner, M. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25–32.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2001). Making social science matter: Why social inquiry fails and how it can succeed again. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fung, A. (2013). Infotopia: Unleashing the democratic power of transparency. Politics & Society, 41(2), 183–212.
Garsten, C., & Montoya, M. L. (2008). Transparency in a new global order: Unveiling organizational visions. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hahn, R., & Kühnen, M. (2013). Determinants of sustainability reporting: A review of results, trends, theory, and opportunities in an expanding field of research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 59, 5–21.
Halkier, B. (1999). Consequences of the politicization of consumption: The example of environmental friendly consumption practices. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 1(1), 25–41.
Halkier, B. (2009). A practice theoretical perspective on everyday dealings with environmental challenges of food consumption, Anthropology of food.
Hansen, U., & Schrader, U. (1997). A modern model of consumption for a sustainable society. Journal of Consumer Policy, 20(4), 443–468.
Hess, D. (2007). Social reporting and new governance regulation: The prospects of achieving corporate accountability through transparency. Business Ethics Quarterly, 17(3), 453–476.
Horne, R. E. (2009). Limits to labels: The role of eco-labels in the assessment of product sustainability and routes to sustainable consumption. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33, 175–182.
Iles, A. (2007). Making the seafood industry more sustainable: Creating production chain transparency and accountability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15, 577–589.
Insch, A. (2008). Online communication of corporate environmental citizenship: A study of New Zealand’s electricity and gas retailers. Journal of Marketing Communications, 14(2), 139–153.
Kuchler, F., Krissoff, B., & Harvey, D. (2010). Do consumers respond to country-of-origin labelling? Journal of Consumer Policy, 33, 323–337.
Laudal, T. (2010). An attempt to determine the CSR potential of the international clothing business. Journal of Business Ethics, 96, 63–77.
Lehnert, K., Park, Y. H., & Singh, N. (2014). Research note and review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature: Boundary conditions and extensions. Journal of Business Ethics (in press).
Lekakis, E. J. (2013). Coffee activism and the politics of fair trade and ethical consumption in the global north: Political consumerism and cultural citizenship. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Levy, D. L. (2008). Political contestation in global production networks. Academy of Management Review, 33(4), 943–963.
Locke, R. M., Qin, F., & Brause, A. (2007). Does monitoring improve labor standards? Lessons from Nike. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 61(1), 3–31.
Luchs, M. G., & Mooradian, T. A. (2012). Sex, personality, and sustainable consumer behaviour: Elucidating the gender effect. Journal of Consumer Policy, 35, 127–144.
Lund-Thomsen, P. (2013). Labor agency in the football manufacturing industry of Sialkot, Pakistan. Geoforum, 44, 71–81.
MacLean, R., & Rebernak, K. (2007). Closing the credibility gap: the challenges of corporate responsibility reporting. Environmental Quality Management, 16(4), 1–6.
Marjen, M. (1994). Infoglut and competing problems. Futures, 26, 246–256.
Markkula, A., & Moisander, J. (2012). Discursive confusion over sustainable consumption: A discursive perspective on the perplexity of marketplace knowledge. Journal of Consumer Policy, 35, 105–125.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1995). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Martinez, E. O., & Crowther, D. (2008). Is disclosure the right way to comply with stakeholders? The Shell case. Business Ethics: A European Review, 17(1), 13–22.
Micheletti, M. (2003). Political virtue and shopping: Individuals, consumerism, and collective action. New York: Palgrave.
Moisander, J. (2007). Motivational complexity of green consumerism. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 31, 404–409.
Mol, A. P. J. (2014). Transparency and value chain sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production (in press).
Ostman, R., & Parker, J. (1987). Impact on education, age, newspapers and television on environmental knowledge, concerns and behaviours. Journal of Environmental Education, 19(1), 3–9.
Peattie, K., & Crane, A. (2005). Green marketing: Legend, myth, farce or prophesy? Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 8(4), 357–370.
Pedersen, E. R., & Neergaard, P. (2006). Caveat emptor—let the buyer beware! Environmental labelling and the limitations of “green” consumerism. Business Strategy and the Environment, 15(1), 15–29.
Schau, E. M., & Fet, A. M. (2008). LCA studies of food products as background for environmental product declarations. International Journal of LCA, 13(3), 255–264.
Singh, J., García de los Salmones Sánchez, M. M., & del Bosque, I. R. (2008). Understanding corporate social responsibility and product perceptions in consumer markets: a cross-cultural evaluation. Journal of Business Ethics, 80, 597–611.
Stouffer, S. A. (1949). The American soldier. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Toppinen, A., & Korhonen-Kurki, K. (2013). Global reporting initiative and social impact in managing corporate responsibility: A case study of three multinationals in the forest industry. Business Ethics: A European Review, 22(2), 202–217.
Valor, C. (2007). The influence of information about labour abuses on consumer choice of clothes: A grounded theory approach. Journal of Marketing Management, 23(7–8), 675–695.
Wagg, O. (2012). Transparency: Clear wins. Ethical Corporation 19–21.
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Young, C. W., Hwang, K., McDonald, S., & Oates, C. (2010). Sustainable consumption: Green consumer behavior when purchasing products. Sustainable Development, 18, 18–31.
Zyglidopoulos, S., & Fleming, P. (2011). Corporate accountability and the politics of visibility in ‘late modernity’. Organization, 18(5), 691–706.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Swedish Retail and Wholesale Development Council (first author) and the Swedish Research Council (second author).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Egels-Zandén, N., Hansson, N. Supply Chain Transparency as a Consumer or Corporate Tool: The Case of Nudie Jeans Co. J Consum Policy 39, 377–395 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-015-9283-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-015-9283-7