Conceptual aspects of voluntary sustainability initiatives in the context of proactive sustainability strategies for supply chains

Abstract

In order to outline the scope of this thesis and set forth the unit of analysis, a conceptual definition must be derived from the literature. Defining the research focus from a conceptual viewpoint is achieved in three sections. In Section 2.1., the concept of proactive sustainability strategies for supply chains is found in the literature. This concept will serve as the research context in which the phenomenon of designing voluntary sustainability initiatives will be examined. This chapter will then present the circumstances in which companies design these strategies in the form of voluntary sustainability initiatives. In this context, it is shown that legitimacy and stakeholders play an important role in designing sustainability strategies (see Section 2.2.), and that the involvement of multiple stakeholders leads to voluntary sustainability initiatives comprising several legitimising elements (see Section 2.3.).