Tackling modern slavery in supply chains through business-NGO collaborations

Strand, Vanja 2024. Tackling modern slavery in supply chains through business-NGO collaborations. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine business-NGO (B2N) collaborations to tackle modern slavery in supply chains. Anti-slavery B2N collaborations are found to be a research gap from the systematic literature review on modern slavery in supply chains. A qualitative approach is taken through semi-structured interviews with 24 NGO and business representatives working directly with the collaborative efforts focused on tackling modern slavery in supply chains. The interview data is transcribed and analysed through NVivo. A primary and a secondary theoretical focus is also applied. The primary focus of this thesis is the relational view and its forerunner, social capital theory, whilst the secondary focus consists of three antecedent theories, namely stakeholder-, institutional-, and legitimacy theory. Reasons for collaboration, collaborative structures, influencing factors for successful collaborations, and outcomes are addressed through this study. External pressures and internal factors are found to drive anti-slavery B2N collaborations. The structures of anti-slavery B2N collaborations include primarily multi-stakeholder initiative (MSI) and dyad collaborations, which are found to have different business and social impact levels. Enablers of successful B2N collaborations include social capital, complementary resources and capabilities, knowledge-sharing routines, effective governance mechanisms, relation-specific assets, and cross-functional alignment. Interconnections between social capital and the relational view are also found. However, specific challenges can also influence the outcomes of such collaborations, e.g., legislation challenges. It is nonetheless found that anti-slavery B2N collaborations rarely end in animosity. A particularly interesting finding is the non-competitive environment that anti-slavery B2N collaborations work within, which stops partners from seeking competitive advantage or preserving relational rents. This research enhances the fields of sustainable supply chain management, and particularly modern slavery in supply chains, by adding primary empirical evidence and theoretical contribution, whilst also suggesting avenues of improvement for practitioners and policymakers.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Last Modified:	15 May 2025 15:44
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178304

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