Static supply chain complexity and sustainability practices: A multitier examination

The issue of sustainability is receiving increasing attention, and this debate now needs to be extended to consider the perspective of the supply chain. This article aims to investigate sustainability choices made along the supply chain (SC) by considering the static complexity of the SC. It investigates the different perspectives and tensions that can exist between SC partners when sustainability programs are introduced. Through 18 cases, the aarticle addresses the different types of static SC complexity faced by the different tiers of the SC. For the focal company, the complexity is both upstream and downstream: for first-tier suppliers, it is upstream, and for second-tier suppliers, the complexity is largely downstream. These various types of complexity require the adoption of different sustainability practices: for the focal company, these involve sourcing and organizational practices; for the first-tier suppliers, they involve sourcing practices; and for the second-tier suppliers, organizational practices.