January 1, 2025Open Access

Global Sustainable Supply Chain Governance, Effectiveness of Social Responsibility, and Performance in Emergent Markets: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study

XYXiang YongshengZhejiang Gongshang University LYLiu YingquanZhejiang Gongshang University

Key Points

High relational governance combined with low contractual governance enhances social responsibility and performance.
The study found that contractual and relational governance can substitute and complement each other under different circumstances.
Assessment involved eight toy suppliers from China, Vietnam, and India, employing grounded analysis and multi-case study methods.
Governance combinations must adapt to supplier capability and environmental complexity to improve supply chain effectiveness.

Abstract

ABSTRACT We selected eight toy suppliers from three emerging markets: China, Vietnam, and India, as research objects and adopted grounded analysis and multi-case study to explore the effectiveness, interrelationship, and function contexts of the global supply chain governance model. The study found that (1) contractual governance and relational governance affect the performance of suppliers’ social responsibilities and the overall performance of the supply chain; (2) the relationship between the two governance models can have a substitute view and a complementary view. They have similar functions and unique functions, which can have different advantages under different circumstances; and (3) in global supply chain governance of emergent markets, three combinations of the two governance models effectively promote social responsibility and performance: the combination of high relational and low contractual governance, the combination where relational and contractual governance are balanced, and the combination of high contractual and low relational governance. The conditions required to select an appropriate combination of governance models for a supply chain include the supplier’s capability, the cooperation time and experience of the two parties, the goal congruence, and the institutional distance. The selection of an adequate combination for supply chain governance must consider the complexity and variability of the emerging market environment. Additionally, the weight of contractual governance and relational governance should be reasonably selected and dynamically adjusted to effectively play their respective roles and functional superposition. Our research may reduce exploitation in global supply chains, accelerate green transitions, and improve livelihoods and strengthen long-term resilience by aligning profit motives with social and environmental good.

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