Purpose - This paper aims to explore the effect of business strategy on
socially responsible supply chain management (SR-SCM).
Design/methodology/approach - This study draws on data from 178 UK-based
companies, and 340 buyer-supplier relationships. A novel data
collection approach is used, which minimizes social desirability and
common methods bias, to capture socially responsible supply chain
management. The data are analysed through a set of OLS regressions.
Findings - Business strategies significantly influence socially
responsible supply chain management. Low-cost producers largely neglect
their social responsibilities in the supply chain. In contrast, firms
pursuing differentiation strategies are considerably more engaged with
these issues, partly because they have better supply chain processes.
Practical implications - Practitioners should carefully consider the fit
between strategic position and level of engagement with SR-SCM, since
our results emphasise the relationship between SR-SCM and business
strategy. Proactive engagement with SR-SCM, however, also implies sound
supply chain processes, which must also be aligned with business
strategy. Policy-makers should consider the low engagement with SR-SCM
of low-cost producers and the implications for SR-SCM in cost sensitive
and competitive global markets. Originality/value - This is the first
systematic cross-sectional study of the relationship between business
strategy and socially responsible supply chain management (SR-SCM).
These results suggest that there is a clear relationship between the
strategic position of the firm and their SR-SCM practices. These results
contribute to the on-going debate on relationships between strategy and
supply chain management, and the emerging debate on the relationships
between strategy and SR-SCM.