Small worlds within global supply chains: Implications for multinational enterprises’ environmental, social, and governance controversies
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A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
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en
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12
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Journal of International Business Studies, Volume 56, issue 6, pp. 807-818
Abstract
With increasing public attention to corporate sustainability, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) controversies emerging in global supply chains present a growing problem for multinational enterprises (MNEs). This paper investigates whether MNEs with geographically dispersed suppliers are more likely to be exposed to supplier-related ESG controversies. It also explores structural characteristics of global supply chains that can mitigate MNEs’ exposure to such controversies. Building on the literature on supply chain complexity and small-world networks, we suggest that the small-worldness of an MNE’s supply chain network can mitigate the impact of the geographical dispersion of suppliers on supplier-induced ESG controversies. Our analysis of the Fortune 500 largest U.S. companies from 2010 to 2019 reveals that MNEs with geographically dispersed suppliers suffer from more supplier-induced ESG controversies, while small-worldness attenuates such impact. Our findings contribute to the international business literature by highlighting small-worldness as a network structural characteristic that can be deployed by MNEs to mitigate the negative impacts of supply chain spatial complexity.Description
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.
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Chae, S, Filatotchev, I, Kim, S & Son, B G 2025, 'Small worlds within global supply chains: Implications for multinational enterprises’ environmental, social, and governance controversies', Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 807-818. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-025-00796-w