Sustainable strategic sourcing decisions: The logic of appropriateness applied to the Brazilian market

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the factors that influence strategic sourcing decisions to the Brazilian market based on societal and natural values.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study method is used because of its suitability for exploring how a Scandinavian multinational corporation can respond to the social context in the Brazilian market by matching, in competition with other firms, its own values, norms and beliefs to those prevailing in the Brazilian market.

Findings

The response to the social context in the Brazilian market and the integration with the group's ethical standards comprise certain appropriate corporate social responsibility practices that result in natural and social benefits for the stakeholders, which in turn creates social advantages.

Research limitations/implications

The study is focused on the Brazilian market and would benefit from the availability of data in other emerging country markets that pose potential outsourcing destinations, enabling a comprehensive analysis from an integrated economic and sustainability perspective, including how societal advantages are transformed into competitive advantages.

Practical implications

Management scholars should apply a socio‐economic perspective to strategic sourcing decisions in emerging country markets in accordance with the logic of appropriateness, which enables a broader and more holistic approach towards strategic sourcing decisions, what influences them, how to sustain them, and deciding how to effectively match the requirements of the external institutional setting of the specific emerging country market and how to establish relationships between decision makers on global and regional levels.

Originality/value

In contrast to authors who have theorized about strategic sourcing decisions from an economic market perspective, a socio‐economic approach is taken in this paper to establish an institutional base and a network foundation for analyzing the social context of the Brazilian market.

Citation

Timlon, J. (2011), "Sustainable strategic sourcing decisions: The logic of appropriateness applied to the Brazilian market", Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 89-106. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538291111108444