A conceptualization of corporate social (ir)responsibility and moral intensity in the supply chain
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 1 October 2019
Issue publication date: 18 March 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) within the supply chain. The discussion focuses on the social component of social responsibility and explores its effects on end-users. Moreover, this paper presents moral intensity, a construct introduced in the ethics literature, as a potential guide to managers who struggle to navigate the gray area between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CSI.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conceptualizes CSI within the supply chain and offers a framework and propositions for understanding and preventing irresponsible behavior from a moral intensity perspective.
Findings
The moral intensity framework provides a normative approach with the potential to guide managers who face choices involving decisions that might lead to irresponsible behavior in interorganizational settings.
Originality/value
This paper draws attention to business-to-business CSI and the limited research that focuses on the social aspects of CSR, rather than the environmental and economic factors emphasized in prior research. It also introduces the moral intensity framework to the supply chain literature and highlights the end-user’s (i.e. consumer’s) role in influencing the performance of the overall value chain.
Keywords
Citation
Ferguson, J., Brown, B. and Boyd, D.E. (2020), "A conceptualization of corporate social (ir)responsibility and moral intensity in the supply chain", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 602-611. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-01-2019-0031
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited