Achieving a socially responsible supply chain through assessment and collaboration

Our study analyzes the effectiveness of two sustainable supply management practices (i.e., assessment and collaboration) on achieving a socially responsible supply chain. Based on data from 120 Spanish manufacturers the paper investigates the impact that both practices have on the buying firm's and the supplier's social performances. SmartPLS was used to test the hypothesized relationships between practices and performance. Our results suggest that while assessing suppliers contributes to improve the buying firm's social performance, collaborating with them enhances the suppliers' social performance. Furthermore, the paper provides some additional insights on how to measure social performance. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.