The Importance of Logistic Risk for Achieving Corporate Social Responsibility Goals in Supply Chains

Abstract

Various supply chain stakeholders show an increasing interest in environmental and social issues related to business, since it has become a crucial factor in creating competitive advantage. Among the concepts that have been used – apart from CSR – are sustainable development, corporate citizenship, sustainable entrepreneurship, the triple bottom line, and business ethics. The need for CSR in supply chains should particularly be seen in light of the fact that a large part of their operations is conducted through systems of governance, which link firms together in various sourcing and contracting arrangements. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept of large relevance for business in general and within logistics specifically. Responsibility of businesses involved in supply chains can increasingly be found high on the CSR-agenda of European companies and governments. However, despite all these efforts and standards, a number of CSR issues connected to logistics issues still remain unsolved. One of these areas is the relationship between risk situations and social and environmental issues, which companies in the supply chain try to manage. In literature many different sources of logistic risks for supply chain management were discussed. Even though there is a stream of literature investigating risk in supply chains, there has been little research applied to the precise analysis of logistics risk within the framework of the CSR concept. The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to provide insight into the role of different types of risk connected to logistics processes while implementing the main areas of the CSR concept.