Title: Supply chain configuration and moral disengagement

Authors: David Eriksson; Per Hilletofth; Olli-Pekka Hilmola

Addresses: School of Engineering, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, School of Engineering, Jönköping University, P.O. Box 1026, SE-551 11, Jönköping, Sweden ' Lappeenranta University of Technology, Kouvola Research Unit, Prikaatintie 9, FIN-45100 Kouvola, Finland

Abstract: This research shows that supply chain configuration may facilitate or restrict opportunities of moral disengagement. It is proposed that a moral decoupling point is a point through which materials, information, and money may be transferred, while acting as a roadblock for moral responsibility. Decoupling points allow researchers to understand how moral responsibility is connected with supply chain configuration. By mapping and removing moral decoupling points managers can structure their supply chains to increase moral responsibility of employees and better fulfil ethical guidelines. Empirical material is two-fold in this study. Firstly we investigate media reports of four cases, where Swedish companies' moral is questioned. This is complemented with three real-life case studies from three global Swedish led textile companies.

Keywords: moral disengagement; moral decoupling; ethics; supply chain management; SCM; supply chain configuration; moral responsibility; ethical guidelines; Sweden; textile industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPM.2013.056764

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2013 Vol.6 No.6, pp.718 - 736

Published online: 30 Jan 2014 *

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