What does it mean for a corporation to take responsibility for its supply chain?
| Date | 24 August 2022 |
| Pages | 1418-1425 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-06-2022-0136 |
| Published date | 24 August 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
| Author | Fabian Maximilian Johannes Teichmann,Chiara Wittmann |
What does it mean for
a corporation to take
responsibility for its supply chain?
Fabian Maximilian Johannes Teichmann and Chiara Wittmann
Teichmann International (Schweiz) AG, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Abstract
Purpose –Through the lensof ethical appreciation, this paper aims to discuss whatit means for a company
to claim taking responsibility for its supply chain and whether this is a reasonable demand to make by
corporations.
Design/methodology/approach –The place of ethics in economicand legislation is not selfevident. The
intersection of ethics and economics through the topic of supply chains is approached by breaking down,
respectively,the integral features of supply chains and the ethical considerationsin compliance regulations.
Findings –The transnational nature of global supply chains, the depth of manufacturing tiers and the
power asymmetries between buyer and seller are some of the fundamental sticking points in dissecting
corporatesocial responsibility.
Originality/value –This paper uses a unique parallel perspective of the broad ethical concerns, which
have developedunder the umbrella term of responsibility, as well as thefiner ethical details which are integral
to supply chainsas international structures of dependency.
Keywords Regulation, Compliance, Corporate social responsibility, Ethics and economics, LkSG,
Supply chain laws
Paper type Viewpoint
Responsibility in a corporate context
Supply chains are a question of responsibility.In the last decade, countless issues pertaining
to the regulation of supply chains have arisen with partially or insufficiently satisfying
answers. Many voices have weaponized “responsibility”in the discussion of supply chains
without critically examining what this notion of responsibility entails in the legal and
economic context. Amongst this cacophony, the German “Act on Corporate Due Diligence
Obligations for the Prevention of Human Rights Violations in Supply Chains”chimes in.
Although the noble intentionsbehind it are discernible, there are crucial weakness in the Act
that leaves it vulnerable toexploitation. Furthermore, both legislator and corporationsmust
recognize their influence on one another,as how they choose to adopt responsibility defines
their roles and their respective relationship. The social narrative pushing corporate
responsibility has laid a heavyburden on legislation. This is arguably overshooting the role
of legislation. Whilst ethical obligations no doubt inform legislation, the two cannot be
conflated. Rather, a closerdissection is warranted.
The notion of “responsibility”has carved a space for itself in the modern legal context with
such selfassurance that it often goes unquestioned. Responsibility, as used by the International
Labor Convention and the United Nations, does not strictly correspond with its original
meaning in Anglo-American law, nevermind its varied translations in national laws as well as
its association with liability (Barboza, 2011). In its nascent legal context, responsibility referred
to the legal consequences following the breach of an international obligation (Barboza, 2011).
JFC
30,5
1418
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.30 No. 5, 2023
pp. 1418-1425
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-06-2022-0136
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1359-0790.htm
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