Sustainability outcomes in multi-tier supply chains: an empirical study of Turkish manufacturing firms
研究了土耳其上市公司中不同供应链位置（如原始设备制造商、一级供应商和次级供应商）对可持续性和财务绩效的影响，发现供应商财务表现更好但可持续性落后，尤其一级供应商差距更大。
To formulate multi-tier supply chain management strategies with global impact, understanding the roles of various supply chain partners in disseminating sustainability along the supply chain is crucial. We analyze the influence of different supply chain positions on sustainability and financial outcomes of Turkish manufacturing companies listed in İstanbul Stock Exchange (BIST). We propose a sustainability measure, and rank firms according to their sustainability practices in relation to their financial outcomes using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We estimate Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) equations to control for the common financial shocks that can affect sustainability and financial outcomes simultaneously. Our analysis reveals that first-tier and sub-supplier (second-tier and lower-tiers) firms’ financial performance is substantially better compared to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) firms while their sustainability outcomes stay behind. We find that this latter effect is more profound for first-tier firms. Although the supplier firms generally comply with the OEM’s product standards, our results show that they are not aligned with the OEM in terms of the environmental and social impact of their operations. Given the crucial role of first-tier suppliers in sustainability dissemination along the supply chain, policies should be formulated in this industry amid these characteristics of the sustainability dissemination.