Implementing socially responsible purchasing : an evolution model

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become mandatory in the current economic era. Socially Responsible Purchasing (SRP) is a derivative of CSR and relates to the acquisition of external resources at the most favorable conditions. ‘Most favorable’ here also includes ‘socially responsible’. At the same time, little is known about what organizations can do to ensure social responsibility throughout their supply chain. This paper addresses the topic of how the purchasing function in organizations can be turned into a window of opportunity for creating sustainable supply chains. By reviewing literature a preliminary Socially Responsible Purchasing Development Model is proposed. This model was refined through a focus group discussion and company documentation analysis. An in-depth case study at an organization (i.e. a leading European bank) highly committed to CSR provided for an empirical assessment of our Socially Responsible Purchasing Development Model. Based on this assessment this paper delineates the major challenges that must be addressed when putting SRP in practice. Our study demonstrates that the tactical process of prioritization of SRP activities is the main reason for the apparent mismatch between the initial ambitions of (purchasing) managers on one hand and the structural role out of the SRP project studied on the other hand