PAPER: Transparency in Supply Chains

Transformational Transparency in Supply Chains: Leveraging Technology to Drive Radical Change

November 2022

Searcy C, Castka P, Mohr J, Fischer S 2022. Transformational Transparency in Supply Chains: Leveraging Technology to Drive Radical Change. California Management Review 65(1): 19-43.

ABSTRACT

Many companies are implementing transparency initiatives to improve environmental and social impacts throughout their supply chains. Meaningful change, however, is elusive, and transparency efforts are often criticized as legitimizing mechanisms or “window-dressing.” This article introduces a model of transformational transparency that enables new insights to drive radical change in companies and supply chains, as well as in industries and society at large. The model highlights the need for technological investments grounded in improving data, empowering stakeholders, and applying moral leadership. It presents examples that demonstrate how the model allows companies to foster dramatic improvements in social and environmental impacts.

KEYWORDS

transparency; transformation; supply chain; social; environmental; sustainability; technology; moral leadership; citizen science; sustainability; legitimacy; strategy; trust