Modern Slavery Responses Need International Business Scholarship

Modern slavery challenges our traditional approaches to business and business research. It questions a puristic focus on financial profits and some of the commonly used mechanisms in global supply chains such as outsourcing and the creation of long - and often unmonitored - global supply chains in which the undercutting of social standards and active ignorance of human rights violations form part of the business model. We can learn from the more ethically oriented businesses already leading against modern slavery in global supply chains, such as cosmetics firm Lush or building materials supplier Marshalls, and from the business responses that were triggered predominantly by recent legislation such as the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act that came into effect in 2012, the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015, and also by studying the mechanisms that have been established for longer such as the Brazilian Lista Suja (created in 2004). Through these legislative changes modern slavery turned from a niche interest into a widely recognized topic that affects business practice and research: CSR, sustainability reporting, collaboration with stakeholders, ethical investment, supplier development, the responsible recruitment of workers, business regulation, supply chain visibility are only some examples of the many aspects of international business that need new knowledge and approaches to address and challenge modern slavery

Managers' perceptions of modern slavery risk in a UK health-care supply network

In this paper we argue that, to fully understand managers’ perceptions of modern slavery risk in the context of a UK health-care supply chain, it is necessary to adopt a ‘labour’ supply chain lens that puts the employment relationship at the heart of socially-sustainable supply chain management practice. The distancing and dismantling of employee relations we found, when coupled with an increase in staff turnover, may increase modern slavery risk for permanent, as well as temporary employees, close to the point of commissioning. The implications of this research for policy makers, educators, management practitioners and future research are discussed

Preparing business students for workplace reality: using global virtual teams in logistics and SCM education

Purpose: This paper presents and examines the use and effects of global virtual teams as a tool in the logistics and supply chain management classroom to prepare students in a simulation environment for the demands of their future careers in the profession. Design/methodology/approach: Literature of logistics and supply chain management education is combined with streams from management learning literature. The way the tool of global virtual teams was applied is explained, followed by an analysis of quantitative and qualitative participant response data. From the data analysis the effects of individual factors in the design and application of the global virtual team are isolated and recommendations are extracted for future use of the tool. Findings: The paper finds that the application of global virtual teams helped participating students to develop the management skills required for a career in logistics and supply chain management. Although students perceived the international nature and the lose frame provided by the tool as challenges, most learning effects were caused by these challenges. The paper also shows that the set up by the involved educators is crucial for the learning effect in particular towards similar weights of the assessments and the number of group members from each geographical area. Research limitations/implications: The paper does not examine all potentially amendable factors but focusses on those that were seen as relevant and practically achievable under the available resources to ensure the tool can be easily scaled up by adding further institutions and participants. Originality/value: The paper is the first application of global virtual teams in logistics and supply chain management education. It provides the theoretical foundations and rationale for its application and is relevant to educators by giving them access to this tool for improvement of their students’ career preparedness

From bricks-and-mortar to bricks-and-clicks: logistics networks in omni-channel grocery retailing

Purpose: The advent of grocery sales through online channels necessitates that bricks-and-mortar retailers redefine their logistics networks if they want to compete online. Because the general understanding of such bricks-and-clicks logistics systems for grocery is still limited, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the internal logistics networks used to serve customers across channels by means of an exploratory study with retailers from different contexts. Design/methodology/approach: A total of twelve case companies from six European countries participated in this exploratory study. Face-to-face interviews with managers were the primary source for data collection. The heterogeneity of our sample enabled us to build a common understanding of logistics networks in grocery retailing on multiple channels and to understand the advantages of different warehousing, picking, internal transportation and last-mile delivery systems. Findings: Bricks-and-mortar grocery retailers are leveraging their existing logistics structures to fulfill online orders. Logistics networks are mostly determined by the question of where to split case packs into customer units. In non-food logistics channel integration is mostly seen as beneficial, but in grocery retailing this depends heavily on product, market and retailer specifics. The data from our heterogeneous sample reveals six distinct types for cross-channel order fulfillment. Practical implications: Our qualitative analysis of different design options can serve as decision support for retailers developing logistics networks to serve customers across channels. Originality/value: The paper shows the internal and external factors that drive the decisionmaking for omni-channel logistics networks for previously store-based grocery retailers. Thereby it makes a step towards building a contingency and configuration theory of retail networks design. It discusses in particular the differences between grocery and non-food omni-channel retailing, lastmile delivery systems and market characteristics in the decision-making of retail networks design

Modern slavery challenges to supply chain management

Purpose – This paper aims to draw attention to the challenges modern slavery poses to supply chain management. Although many international supply chains are (most often unknowingly) connected to slave labour activities, supply chain managers and researchers have so far neglected the issue. This will most likely change as soon as civil society lobbying and new legislation impose increasing litigation and reputational risks on companies operating international supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a definition of slavery; explores potentials for knowledge exchange with other disciplines; discusses management tools for detecting slavery, as well as suitable company responses after its detection; and outlines avenues for future research. Findings – Due to a lack of effective indicators, new tools and indicator systems need to be developed that consider the specific social, cultural and geographical context of supply regions. After detection of slavery, multi-stakeholder partnerships, community-centred approaches and supplier development appear to be effective responses. Research limitations/implications – New theory development in supply chain management (SCM) is urgently needed to facilitate the understanding, avoidance and elimination of slavery in supply chains. As a starting point for future research, the challenges of slavery to SCM are conceptualised, focussing on capabilities and specific institutional context. Practical implications – The paper provides a starting point for the development of practices and tools for identifying and removing slave labour from supply chains. Originality/value – Although representing a substantial threat to current supply chain models, slavery has so far not been addressed in SCM research

Agent based modelling as a decision support system for shadow accounting

We propose the use of agent based modelling to create a shadow account, that is, a secondary account of a business which is used to audit or verify the primary ac¬count. Such a model could be used to test the claims of industries and businesses. For example, the model could determine whether a business is generating enough funds to pay minimum wage. Parameters in the model can be set by observation or a range of values can be tested to determine points at which enough revenue could be generated. We illustrate the potential of agent based modelling as a tool for shadow accounting with a case study of a car wash business

Adoption and transferability of joint interventions to fight modern slavery in food supply chains

More than 50 million people in the world are estimated to be in a situation of modern slavery, the most extreme form of labour exploitation. Many of them are working in sectors such as mining and agriculture, which produce price-sensitive commodity products and where workers are particularly vulnerable. Against this challenge, we analyse a successful intervention against modern slavery in a place that has been labelled the “ground zero of modern slavery in the US”. The Fair Food Programme was established in the tomato growing industry in Immokalee, Florida, and is based on an innovative joint action between farmers, buyers, and workers. We use an agent-based model built on qualitative field data to explain the success of the programme and to investigate whether the programme could be successfully transferred to other contextual settings. We model several market structures and measure the time it takes for all actors in the system to join the Fair Food Programme after a shock event (such as a case of modern slavery being discovered) triggered a dynamic of joint action. Our model shows that a high heterogeneity in farmer sizes leads to an increase in the time taken for them all to join the Fair Food Programme, while a high heterogeneity in buyer sizes speeds up reaching the tipping point towards joint action. We discuss these results and their implications for the transferability of the Fair Food Programme as a voluntary, incentive-driven approach towards tackling modern slavery, to other locations and contexts

Understanding labour exploitation in the Spanish agricultural sector using an agent based approach

Using an agent-based model we explore the model of slavery in modern business developed by Crane (2013). Taking the Spanish agricultural sector—specifically the area of Campo de Dalías in Almería where much of Europe's vegetables are grown—as a case, we find that labour exploitation flourishes in communities of like-minded companies that do not care about mainstream norms. We confirm which socio-economic aspects of labour demand/supply lead to slavery, while challenging the assumption that markets which are dominated by few employers are more prone to exploiting workers. We find that, regarding isolation and connectedness of employers, cluster effects and intense inter-employer communication are particularly effective drivers of underpayment if the cluster is homogenous in terms of wage level and if it is isolated from law-abiding employers. This means that employers tend to confirm and reinforce each other in their illegal behaviour, thus creating enclaves in which non-standard norms prevail and worker exploitation is regarded as legitimate. On the other hand, we see that breaking the isolation of employees among each other only increases pay levels if there are law-abiding employers, pointing to the potentially beneficial role social business and entrepreneurs, state-owned companies, or public entrepreneurs could play for transforming labour conditions of entire markets

'For the English to see' or effective change? How supply chains are shaped by laws and regulations and what that means for the exposure of modern slavery

'For the English to see' or effective change?-How supply chains are shaped by laws and regulations and what that means for modern slavery exposure Global supply chains cross and connect judicial systems, providing regulatory and legal frameworks in which supply chains operate. In this article we are investigating the impact of modern slavery laws and other parts of the legal framework surrounding Brazilian-UK beef and timber supply chains and how they interact with supply chain and market characteristics. We start with outlining the current challenges of modern slavery to supply chain management and then explain the history and application of current legal frameworks in which these supply chains operate. We then connect the legal frameworks to supply chain characteristics and dynamics and explain current business practices along the use of two case studies of market-leading businesses. This connection results in a discussion of the modern slavery exposure of the Brazilian-UK beef and timber supply chains. We provide detailed contextual information of the Brazilian-UK beef and timber supply chains and their commercial dynamics. The heterogeneity of these two agricultural supply chains enables a comparison and extraction of relevant factors that impact modern slavery exposure. We also portray mechanisms in place by leading corporations to prevent modern slavery and discuss the limitations of corporate supply chain policing in the context of their commercial realities

How might modern slavery risk in English adult social care procurement be reduced?

UK legislation, in the form of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 (hereafter SVA) and more recently the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (hereafter MSA) has begun to acknowledge the role public procurement can play in improving social sustainability. Specifically in its response to an independent review, in July 2019 the UK Government agreed that it should be subject to the same MSA transparency in supply chains requirements as businesses and that, following consultation, certain other public-sector organisations may also be required to produce an annual statement in accordance with MSA Section 54. 1 We use data from a case study of one English Local Authority (hereafter LA) to identify four types of modern slavery risk in the labour supply chains of its adult social care services: debt bondage; remuneration; recruitment and selection and occupational risk. We discuss how the theoretical model proposed by Gold, Trodd and Trautrims may be used to identify the detection and remediation capabilities required to reduce these risks and discuss some of the barriers that need to be overcome if LAs are to design legally compliant procedures