Sustainability in global commodity trade: successful responsible entrepreneurship or fallacious market capture?

Abstract

In western countries NGOs have increasingly been pressing spearheaded firms to bring their corporate social responsibility into practice, especially in this international context. In response to this European and American producers and retailers are increasingly applying new forms of cooperation and self-regulation; apply sustainability standards for imported products. In this paper we will present an analysis of scientific literature presented in scientific journals covered in Scopus. Scientists have been supporting this development by suggesting new methodologies for sustainable supply chain management and have provided critical analysis of such new practices. A multi-faceted debate is growing in the international literature. We see a strong growth and inputs from many different relevant disciplines. Most of the academic work is either theoretical or based on single case studies or case comparisons. We will identify the main issues in this new field of research, the conditions for successful governance for sustainability in global supply chains and the level of consensus or disagreement about this route for contributing to the reduction of poverty and hunger in developing countries.