Abstract:
The aspirations of companies to improve their social sustainability performance
through the supply chain have led to a renewed interest in supplier diversity. Notwithstanding
this renewed interest, recent studies indicate that companies' implementation of supplier
diversity remains inadequate, with only 15% of the Fortune Global Companies having formal
diversity programs. This paper aims to critically examine the existing literature on the
successful implementation of supplier diversity, to understand the theoretical underpinnings of
this phenomenon, and to elucidate opportunities for future research.
Methodology: This paper uses a structured literature review of 61 articles from highly ranked
journals from Scopus and Web of Science databases to foster a deeper understanding of
supplier diversity. Moreover, the paper adopts an inductive thematic analysis to unearth
themes from the literature.
Findings: The review suggests that supplier diversity literature is under-researched within the
context of supply chain management. Consequently, buyers often perceive supplier diversity
as an onerous obligation that conflicts with supply chain objectives rather than a strategic
business imperative. Furthermore, companies are increasingly aware that strong ESG
performance can enhance their brand reputation, leading to a growing prioritisation of supplier
diversity as a social sustainability dimension.
Limitations: The time constraint may impact the comprehensiveness of the study. There is a
risk of excluding some articles from the low-ranked journals because of the predefined
inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Practical implications: The paper introduces an implementation framework to aid
practitioners in successfully implementing supplier diversity.
Originality/value (theory): The paper contributes to the supplier diversity literature by
integrating findings from diverse and fragmented studies and facilitating a clearer
understanding of the literature. The paper also contributes to theory by critically analysing how
different theories relate to each other in explaining supplier diversity in an implementation
framework. Additionally, the paper provides an original contribution by providing an analytical
framework showing how the theoretical explanations mutually reinforce a suboptimal
performance on supplier diversity in a vicious cycle of disempowerment.
