With the dissertation "Control Through Configuration: Management Control Systems for Performance and Sustainability Compliance in Global Supply Chains" Janet Rasaei is doctor in business administration at Karlstad Business School.
Why should ordinary consumers care about how companies manage their global supply chains?
– The products and services that consumers purchase often depend on activities carried out by suppliers in different countries. My research shows that managing these relationships is more complicated than simply signing a contract with a supplier. Companies need arrangements to monitor performance, coordinate activities, and increasingly demonstrate that they are addressing human rights and environmental risks throughout their supply chains. How companies organize these controls matters for their ability to achieve business objectives and meet sustainability requirements.
What risks arise when companies do not have sufficient control over their international suppliers?
– When companies lack appropriate control arrangements, they may struggle to understand what their suppliers are doing, verify performance, or coordinate activities effectively. This can create misunderstandings, additional management costs, and the risk that international outsourcing fails to deliver its expected benefits. There is also a growing sustainability dimension. Companies subject to binding supply chain due diligence requirements need to identify and address relevant risks and demonstrate what they have done. My research suggests that effective management depends not simply on having more controls, but on combining different controls in ways that fit the client–supplier relationship.
How important is human trust compared with contracts, regulations, and formal control systems?
– Trust is important, but it should be understood as a complement to formal controls and not as an alternative to them. The two serve distinct functions. Contracts, monitoring, and performance measurement provide structure and accountability, whereas trust facilitates cooperation and helps companies manage the uncertainty inherent in working across organizational and national boundaries. In my research, I distinguish between competence trust, meaning confidence in a supplier's capabilities, and goodwill trust, meaning confidence in its willingness to cooperate. Both were present in the two configurations associated with offshoring success identified in my research. Nevertheless, trust does not eliminate the need for formal controls, particularly where companies are legally obliged to document and verify sustainability compliance.
Are today's companies prepared to meet the new sustainability and human rights requirements being imposed on supply chains?
– My research does not permit a general conclusion about whether companies are prepared, since the relevant study examined German-based multinational manufacturing corporations using a qualitative approach. It does show, however, that binding supply chain due diligence requirements were not addressed merely by introducing additional reporting indicators. The companies I studied adapted multiple elements of their management control systems, including planning, monitoring, responsibilities, internal communication, and supplier engagement. The form of adaptation varied with organizational structure, digital maturity, and supply chain complexity. These findings suggest that compliance requires coordinated organizational arrangements rather than isolated sustainability initiatives.
What is the most common misconception people have about global production and international supply chains?
– One assumption that my findings call into question is that the principal managerial challenge is resolved once an activity has been outsourced and a contract concluded. My studies indicate instead that successful offshoring requires continuous coordination, monitoring, and cooperation, all of which entail governance costs. Moreover, no single approach to managing international suppliers guarantees success. What matters is how control mechanisms are combined, how well that combination fits the particular relationship and its circumstances, and how it is adapted over time, both as the relationship evolves and in response to binding sustainability regulation.
