Supply chain risk management for a sustainable strategy: a study in the furniture industry

Risk prevention and mitigation strategies, deriving from total-quality-oriented internalization choices, cannot be observed regardless of the strategic orientation adopted by a business in managing its supply chain. The aim of the paper is to investigate how a business can manage the risk of social sustainability deriving from total-quality-oriented internalization strategies. A case study is conducted in the furniture industry, for which data are collected through qualitative interviews with the management. The data shows that the supplier’s involvement in implementing buyers’ marketing strategy can support the latter in mitigating the social sustainability risk. The sharing of strategic marketing objectives becomes a driver of change for the supplier at both an organizational and a relational level: it can support the buyer in mitigating the reputational risk within the business network and the local community and the risk of social sustainability created by vertical integration choices. In the academic debate, limited attention is paid to the relationship between supply chain risk management and sustainability. The paper aims to fill this gap.