Stakeholder Salience and Firm’s Accountability on Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices: A Case of MaxTech, Africa

Abstract

Organizations are faced with stiff pressure from various stakeholders, a fact that has triggered management to think beyond the idea of shareholder wealth maximization. In order to achieve this, environmental and social concerns have been considered as pertinent issues in attaining sustainability. The present study aims to investigate how stakeholder salience, based on stakeholder power, legitimacy and urgency impacts on Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) practices. The study adopts a case study design, focusing on MaxTech, one of Africa’s most innovative cellular firms. The study solicited data from management and selected stakeholders, including community, telecoms regulator, corporate customers, and the suppliers to represent different salience levels. The study used semi structured interview protocol to solicit data. This study was analyzed by use of content analysis. The study revealed that the more the number of attributes a stakeholder has, the more attention she is accorded and hence she has more influence on MaxTech’s SSCM practices. Managers need to understand how to prioritize their stakeholders in order to effectively manage their expectations while sustaining the firm’s bottom line.