The Costs and Benefits of Supply Chain Transparency

Image of a microscope with a container freight under the lens

A new paper by Stanford Graduate School of Business and Georgia Tech, addresses the question of whether it is better to let the Unilevers and Walmarts of the world report voluntarily on their own suppliers' social and environmental impacts or should they be compelled to by law or other mandates. Using a Bayes model to track the dynamics and variations of supply chain transparency, the researchers try to determine whether mandatory or voluntary disclosure is more effective in reducing suppliers' impacts.