Monitoring the monitors
Subtitle: how social factors influence supply chain auditors
By: Jodi L Short, Michael W. Toffel, Andrea R. Hugill
Contributors: Toffel, Michael W., author; Hugill, Andrea R., author; Harvard Business School
Edition: Revised edition
Series: Working paper / Harvard Business School -- 14-032; Working paper (Harvard Business School) -- 14-032.
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 51
Work titles: What shapes the gatekeepers?
Description: Outsourcing firms increasingly rely on social auditors to provide strategic information about the conduct of their suppliers to manage the reputational risks that can arise from dangerous, illegal, and unethical behavior at supply chain factories. But little is known about what influences auditors' ability to identify and report poor supplier conduct. We find evidence that private supply chain auditors' reporting practices are shaped by several social factors including their experience, gender, and professional training; their ongoing relationships with suppliers; and the gender diversity of their audit teams. By providing the first comprehensive and systematic findings on supply chain auditing practices, our study suggests strategies companies can pursue to develop more credible monitoring regimes to reduce information asymmetries between themselves and their suppliers.
Notes: October 2013. (Revised September 2014.)" -- Publisher's website.

Revision of What shapes the gatekeepers?: evidence from global supply chain auditors.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 33-42).