Institutional Isomorphism in Supply Chains : Drivers affecting contract enforcement at sub-suppliers

To improve coordination in a supply chain all involved organizations should operate according to similar norms and rules - also known as institutions. Yet, little research covers how organizations effect institutional isomorphism in indirect relations (sub-suppliers).

We study this phenomenon on focal organizations' activities to establish compliance with their institutions by the actors involved in their supply chains. Sub-suppliers can hardly be forced by a focal organization and only through direct suppliers as mediators. An approach frequently used in business practice is including institutions in contractual agreements with suppliers requiring the suppliers to pass on the same institutions to sub-suppliers, all the way up to raw material sources (coercive isomorphism). This approach turns out to be difficult and requires more knowledge to apply it successfully.
In this context the proposed primary question of this paper is «how can a focal organization drive institutional isomorphism at sub-suppliers by contractual agreements through direct suppliers as mediators?»