Global Supply Chain Dynamics in the Mobile Handset Industry

Abstract

The 21st century features disaggregated supply chains that can reduce costs but also limit firms’ ability to monitor and control critical processes, including labor practices and the sourcing of supplies. My dissertation examines issues of sustainability, accountability, and organizational structure in today’s world of globally dispersed supply chains. In particular, I empirically examine the evolution of buyer-supplier relationships in the mobile phone industry.

The first empirical essay concerns how labor issues affect buyer−supplier relationships at the dyadic level. I examine the manner and mechanisms by which mobile phone companies respond to labor protests targeting their suppliers. I find that user-generated social media content can help make buyer-supplier relationship more visible to the public, pushing firms to disengage from protested suppliers. I also compare the consequences of labor protests, for which suppliers are partially responsible, to natural disasters, for which suppliers are not responsible. Furthermore, I conduct an exhaustive search of press releases and newspaper articles, and find that firms rarely acknowledge supply chain labor issues. This essay suggests that increasing the visibility of buyer−supplier links through user-generated social media can make firms more accountable for supply chain labor issues.

The second empirical essay investigates how an industry-wide, sudden increase in the visibility of supply chains influences network mechanisms driving supply chain network evolution. I utilize stochastic actor-oriented models, specifying several events that occurred in 2010 as an environmental jolt. The findings indicate that the supply chain network became denser after the jolt, resulting in more opportunities for suppliers to attract new relationships. However, the level of network inequality also increased—previously popular suppliers captured most of the new opportunities. Thus, a previously dispersed and modularized network became more centralized, featuring a strong core-periphery structure. Firms’ endeavors to achieve supply chain sustainability in the aftermath of environmental jolts may allow established suppliers to remain entrenched as central players in the network.

Overall, my dissertation underlines the importance of studying global supply chains to better understand industry evolution and corporate strategy in the 21st century. This work seeks to contribute to the research on organizational accountability, social movements, and social networks.