Why all the changes? : An institutional theory approach to exploring the drivers of supply chain security (SCS)

Purpose – The events of September 11, 2001 heightened the awareness of supply chain professionals to the threat of man‐made disasters on the security of supply chains. According to institutional theory, the environment in which an organization operates creates pressures (normative, coercive, and mimetic) to adopt “institutionalized” norms and practices in order to be perceived as “legitimate.” Using an institutional theory perspective, this paper identifies and explores the environmental drivers that motivate firms to engage in supply chain security (SCS) practices to thwart man‐made supply chain disasters. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research in the form of 19 depth interviews with mid‐to‐high level supply chain management professionals is conducted. Findings – The findings of the qualitative research indicate that four primary drivers of SCS exist: government, customers, competitors, and society. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided. Research limitations/implications – The qualitative findings call for future empirical testing. Practical implications – Practitioners will benefit from the research presented here by better understanding what environmental factors are causing improved security measures in the supply chain. Originality/value – This paper investigates drivers of SCS, an issue that is currently having an impact on supply chain operations worldwide. This is the first SCS study to investigate the reason behind why supply chains are implementing security strategies.