Supply Chain Karma Score (SCKS): A Conceptual Framework for Measuring Ethical Footprint in Global Supply Chains

Despite the widespread use of ESG metrics, GRI guidelines, and supplier audit frameworks, current approaches to ethical performance measurement in supply chains often lack depth, consistency, and cultural relevance. These tools frequently prioritize investor transparency or compliance checklists while neglecting long-term moral accountability and relational stakeholder impacts. To address this gap, this paper introduces the Supply Chain Karma Score (SCKS)—a novel, culturally grounded conceptual framework inspired by the Eastern philosophy of karma, which emphasizes cause and effect over time. The SCKS evaluates the ethical footprint of firms through five interrelated dimensions: Labor Karma, Planet Karma, Governance Karma, Equity Karma, and Resilience Karma. Each dimension reflects a core domain of moral responsibility in global value chains, supported by indicative metrics that move beyond static compliance toward dynamic, consequence-based accountability. The framework is theoretically anchored in stakeholder theory, the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), and virtue ethics, integrating moral philosophy with systems thinking to provide a holistic and scalable ethical assessment model. This study contributes to supply chain ethics literature by proposing a comprehensive tool for diagnosing ethical risks, enhancing sustainability benchmarking, and guiding strategic procurement decisions. It also lays the groundwork for future empirical research and policy development, particularly in emerging economies where institutional voids and moral governance deficits are most pronounced. By operationalizing karma into a measurable construct, the SCKS offers both scholars and practitioners a fresh lens to reimagine responsible supply chain management in an interconnected, ethically complex world.