A determinant of sustainable supplier management by female executives: evidence from South Korean firms

Purpose Despite increasing attention on the role of female executives in operations and supply chain management, little research has examined their influence on supplier management. This paper examines how increased female representation in the top management team is associated with sustainable supplier management and whether the supplier management practices of a firm’s key buyer moderate the relationship. Design/methodology/approach We test our hypotheses in the context of buyer–supplier–sub-supplier relationships among Korean firms using Workplace Panel Survey data. IV regression and Heckman selection models are additionally employed to address endogeneity and selection issues. Findings Firms with more female executives tend to imitate the key buyer’s supplier management practices. When influential buyers adopt supportive approaches, these firms extend similar support to their suppliers. Conversely, the key buyer’s coercive practices discourage the adoption of sustainable supplier practices. This pattern of isomorphism is driven by female executives’ legitimacy concerns, prompting them to mimic key buyers’ actions as a form of justification. The mimetic behavior disappears when female leaders’ legitimacy is strengthened through greater female representation at the middle management level, the presence of labor unions, and foreign market dependence. Originality/value This paper takes a legitimacy perspective to demonstrate that firms with greater female representation in TMTs exhibit heightened mimetic isomorphism in the context of multi-tier supply chains. It identifies legitimacy concerns of female executives as a key mechanism through which the gender diversity of top management influences sustainable supplier management.