New research by Dr Medo Pournader and her colleagues puts the construction industry in the spotlight, demonstrating the impact procurement managers can have on eliminating modern slavery.
The problem
The construction industry in Australia is a high-risk sector for modern slavery. Unfortunately, some managers persist with traditional risk management measures that have been demonstrated to be ineffective.
The research
Dr Medo Pournader and her colleagues conducted interviews with employees of 5 medium-to-large construction firms and 14 suppliers to how they manage risks, their efforts both now and in the past, and what their company’s response would be if a violation was discovered.
The research found procurement managers tended to favour audits and put an emphasis on compliance, which discourages suppliers from reporting incidents and closes off the opportunity to act. Sustainability managers, on the other hand, tended to seek good supplier relationships and use innovative data collection techniques to develop strategies tailored to the specific conditions in which exploitation emerges.
The impact
Eliminating modern slavery from supply chains depends on what actions managers in buying organisations take. By better understanding managers’ goals, attitudes and motivations we can work out how best to intervene to shape ethical outcomes.
Department: Management and Marketing
Area: Process and Practices
Researchers
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Sustainable Development Goals
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