Boundary Spanning in Social Impact Supply Chains: Improving Lives Through Coffee

Social enterprises can take on different boundary spanning roles to address social issues in their supply chains (SCs). Previous research has considered boundary spanning and compliance to work conditions standards in SCs; this research considers how boundary spanning entities make broader social impacts in high quality coffee SCs. Through multiple, comparative case studies in the US, Netherlands, and Columbia, we explore their different bridging roles to influence social impact across their coffee supply chains. We find three distinct roles with implications for impact depending on the company’s mission, SC structure and available resources.