The purpose of this study was to investigate organizational factors that influence buying/sourcing professionals' socially responsible buying/sourcing (SRB) effort. Survey responses from buying/sourcing professionals from U.S. apparel/shoe companies were analyzed using MANOVA. Analysis revealed that SRB consisted of three dimensions: employment/human rights, environment, and consumer safety. The presence of vendor monitoring and perceived top management support were significantly related to the extent to which buying/sourcing professionals consider SRB when making buying decisions. Buying policy, punishment system(s), a special SRB department or specialist, and perceived ethics and social responsibility of peers had no significant multivariate effects on SRB. Suggestions for industry practitioners in organizational control issues and for researchers in future research issues are also discussed.
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