ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes stewardship theory as an applicable lens to explain organizational sustainable supply chain management. Firstly, the chapter introduces the well—accepted tenets of agency theory as a form of governance, which has long been used to explain situations of goal incongruence like those often prevalent in buyer—supplier relations. Then sustainability is presented as a suitable context for the application of stewardship theory. As stewardship theory mostly refers to the behaviour of individuals, the chapter then advances the organizational focus on stewardship behaviours and promotes the consideration of multiple theories. The chapter ends with examples of current and potential stewardship applications and the contemporary challenges of the theoretical approach in the modern day.
