Learning governance from indigenous supply chains

Abstract

There is continuing interest in how organisations develop supply chain governance to deliver value (Shamsollahi et al, 2021). Some authors have focused on governance in terms of supply chain structure and management approaches (Brito et al, 2017). Others have explored the question of how to balance contractual and relational approaches (Bai et al., 2016). Yet, others have considered the merits of different theoretical lenses, including transaction costs economics, resource dependence theory, network theory and principal agent theory, to comprehend dyadic and network governance (Halldórsson et al, 2015). However, for indigenous people many of the governance insights provided are based on a modernist perspective where nature does not have agency and is viewed as passive. Recently, the role and importance of the planet and nature in governance has begun to evolve in the supply chain literature (Mirzabeiki and Aitken, 2023). In contrast, the core of the Māori governance is the interconnectedness of all living things highlighting that “the relationships humans have with the nonhuman entities are reciprocal and contextual rather than unidirectional and contextual” (Reid and Rout, 2016: 429). The purpose of this research is to understand how governance based on Māori nature interconnectedness is structured and operates. Through comprehending how supply chains can be governed through harmonious connections to the planet the paper contributes to the governance and sustainability literature.