Community Development through Supply Chain Responsibility: A Case Study of Rice Supply Chains and Connected Rural Communities in Central China

Supply chains depend on community resources such as entrepreneurs, natural resources, and facilities in value creation and successful operation, while communities need development opportunities from supply chains to build and maintain prosperity. The mutual influence between supply chains and communities offers opportunities to integrate sustainability initiatives into the chain. The concept of supply chain responsibility (SCR) represents a new philosophy that helps create value for communities, but so far does not link well with the idea of community and is viewed one chain at a time. A more integrated and holistic consideration of supply chain-community interactions incorporating multiple supply chains and communities adds to the perspective of community development through SCR. It not only leverages community development as a significant level of analysis in supply chains, but also considers all chains that interact with a community. We use a case study in China's rice industry to examine the complex and multifaceted supply chain-community interactions in a network of three types of rice supply chain and two rural communities, to understand the theoretical and practical potential in an enriched conceptualization of SCR. The interactions among the supply chains and communities provide significant insights into how to create sustainability for both.