This article explores the role that technology plays in creating and fostering transparency in global supply chains. Transparency is deemed vital in the creation of sustainable and resilient supply chains and overall effective corporate governance. There are two distinct orientations toward the use of technology by multinational corporations (MNCs) in creating sustainability transparency within their global supply chains: control and relational. A control orientation views technology as a tool to gather the ever-increasing levels of sustainability data on supplier practices in an efficient, secure, and progressively automated manner. A relational orientation adopts a view where technology is a tool to help build social relations and improve dialogue and collaboration on sustainability throughout the supply chain. A key difference in the two orientations lies in the mindset of the MNC manager toward the development of supply chain sustainability transparency. The article illustrates the effective application of both approaches and offers advice to managers on the design choices they need to consider in choosing technologies.

本文探讨了技术在创建和促进全球供应链透明度方面的作用。透明度对于创建可持续和有弹性的供应链和整体有效的公司治理至关重要。跨国公司 (MNC) 使用技术在其全球供应链中创建可持续性透明度有两个不同的方向：控制和关系。控制导向将技术视为一种工具，可以以高效、安全和逐步自动化的方式收集有关供应商实践的不断增加的可持续性数据。关系导向采用这样一种观点，即技术是一种工具，可帮助在整个供应链中建立社会关系并改善关于可持续性的对话与合作。这两个方向的主要区别在于跨国公司经理对发展供应链可持续性透明度的心态。本文阐述了两种方法的有效应用，并就他们在选择技术时需要考虑的设计选择向管理人员提供了建议。