This article questions retailers’ role as buyers driving production. Exploring a network involving Indian suppliers of UK retailers’ cotton garments, limitations preventing coercive buyer power from controlling production practices are identified. Overall, the dominant system of large-scale fragmented supplier networks connecting raw materials to final products accommodates commercially viable practices causing social or environmental challenges. While some pressures effectively span complex networks, buyers’ practice-related demands do not. Dissecting the ‘drivenness’ concept, this study shows multipolar governance within an industry often considered buyer-driven. Also, it furthers critiques of private governance’s effectiveness, indicating the need for alternative governance frameworks or network structures.

中文翻译：

---

买方驱动的可持续性治理的局限性：分散的供应商网络的固有挑战

本文质疑零售商作为买家推动生产的角色。探索一个涉及英国零售商棉服装印度供应商的网络，发现了阻止强制购买者权力控制生产实践的限制。总体而言，将原材料与最终产品连接起来的大规模分散供应商网络的主导系统适应了导致社会或环境挑战的商业上可行的做法。虽然一些压力有效地跨越了复杂的网络，但买家与实践相关的需求却没有。本研究剖析了“驱动”概念，展示了一个通常被认为是买方驱动的行业内的多极治理。此外，它进一步批评了私人治理的有效性，表明需要替代治理框架或网络结构。