Social sustainable supply chains in the food industry: A perspective of an emerging economy

The purpose of this study is to identify a list of important social sustainable supply chain indicators and determine the cause and effect group from the food sector of an emerging economy of Pakistan. The Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) based methodology is introduced to aid the evaluation of these indicators. The results show that the “balance between work and life” is the topmost influential and cause indicator among the cause group indicators. Similarly, a “safe and healthy working environment” is the topmost effect indicator among the effect group indicators. These results will inform managers and policy makers in the food sector, especially from the emerging economies such as Pakistan to formulate strategies that could aid in advancing social sustainability and transitioning towards a truly sustainable supply chain.