International Journal of Management

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) transparency has emerged as a strategic imperative for multinational supply chains, driven by regulatory mandates, consumer expectations, and investor reporting frameworks. Yet, global supply chains are complex, multi-tiered, and geographically fragmented, creating opacity in sustainability reporting. This study examines challenges in implementing ESG transparency, evaluates global frameworks including GRI, CSRD, and ISO 26000, and analyzes how digital tools such as blockchain, IoT, and lifecycle analytics enhance traceability. Using hypothetical comparative datasets from supply chains in India, China, Europe, and Africa, the findings illustrate gaps between reported ESG compliance and actual on-ground practices. The paper proposes a Global ESG Transparency Integration Model to standardize reporting across countries.

Carbon-neutral branding has emerged as a competitive strategy in global retail, driven by consumer demand for sustainability, climate-focused regulations, and corporate ESG commitments. Retailers adopt carbon-neutral branding through emission reduction, carbon offset purchasing, product lifecycle transparency, and environmental certifications. This study analyzes global retail case studies, carbon accounting methodologies, and consumer perception across five regions. Findings reveal inconsistency in carbon-neutral claims due to lack of standardized metrics, regional policy asymmetry, and varying cultural responses toward sustainability messaging. A strategic framework is proposed to guide retail brands in achieving credible carbon-neutral branding with transparency, traceability, and cultural alignment.

Cross-country marketing enables global firms to address diverse consumer segments through integrated campaigns. However, ethical implementation is restricted by regulatory inconsistencies, cultural sensitivities, data privacy rules, taxation laws, advertising codes, and geopolitical trade barriers. This study analyzes policy barriers that hinder ethical marketing across regions including the European Union, United States, Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. Using conceptual analysis and simulated survey data, we classify regulatory constraints into five categories: data governance, consumer protection, content censorship, cross-border trade barriers, and digital platform restrictions. Findings indicate that ethical marketing fails not due to lack of corporate policies, but due to misalignment between national regulations and global marketing norms. The study proposes a harmonized governance framework and policy recommendations for ethical international marketing practices.

Greenwashing occurs when organizations exaggerate or falsely claim environmental responsibility to influence public perception. As sustainability becomes central to global branding, regulatory regimes, consumer activism, and ESG-driven investment, cross-border detection models are increasingly necessary. This paper examines conceptual, regulatory, and computational frameworks designed to detect greenwashing across diverse national environments. The study introduces the Global Greenwashing Detection Framework (GGDF), integrating linguistic analysis, supply-chain traceability, ESG compliance scoring, cultural sentiment interpretation, and third-party audit verification. Findings emphasize that greenwashing varies by region due to political motives, legal systems, cultural environmental narratives, and digital activism. Effective detection requires international data alignment, machine learning classification, and culturally adaptive inference models.

Fair-trade certification aims to promote ethical sourcing, equitable pricing, labor protection, and sustainability across global supply chains. As consumer awareness grows, fair-trade labels have shifted from niche markets to mainstream retail networks in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. However, the economic, social, and cultural impact of certification varies across regions due to differences in income levels, cultural values, regulatory environments, and retail penetration. This paper develops a comparative framework—the Cross-Market Fair-Trade Impact Model (CM-FTIM)—to understand how fair-trade certification influences producer welfare, market access, consumer purchasing behavior, brand positioning, and policy interventions. Case studies include India’s tea sector, Ghanaian cocoa, Latin American coffee cooperatives, and European retail adoption patterns. The study concludes that fair-trade contributes positively to producer welfare and ethical branding, but challenges persist related to pricing premiums, certification costs, and inconsistent global demand.