Summary
How can standards complement the management of complex supply chains (SC) to identify and manage suppliers? Using institutional theory and multi-tier SC management (SCM), this paper conceptualises standards and SCs as meta-institutional fields that can complement each other to enlarge the reach of the focal firm, reduce SC un-certainty, and ensure legitimate SC operations. To do so, this paper uses a pre-study of eight interviews and a structured content-analysis bases document analysis of twenty sustainability standards for mineral resources.