Human rights issues, specifically concerning labor conditions in the supply chain, have come under increased scrutiny due to legislation, media, and campaigns by NGO’s. Despite recent attention from government, businesses, and scholars, modern slavery across supply chains continues to grow at an alarming rate globally. Thereby, to address this wicked problem, our research is aimed at understanding how managers organize these challenging risks contingent upon perceived organizational goals within a high-risk sector; namely, the construction industry in Australia. Through the lens of regulatory focus theory, we conducted and analyzed 32 in-depth interviews across five major construction firms and fourteen respective suppliers. This research offers insights into supply chain transparency problems and the associated risks of harm to people, providing recommendations for how to analyze and prioritize solutions for mitigating modern slavery challenges and risks.
