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For supermarkets in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the strategic importance of own label or retail brands is crucial, with sales of fresh beef almost exclusively sold under the retail brand. Given safety and quality issues, this study seeks to understand pre‐pack consumers' perceptions of risk associated with beef in the Republic of Ireland.

Building on previous qualitative research, and using a survey methodology and adopting a perceived risk theoretical framework, face‐to‐face interviews with purchasers of pre‐pack beef from supermarkets were conducted in Cork, Waterford and Limerick.

The results confirm that for these particular beef purchasers, food safety and health issues are still the main concerns. However, perceptions of risk are reduced through loyalty to supermarkets, confirming that the investment by retailers in supply chain policies and strategies has paid off in terms of reducing customers' perceptions of risk associated with food safety.

One limitation of the research is that perceptions of risk and coping strategies are specific to the product category; therefore, results cannot be generalised to other categories.

The findings demonstrate that a more focussed approach to marketing beef could include strategies based upon understanding particular aspects of perceived risk.

A deeper understanding of consumers' risk perceptions and risk reducing strategies is necessary as consumers' perceptions of risk can both respond to and influence the strategies adopted at both firm and industry level. In particular, an understanding of perceived risk is particularly necessary for retailers following an own brand strategy in general.

To explore the nature and scope of good and bad practice in the relationships that UK supermarkets have with their suppliers of own‐label products in the main commodity sectors (meat, dairy, fresh produce).

The paper presents the results of a postal survey of supermarket suppliers, which formed part of a wider study of corporate social responsibility in UK supermarket supply chains.

The results demonstrate the heterogeneity in relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers of own‐label products in the main commodity sectors the extent to which retail and supply chain strategy is likely to influence the way in which supermarkets deal with suppliers. Best practice was most evident in the two supermarket supply chains where supply base rationalisation has virtually ceased and the adoption of lead suppliers and sole suppliers has been most evident in recent years.

Postal survey limited to suppliers in three commodity sectors, where buyer power is greatest. Would expect different results for relationships with branded suppliers.

With supermarkets coming under increasing scrutiny over the way they treat suppliers, the conceptual framework and survey instrument represent a mechanism for independent assessment of supply chain relationships in sensitive markets, which could be used constructively to encourage the more widespread adoption of good practice and the elimination of bad practice in supermarket relationships.

This paper presents the results of the first attempt anywhere to empirically measure fairness in relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers. Further research is necessary but the results of our early work are extremely encouraging.

The purpose of this research is to provide a systematic insight into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship (CC) in supply chain development, by analyzing the current literature, contemporary concepts, data and gaps for future discipline research.

This research identifies information from existing academic journals and investigates research designs and methods, data analysis techniques, industry involvement and geographic locations. Information regarding university affiliation, publishers, authors, year of publication is also documented. A collection of online databases from 2001 to 2018 were explored, using the keywords “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in their title and abstract, to deliver an inclusive listing of journal articles in this discipline area. Based on this approach, a total of 164 articles were found, and information on a chain of variables was collected.

There has been visible growth in published articles over the last 18 years regarding supply chain sustainability, CSR and CC. Analysis of the data collected shows that only five literature reviews have been published in this area. Further, key findings include 41% of publications were narrowly focused on four sectors of industry, leaving gaps in the research. 85% centered on the survey and conceptual model, leaving an additional gap for future research. Finally, developing and developed nation status should be delineated, researched and analyzed based on further segmentation of the industry by region.

This research is limited to reviewing only academic and professional articles available from Emerald, Elsevier, Wiley, Sage, Taylor and Francis, Springer, Scopus, JSTOR and EBSCO containing the words “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in the title and abstract.

This assessment provides an enhanced appreciation of the current practices of current research and offers further directions within the CSR and CC in supply chain sustainable development.