The New Regulator in Town

The academic text examines the effect of Walmart's sustainability mandate on its suppliers' short-term shareholder value, treating the dominant retailer as a private-sector regulator. The authors investigate whether supplier concerns about absorbing investment costs while retailers appropriate potential gains are justified, finding that most suppliers are financially harmed, although a significant minority benefits. The research explores how a supplier's marketing characteristics, such as brand equity and advertising, provide countervailing power to resist Walmart's appropriation attempts. Conversely, the study reveals that a supplier’s operational characteristics, like cost efficiency and R&D investment, surprisingly make them more vulnerable to the retailer's demands, offering less resistance.