Ethical Supply Chain Management Practices and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector

This study empirically examines the relationship between ethical supply chain management practices and corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. Telecommunications companies in Nigeria procure infrastructure from global and local suppliers across multiple ethical risk categories including labour standards, electronic waste handling, conflict mineral sourcing, and community impact management. Ethical supply chain management, which involves supplier code of conduct enforcement, ethical audit programmes, and transparent subcontracting, has been linked in recent literature to improved CSR reputation and stakeholder trust. Using a quantitative design, structured questionnaires were administered to 110 supply chain, sustainability, and corporate communications managers across Airtel, MTN, Glo, and 9mobile's operational headquarters and regional offices. Ethical supply chain practices are assessed through supplier conduct standards, audit completeness, community impact assessments, and electronic waste chain accountability. CSR performance is measured through stakeholder satisfaction index, environmental incident frequency, regulatory compliance score, and community development programme effectiveness. Structural equation modelling is employed. The study draws on stakeholder theory, supply chain ethics literature, and CSR measurement frameworks. Findings are expected to confirm that supplier conduct standard enforcement and electronic waste chain accountability are the strongest predictors of CSR performance. The study contributes empirical evidence to a theoretically prominent but empirically thin literature on ethical supply chains and CSR in African telecommunications. Recommendations address telecommunications firm supply chain executives, the Nigerian Communications Commission, and international electronics vendors on supply chain ethics governance. Keywords: ethical supply chain, CSR performance, telecommunications, Nigeria, supplier conduct.