Abstract
Firms increasingly manage their upstream suppliers as these produce the bulk of sustainability impacts associated with the end-product. Supply chain management proposes sustainability standards as an effective tools for this. Our conceptual research advances this field by introducing institutional theory and the related discussion on standard adoption to sub-supplier management theory. We integrate concepts from both sides and discuss them against a novel supply chain governance approach. It introduces an upstream focal firm to enhance sub-supplier management. Thus, we generate an advanced understanding of contextual factors in the use of sustainability standards and derive research as well as managerial implications.