Abstract
This exploratory study offer sempirical insights on sustainability tensions and their management in multi-tier supply chains (SCs) by adoptinga paradox lens. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with companies located at different SC levels and analyzed by applying a qualitative content analysis.The results show that sustainability tensions are closely interlinked and arise along all SC stages and at different levels – systemic, SC and organizational. By revealing general sustainability tension in multi-tier SCs, the results provide the basis for future studies in the context of paradox research and sustainable supply chain management.