Supply chain due diligence as an information processing challenge? Sustainable purchasing and supply management under EU Deforestation Regulation.

This paper examines how firms manage sustainability due diligence in complex, perishable commodity supply chains under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Drawing on information processing theory, we conceptualize due diligence as a problem of aligning information-processing needs and capacities. Based on 25 interviews with European companies and stakeholders in forest-risk commodity chains, we explore how regulatory requirements, smallholder dynamics, and multi-tier complexity shape firms’ responses. We conclude that compliance challenges stem from persistent mismatches between elevated information demands and limited organizational and inter-organizational capacities, and that digital tools partially mitigate – but do not eliminate – these structural constraints.