IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v48y2016i12p2504-2524.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Voluntary governance in clothing production networks: Management perspectives on multi-stakeholder initiatives in Dhaka

Author

Listed:
  • Eleanor Tighe

Abstract

Multi-stakeholder initiatives aim to promote better working conditions in the supply chains of global retailers and brands. These initiatives promote closer relationships, or ‘relational governance’ between lead firms and their suppliers, in order to increase social compliance to a ‘multi-stakeholder’ code of conduct. However, industrial disasters in clothing export factories have exposed gaps and disconnections in this model. Adopting a Global Production Networks approach, this article explores how multi-stakeholder initiatives connect and interact with local industry actors in the Bangladesh garment industry. This article explores how intra- and inter-firm dynamics influences how factory managers engage and interact with multi-stakeholder initiatives, highlighting the unevenness through which multi-stakeholder initiatives undertake their activities on the ground, and the extent to which these initiatives promote better working conditions inside factories. The findings presented here indicate how local and global productive relations and strategic economic interests frame the ways the codes of conduct are implemented, and negotiated, giving weight to individual elements within the codes. These dynamics should be taken into account when considering relational governance as a mechanism to improve working conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleanor Tighe, 2016. "Voluntary governance in clothing production networks: Management perspectives on multi-stakeholder initiatives in Dhaka," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(12), pages 2504-2524, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:48:y:2016:i:12:p:2504-2524
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X16660978
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308518X16660978
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0308518X16660978?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andy Cumbers & Corinne Nativel & Paul Routledge, 2008. "Labour agency and union positionalities in global production networks," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 369-387, May.
    2. Vivek Soundararajan & Jill A. Brown, 2016. "Voluntary Governance Mechanisms in Global Supply Chains: Beyond CSR to a Stakeholder Utility Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 83-102, March.
    3. Neil M. Coe & Peter Dicken & Martin Hess, 2008. "Global production networks: realizing the potential," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 271-295, May.
    4. Peter Lund-Thomsen & Neil M. Coe, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility and labour agency: the case of Nike in Pakistan," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 275-296.
    5. Naila Kabeer & Simeen Mahmud, 2004. "Globalization, gender and poverty: Bangladeshi women workers in export and local markets," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(1), pages 93-109.
    6. Alex Hughes & Neil Wrigley & Martin Buttle, 2008. "Global production networks, ethical campaigning, and the embeddedness of responsible governance," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 345-367, May.
    7. Naila Kabeer, 2004. "Globalization, Labor Standards, And Women'S Rights: Dilemmas Of Collective (In)Action In An Interdependent World," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 3-35.
    8. Kanchana N. Ruwanpura & Neil Wrigley, 2011. "The costs of compliance? Views of Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers in times of global economic crisis," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(6), pages 1031-1049, November.
    9. Alex Hughes & Martin Buttle & Neil Wrigley, 2007. "Organisational geographies of corporate responsibility: a UK-US comparison of retailers' ethical trading initiatives," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 491-513, July.
    10. Riisgaard, Lone, 2009. "Global Value Chains, Labor Organization and Private Social Standards: Lessons from East African Cut Flower Industries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 326-340, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mathias Koenig‐Archibugi, 2017. "Does transnational private governance reduce or displace labor abuses? Addressing sorting dynamics across global supply chains," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), pages 343-352, December.
    2. Koenig-Archibugi, Mathias, 2017. "Does transnational private governance reduce or displace labor abuses? Addressing sorting dynamics across global supply chains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 83517, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Céline Louche & Lotte Staelens & Marijke D’Haese, 2020. "When Workplace Unionism in Global Value Chains Does Not Function Well: Exploring the Impediments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 379-398, March.
    2. Jim Ormond, 2015. "New Regimes of Responsibilization: Practicing Product Carbon Footprinting in the New Carbon Economy," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 91(4), pages 425-448, October.
    3. Patsy Perry & Steve Wood & John Fernie, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Garment Sourcing Networks: Factory Management Perspectives on Ethical Trade in Sri Lanka," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 737-752, September.
    4. Matthew Alford & Margareet Visser & Stephanie Barrientos, 2021. "Southern actors and the governance of labour standards in global production networks: The case of South African fruit and wine," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(8), pages 1915-1934, November.
    5. Hamilton-Hart, Natasha & Stringer, Christina, 2016. "Upgrading and exploitation in the fishing industry: Contributions of value chain analysis," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 166-171.
    6. Venkatesh, V.G. & Zhang, Abraham & Deakins, Eric & Mani, Venkatesh, 2021. "Antecedents of social sustainability noncompliance in the Indian apparel sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    7. Anne Tallontire & Maggie Opondo & Valerie Nelson & Adrienne Martin, 2011. "Beyond the vertical? Using value chains and governance as a framework to analyse private standards initiatives in agri-food chains," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(3), pages 427-441, September.
    8. Xinyu Yang & Weidong Liu, 2022. "Agricultural Production Networks and Upgrading from a Global–Local Perspective: A Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, October.
    9. Dina Kusnezowa & Jan Vang, 2021. "Creating Legitimacy in the ISO/CEN Standard for Sustainable and Traceable Cocoa: An Exploratory Case Study Integrating Normative and Empirical Legitimacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    10. Peter Lund-Thomsen & Adam Lindgreen, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Value Chains: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 11-22, August.
    11. Chikako Oka & Niklas Egels‐Zandén & Rachel Alexander, 2020. "Buyer Engagement and Labour Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Bangladesh Accord and Beyond," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(5), pages 1306-1330, September.
    12. Dejardin, Amelita King., 2009. "Gender (in)equality, globalization and governance," ILO Working Papers 994327273402676, International Labour Organization.
    13. Günseli Berik & Yana Van Der Meulen Rodgers, 2010. "Options for enforcing labour standards: Lessons from Bangladesh And Cambodia," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 56-85.
    14. Henry Wai-chung Yeung & Neil M. Coe, 2015. "Toward a Dynamic Theory of Global Production Networks," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 91(1), pages 29-58, January.
    15. Ernesto Noronha & Premilla D’Cruz & Muneeb Ul Lateef Banday, 2020. "Navigating Embeddedness: Experiences of Indian IT Suppliers and Employees in the Netherlands," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 95-113, June.
    16. Paulina Ramirez & Helen Rainbird, 2010. "Making the connections: bringing skill formation into global value chain analysis," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 24(4), pages 699-710, December.
    17. Elena Baglioni, 2018. "Labour control and the labour question in global production networks: exploitation and disciplining in Senegalese export horticulture," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 111-137.
    18. Noronha, Ernesto & D'Cruz, Premilla, 2020. "The Indian IT industry: A global production network perspective," IPE Working Papers 134/2020, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    19. Dennis Arnold, 2013. "Workers’ agency and re-working power relations in Cambodia’s garment industry," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2013-24, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    20. Maureen Benson-Rea & Christina Stringer, 2015. "Small Firm Specialisation in Global Value Chains: Evidence from the Cut Flower Industry," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 14(1), pages 43-62, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:48:y:2016:i:12:p:2504-2524. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.