IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v117y2013i2p387-398.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Growth of Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains: Mission Impossible for Western Small- and Medium-Sized Firms?

Author

Listed:
  • Jette Knudsen

Abstract

Multinational corporations (MNCs) have come under pressure to adopt private regulatory initiatives such as supplier codes of conduct in order to address poor working conditions in global supply chain factories. While a well-known literature explores drivers and outcomes of such monitoring schemes, this literature focuses mainly on large firms and has ignored the growing integration of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into global supply chains. Furthermore, the literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in SMEs primarily emphasizes domestic initiatives and not global challenges. Focusing on the Business for Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), this article examines the positions of private actors, who demand and supply private regulation as well as the positions of those firms, who are the targets of such schemes. As the BSCI has grown its membership, MNCs increasingly request that SMEs meet BSCI requirements in global supply chains even though compliance is a “mission impossible” for many smaller firms. As a result of this development, the private regulatory system is facing growing strain. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Jette Knudsen, 2013. "The Growth of Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains: Mission Impossible for Western Small- and Medium-Sized Firms?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 387-398, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:117:y:2013:i:2:p:387-398
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1527-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-012-1527-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-012-1527-8?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Williamson & Gary Lynch-Wood & John Ramsay, 2006. "Drivers of Environmental Behaviour in Manufacturing SMEs and the Implications for CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 317-330, September.
    2. Jonathan P. Doh & Terrence R. Guay, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Policy, and NGO Activism in Europe and the United States: An Institutional‐Stakeholder Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 47-73, January.
    3. Brown, Dana L. & Vetterlein, Antje & Roemer-Mahler, Anne, 2010. "Theorizing Transnational Corporations as Social Actors: An Analysis of Corporate Motivations," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 1-37, April.
    4. Mayer, Frederick & Gereffi, Gary, 2010. "Regulation and Economic Globalization: Prospects and Limits of Private Governance," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 1-25, October.
    5. David Murillo & Josep Lozano, 2006. "SMEs and CSR: An Approach to CSR in their Own Words," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 227-240, September.
    6. Brown Dana L & Vetterlein Antje & Roemer-Mahler Anne, 2010. "Theorizing Transnational Corporations as Social Actors: An Analysis of Corporate Motivations," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-39, April.
    7. Francesco Perrini, 2006. "SMEs and CSR Theory: Evidence and Implications from an Italian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 305-316, September.
    8. Luc Fransen & Brian Burgoon, 2012. "A market for worker rights: Explaining business support for international private labour regulation," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 236-266.
    9. Locke, Richard M. & Qin, Fei & Brause, Alberto, 2007. "Does monitoring improve labor standards? Lessons from Nike," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 59405, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Dana Brown & Antje Vertterlein & Anne Roemer-Mahler, 2010. "Theorising transnational corporations as social actors : An analysis of corporate motivations," Post-Print hal-02312984, HAL.
    11. Baden, D.A. & Harwood, I.A. & Woodward, D.G., 2009. "The effect of buyer pressure on suppliers in SMEs to demonstrate CSR practices: An added incentive or counter productive?," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 429-441, December.
    12. Gregory Jackson & Androniki Apostolakou, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Western Europe: An Institutional Mirror or Substitute?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 371-394, July.
    13. Richard Locke & Matthew Amengual & Akshay Mangla, 2009. "Virtue out of Necessity? Compliance, Commitment, and the Improvement of Labor Conditions in Global Supply Chains," Politics & Society, , vol. 37(3), pages 319-351, September.
    14. Reinhard Steurer, 2010. "The role of governments in corporate social responsibility: characterising public policies on CSR in Europe," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 43(1), pages 49-72, March.
    15. Jette Knudsen, 2011. "Company Delistings from the UN Global Compact: Limited Business Demand or Domestic Governance Failure?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 331-349, October.
    16. Geoff Moore & Laura Spence, 2006. "Editorial: Responsibility and Small Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 219-226, September.
    17. Francesco Perrini & Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati, 2007. "CSR Strategies of SMEs and Large Firms. Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 285-300, September.
    18. Mayer Frederick & Gereffi Gary, 2010. "Regulation and Economic Globalization: Prospects and Limits of Private Governance," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(3), pages 1-27, October.
    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. repec:bla:glopol:v:8:y:2017:i:s3:p:5-14 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Seongtae Kim & Claudia Colicchia & David Menachof, 2018. "Ethical Sourcing: An Analysis of the Literature and Implications for Future Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1033-1052, November.
    3. Alexander Bergmann & Peter Posch, 2018. "Mandatory Sustainability Reporting in Germany: Does Size Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Aurélien Acquier & Bertrand Valiorgue & Thibault Daudigeos, 2017. "Sharing the Shared Value: A Transaction Cost Perspective on Strategic CSR Policies in Global Value Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 139-152, August.
    5. Iwasaki, Fusanori & Ueki, Yasushi, 2022. "From buyer-driven fragmented to consumer-driven vertically integrated value chains: a case study of Japanese apparel and accessory SMEs," IDE Discussion Papers 838, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    6. Gallemore, Caleb & Guisinger, Amy & Kruuse, Mikkel & Ruysschaert, Denis & Jespersen, Kristjan, 2018. "Escaping the “Teenage” Years: The Politics of Rigor and the Evolution of Private Environmental Standards," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 76-87.
    7. Claudia Patricia Maldonado-Erazo & José Álvarez-García & María de la Cruz del Río-Rama & Ronny Correa-Quezada, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Performance in SMEs: Scientific Coverage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-26, March.
    8. Sadaat Ali Yawar & Stefan Seuring, 2017. "Management of Social Issues in Supply Chains: A Literature Review Exploring Social Issues, Actions and Performance Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 621-643, March.
    9. repec:bla:glopol:v:8:y:2017:i:s3:p:66-77 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Ivan Montiel & Junghoon Park & Bryan W. Husted & Andres Velez-Calle, 2022. "Tracing the connections between international business and communicable diseases," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1785-1804, October.
    11. Steve Williams & Brian Abbott & Edmund Heery, 2017. "Civil Governance in Work and Employment Relations: How Civil Society Organizations Contribute to Systems of Labour Governance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 103-119, August.
    12. Jamali, Dima & Karam, Charlotte & Yin, Juelin & Soundararajan, Vivek, 2017. "CSR logics in developing countries: Translation, adaptation and stalled development," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 343-359.
    13. Natasja Börjeson & Magnus Boström, 2018. "Towards Reflexive Responsibility in a Textile Supply Chain," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 230-239, February.
    14. Sarosh Kuruvilla & Mingwei Liu & Chunyun Li & Wansi Chen, 2020. "Field Opacity and Practice-Outcome Decoupling: Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 841-872, August.
    15. Luc Fransen & Brian Burgoon & Sijeong Lim & Aseem Prakash, 2017. "From Quality Control to Labor Protection: ISO 9001 and Workplace Safety, 1993–2012," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8, pages 66-77, May.
    16. Seongtae Kim & Sangho Chae, 2022. "Shareholder Value Effects of Ethical Sourcing: Comparing Reactive and Proactive Initiatives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(3), pages 887-906, September.
    17. Kuruvilla, Sarosh & Liu, Mingwei & Li, Chunyun & Chen, Wansi, 2020. "Field opacity and practice-outcome decoupling: private regulation of labor standards in global supply chains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101169, 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. Justyna Berniak-Woźny & Artur Kwasek & Hubert Gąsiński & Magdalena Maciaszczyk & Maria Kocot, 2023. "Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Small and Medium Enterprises—Employees’ Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Linda Westman & Christopher Luederitz & Aravind Kundurpi & Alexander Julian Mercado & Olaf Weber & Sarah Lynne Burch, 2019. "Conceptualizing businesses as social actors: A framework for understanding sustainability actions in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 388-402, February.
    3. Thomas Clarke & Martijn Boersma, 2017. "The Governance of Global Value Chains: Unresolved Human Rights, Environmental and Ethical Dilemmas in the Apple Supply Chain," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 111-131, June.
    4. Chuluunbat Tsendsuren & Prayag L. Yadav & Seung Hun Han & Seongjae Mun, 2021. "The effect of corporate environmental responsibility and religiosity on corporate cash holding decisions and profitability: Evidence from the United States' policies for sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 987-1000, September.
    5. Kinderman, Daniel & Lutter, Mark, 2018. "Explaining the growth of CSR within OECD countries: The role of institutional legitimacy in resolving the institutional mirror vs. substitute debate," MPIfG Discussion Paper 18/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    6. Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Peter van der Zwan & Daniela Guerra, 2014. "What drives environmental practices of SMEs?," Scales Research Reports H201405, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    7. Chuluunbat Tsendsuren & Prayag Lal Yadav & Sangsoo Kim & Seunghun Han, 2021. "The Effects of Managerial Competency and Local Religiosity on Corporate Environmental Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, May.
    8. Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Daniela Guerra & Peter Zwan, 2015. "What drives environmental practices of SMEs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 759-781, April.
    9. François Maon & Valérie Swaen & Adam Lindgreen, 2017. "One Vision, Different Paths: An Investigation of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in Europe," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 405-422, June.
    10. Nick Lin-Hi & Igor Blumberg, 2017. "The Power(lessness) of Industry Self-regulation to Promote Responsible Labor Standards: Insights from the Chinese Toy Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 789-805, July.
    11. Leon Guillén & Afcha Sergio & Chu Manuel, 2022. "Research on social responsibility of small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 857-909, September.
    12. Silvia Cantele & Alessandro Zardini, 2020. "What drives small and medium enterprises towards sustainability? Role of interactions between pressures, barriers, and benefits," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 126-136, January.
    13. Dongsoo Kim & Jongseon Lee & Nami Kim, 2023. "Engaging CSR in SMEs by exporting: The critical factors of CEOs and markets," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1953-1964, July.
    14. Anthony Goerzen & Simon Peter Iskander & Joerg Hofstetter, 2021. "The effect of institutional pressures on business-led interventions to improve social compliance among emerging market suppliers in global value chains," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(3), pages 347-367, September.
    15. Matteo Pedrini & Valentina Bramanti & Benedetto Cannatelli, 2016. "The impact of national culture and social capital on corporate social responsibility attitude among immigrants entrepreneurs," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 759-787, December.
    16. Uzhegova, Maria & Torkkeli, Lasse & Saarenketo, Sami, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs: Implications on Competitive PerformanceDate submitted: October 12, 2017Revised version accepted after double blind review: December 15, 2018," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 30(2-3), pages 232-267.
    17. Tang, Zhi & Tang, Jintong, 2012. "Stakeholder–firm power difference, stakeholders' CSR orientation, and SMEs' environmental performance in China," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 436-455.
    18. Esben Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz, 2014. "From Resistance to Opportunity-Seeking: Strategic Responses to Institutional Pressures for Corporate Social Responsibility in the Nordic Fashion Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 245-264, January.
    19. Alexander Bergmann & Peter Posch, 2018. "Mandatory Sustainability Reporting in Germany: Does Size Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, October.
    20. Rosario Vázquez-Carrasco & M. López-Pérez, 2013. "Small & medium-sized enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: a systematic review of the literature," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 3205-3218, October.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:117:y:2013:i:2:p:387-398. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.