Abstract
Labour issues in global supply chains have been a thorny problem for both buyer firms and their suppliers. Research initially focused mostly on the bilateral relationship between buyer firms and suppliers, looking at arm’s-length and close collaboration modes, and the associated mechanisms of coercion and cooperation. Yet continuing problems in the global supply chain suggest that neither governance type offers a comprehensive solution to the problem. This study investigates collaborative governance, an alternative governance type that is driven by buyer firms setting up a coalition with competitor firms to increase leverage and address the supplier and/or host country-specific labour issues. Based on interviews with managers involved in the establishment and management of such coalitions and supplier firms in the garment industry, we examine the rationale behind collaborative governance and discuss its opportunities and challenges in addressing labour issues in global supply chains.
Highlights
Labour rights violations in global supply chains have been a vexing problem for buyer firms based in western countries
Additional transaction costs occur when organisations engage in collaborative governance (Nooteboom 2004). This is true for both buyer and supplier firms, our conceptual question is when would organisations be willing to bear such costs? This in turn begs the question what drives partnership formation with competitors, and how does such partnering affect costs (Wootliff and Deri 2001)? In our paper, which builds on interviews with managers involved in the setting-up and management of inter-firm supply-chain alliances and with suppliers based in Hong Kong and India, as well as extensive secondary data analysis, we examine the theoretical underpinnings of these coalitions and critically discuss their effectiveness in addressing labour issues in supply chains
In this paper we have explored the reasons why firms from developed countries choose to manage their suppliers in developing countries through collaborative governance, the use of a coalition of competitor firms and/or third-party organisations, to alleviate negative labour conditions in sourcing factories
Summary
Labour rights violations in global supply chains have been a vexing problem for buyer firms based in western countries. In 1991, Levi Strauss, followed by Nike in 1992, adopted firm-specific codes of conduct and internal audits focusing on labour rights and working conditions (Murphy and Matthew 2001; Pedersen 2006; Roberts 2003; Van Tulder and Kolk 2001). This practice became widespread as other firms were subjected to strong institutional pressures (Jørgensen et al 2003)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
