Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises as Private Actors in Global Governance - Evidence from the Textile Industry

Abstract

I conducted a multiple case study to assess the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in global governance – the collective rule-making and rule-implementation among public and private actors on a global scale. Results of a sample of ‘best-practice’ SMEs in the textile industry suggest that companies, which are embedded in global supply chains and thus exposed to operating in zones of weak social and environmental regulation, are accepting ‘political’ responsibilities. They engage for instance in defining and enforcing labour standards for factory workers, a task once regarded as a genuine government responsibility. The SMEs of the sample show high awareness for global governance challenges; they stress the need to engage in collective action to counter their small individual impact, and have implemented a range of organizational procedures to engage in political CSR. In sum, findings suggest that global governance is not something just for larger companies. In fact, the analyzed SMEs are even more advanced in engaging in global governance than many MNEs. From the empirical findings, I deduct several propositions to be tested in further quantitative studies.