Article

Modern slavery and the supply chain: the limits of corporate social responsibility?

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Abstract

Purpose – This conceptual paper aims to examine modern slavery in the supply chain, showing how the issue challenges conventional thinking and practice in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers the differences between modern slavery and other concerns within CSR. It examines legal attempts to encourage supply chain transparency and the use of corporate CSR methods. An example of forced labour in UK agriculture is used to develop a critique of these approaches. The paper examines the challenges facing research in this important area. Findings – The paper shows that the distinctive characteristics of modern slavery may make conventional supply chain CSR practices relatively ineffective. A holistic perspective may be needed in future research. Research limitations/implications – Researchers need to focus less on the espoused policies of corporations, and more on the enacted practice. Social implications – Modern slavery is universally accepted as a shameful blight on society; firms’ supply chain practices may be part of the problem. Originality/value – The paper’s contribution is to point to the potential differences between modern slavery and other CSR-related issues and to highlight the paradox that firms’ approaches to the issue may run in parallel with actions that foster the problem in the first place.

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... Como exemplo, o California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (Lei de Transparência nas Cadeias de Abastecimento da Califórnia) foi regulamentado em 2012. Ele exige que as grandes empresas de varejo e manufatura declarem seus esforços para erradicar o tráfico humano e a escravidão em sua cadeia de abastecimento, e que publiquem as informações em seus websites (New, 2015;Voss et al., 2019). Em 2015, o Reino Unido também lançou e regulamentou o Modern Slavery Act (Lei da Escravidão Moderna), com cláusulas sobre a transparência nas cadeias de fornecimento (Gold et al., 2015). ...
... Como resultado das condições socioeconômicas, a oferta de trabalho escravo foi dramaticamente afetada pelo número de pessoas em busca de trabalho e subsistência; com isso, as empresas se voltaram para o mercado mundial para contratar mão de obra intensiva de baixo custo (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015). Além disso, Bales (2004), Crane (2013), New (2015), e Phillips e Sakamoto (2011) reconhecem que a disponibilidade de uma população socioeconomicamente desfavorecida, de pouca educação, e o alto índice de desemprego aumentaram as chances de as empresas aderirem amplamente à escravidão. ...
... Como resultado das condições socioeconômicas, a oferta de trabalho escravo foi dramaticamente afetada pelo número de pessoas em busca de trabalho e subsistência; com isso, as empresas se voltaram para o mercado mundial para contratar mão de obra intensiva de baixo custo (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015). Além disso, Bales (2004), Crane (2013), New (2015), e Phillips e Sakamoto (2011) reconhecem que a disponibilidade de uma população socioeconomicamente desfavorecida, de pouca educação, e o alto índice de desemprego aumentaram as chances de as empresas aderirem amplamente à escravidão. Mas, a oferta de crédito acessível e programas de bem-estar social podem mitigar este problema. ...
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Resumo Algumas pesquisas sobre a escravidão moderna mostraram como esse fenômeno prospera e persiste, apesar das pressões institucionais contra práticas desumanas na vida social. Para analisar esse fenômeno do ponto de vista institucional e responder à pergunta sobre quais são os principais fatores no campo institucional que sustentam a escravidão moderna, foram coletados dados qualitativos no contexto brasileiro, já que o país é amplamente reconhecido por suas ações significativas contra práticas de escravidão. Este estudo é baseado em dados primários e secundários, coletados por meio de entrevistas em profundidade e observação participante em conferências sobre o tema, bem como documentos cujos conteúdos foram analisados usando o software NVivo. O estudo sugere que certas condições contextuais legitimam as práticas organizacionais de empresas formais e informais, o que é chamado de deflexão institucional. Como contribuição aos padrões de gestão da escravidão moderna, este artigo apresenta a “Roda da Escravidão Moderna” a partir dos resultados, definida como um ciclo dinâmico que incorpora e sistematiza os elementos que sustentam o fenômeno. Os mecanismos da roda, quais sejam as condições favoráveis, a recorrência, o aliciamento e o “sistema de barracão” (truck system) contribuem para as práticas de escravidão moderna e sua manutenção ao longo do tempo. Além disso, sugerimos que esses mesmos mecanismos também podem ser a solução para romper o círculo vicioso da Roda da Escravidão Moderna.
... For example, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act is a law and regulation effect in 2012. It requires large retail and manufacturing firms to declare their efforts towards eradicating human trafficking and slavery from its supply chain and publishing the information on their websites (New, 2015;Voss et al., 2019). In 2015, the United Kingdom also launched the Modern Slavery Act 2015 law and regulation, demanding "The Transparency in Supply Chains" clauses (Gold et al., 2015). ...
... As a result of socioeconomic conditions, the supply side of slavery has been dramatically affected by a number of people in search of work and livelihood who have turned to the world market to hire an intensive, low-cost labor force (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015). Moreover, Bales (2004), Crane (2013), New (2015), and Phillips and Sakamoto (2011) acknowledge that the availability of a socioeconomically disadvantaged population as poverty, low education, and high unemployment all lead to increased chances for enterprises to adhere to slavery in a more widespread manner. ...
... As a result of socioeconomic conditions, the supply side of slavery has been dramatically affected by a number of people in search of work and livelihood who have turned to the world market to hire an intensive, low-cost labor force (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015). Moreover, Bales (2004), Crane (2013), New (2015), and Phillips and Sakamoto (2011) acknowledge that the availability of a socioeconomically disadvantaged population as poverty, low education, and high unemployment all lead to increased chances for enterprises to adhere to slavery in a more widespread manner. Additionally, Crane (2013) affirms that the availability of affordable credit and social welfare programs may mediate these factors. ...
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A few research papers on modern slavery have outlined how this phenomenon flourishes and persists despite institutional pressures against inhumane practices. In order to analyze slavery from an institutional perspective and answer the question of the main factors in the institutional field that sustain modern slavery, qualitative data were collected in the Brazilian context, where the country is widely recognized for its significant actions against modern slavery practices. This study draws on primary and secondary data collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation at conferences, as well as content analysis of documents using NVivo software. The study suggests that certain contextual conditions legitimize organizational practices of formal and informal firms, called institutional deflection. As a contribution to modern slavery management patterns, this article presents the “modern slavery wheel” based on the results of a dynamic cycle that incorporates and systematizes the elements that support the phenomenon. Wheel mechanisms such as favorite conditioning, recurrence, enticement, and truck system seem to contribute to modern slavery practices and their maintenance over time. Moreover, we suggest that these same components may also contribute to breaking the modern slavery wheel
... This Act represents a substantial leap forward in relation to corporate modern slavery reporting and due diligence. Nevertheless, it is argued the Act misses the mark as organizations that do nothing at all, in relation to addressing modern slavery, are able to comply by simply disclosing the fact they do nothing (New, 2015). The idea promoted seems to be that consumers punish companies that do not take the issue seriously, although there is no real evidence to suggest this has happened (New, 2015). ...
... Nevertheless, it is argued the Act misses the mark as organizations that do nothing at all, in relation to addressing modern slavery, are able to comply by simply disclosing the fact they do nothing (New, 2015). The idea promoted seems to be that consumers punish companies that do not take the issue seriously, although there is no real evidence to suggest this has happened (New, 2015). ...
... Modern slavery accounting for management decision making crosses over with external accountability, as managers decide what is to be reported externally. In particular, with the hope (Meehan & Pinnington, 2021), but perhaps not the reality (New, 2015), of a positive trickle-down effect to defeat the causes of modern slavery, entities might partner directly with suppliers to offer training and awareness-raising. There is a need for the entity, first, to build its internal capacity to recognize and address modern slavery risks and, second to encourage suppliers to recognize that they will lose supply contracts if their activities, or those of their subcontractors, are found to be associated with modern slavery. ...
... Given the limited research on exploitation within the SCM, there have been calls for an "in-depth analysis of the business of exploitation, including the nature and prevalence of exploitation within the businesses and supply chains" (Caruana et al., 2020, p. 252). Research also stressed the importance of a holistic perspective on the existence of exploitation (New, 2015); and the need to address the real problems of exploitation (Banerjee, 2021). Till date, research on exploitation in the context of Bangladesh RMG sector has provided insights into a range of issues including multi-stakeholder initiatives (Huber and Schormair, 2021), compliance regimes (Alamgir and Banerjee, 2019), the failure of social compliance (SC) initiatives (Alamgir and Alakavuklar, 2018) and a general view on consequences of COVID-19 (Leitheiser et al., 2020). ...
... Khan et al. (2007) illustrated the role of institutional entrepreneurs towards the persistence of child labor. New (2015) identified potential differences between modern slavery and other CSR-related issues, illustrating how the slavery issue challenges conventional thinking and practice in CSR. By analyzing audit activities, Benstead et al. (2021) investigated the detection process of modern slavery and illustrated how audit process could be improved to better detect labor issues. ...
... As per CR, we have ensured three types of validity, i.e. construct, internal and external (Welch and Piekkari, 2017). To confirm the construct validity, we used evidence from multiple sources, i.e. interviews, site visits and observation and archives to enhance authenticity, transparency and trustworthiness of our findings (New, 2015). To validate our findings internally, we ensured that all the mechanisms are logically connected and explained the systematic exploitation in Bangladeshi RMG sector. ...
... Given the limited research on exploitation within the SCM, there have been calls for an "in-depth analysis of the business of exploitation, including the nature and prevalence of exploitation within the businesses and supply chains" (Caruana et al., 2020, p. 252). Research also stressed the importance of a holistic perspective on the existence of exploitation (New, 2015); and the need to address the real problems of exploitation (Banerjee, 2021). Till date, research on exploitation in the context of Bangladesh RMG sector has provided insights into a range of issues including multi-stakeholder initiatives (Huber and Schormair, 2021), compliance regimes (Alamgir and Banerjee, 2019), the failure of social compliance (SC) initiatives (Alamgir and Alakavuklar, 2018) and a general view on consequences of COVID-19 (Leitheiser et al., 2020). ...
... Khan et al. (2007) illustrated the role of institutional entrepreneurs towards the persistence of child labor. New (2015) identified potential differences between modern slavery and other CSR-related issues, illustrating how the slavery issue challenges conventional thinking and practice in CSR. By analyzing audit activities, Benstead et al. (2021) investigated the detection process of modern slavery and illustrated how audit process could be improved to better detect labor issues. ...
... As per CR, we have ensured three types of validity, i.e. construct, internal and external (Welch and Piekkari, 2017). To confirm the construct validity, we used evidence from multiple sources, i.e. interviews, site visits and observation and archives to enhance authenticity, transparency and trustworthiness of our findings (New, 2015). To validate our findings internally, we ensured that all the mechanisms are logically connected and explained the systematic exploitation in Bangladeshi RMG sector. ...
Article
Purpose Despite considerable research and constant pressure from global media, exploitation has been a persistent problem in the Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) supply chain. Yet, the root causes of how and why exploitation still persists remain unexplored. This paper explores the reasons underlying the existence of exploitation in the RMG supply chain of Bangladesh using the theoretical lens of responsible capitalism. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on 98 interviews conducted at multiple levels of the RMG supply chain ecosystem, site visits, observation and archives, the authors unpack the underlying reasons for the existence of exploitation in Bangladeshi RMG supply chain. Findings Using the theoretical lens of responsible capitalism, the findings suggest the existence of exploitation as a multifaceted yet nuanced phenomenon that is a result of complex power dynamics, interdependency and interconnectedness of players at multiple levels of the supply chain. The authors extend responsible capitalism theory by adding local context as a key determinant for the RMG supply chain to be responsive, effective and sustainable. The authors further argue the need for a new business model in global supply chain that calls for a fundamental shift of businesses towards responsible capitalism via transformative actions at multiple levels for balancing power in relationships, generate profit with ethical integrity and take responsibility of the consequences of their actions. Research limitations/implications The authors use a contextualized case study of the RMG supply chain in Bangladesh using a critical realist approach. Although the use of contextualized case study has enabled better understanding of causal relationships between management practices and exploitation in the local context of Bangladesh, a quantitative approach to establish causality between different factors could be the focus of future research. The findings are specific to the context of Bangladeshi RMG supply chain and may have limited generalizability in other contexts. Further studies may build upon the findings to explore exploitation in RMG supply chain of other sectors and countries in the region and compare the findings to develop comprehensive understanding about the root causes of exploitation. Practical implications The findings call for a fundamental shift of business towards responsible capitalism via transformative actions of multiple players across different levels of the supply chains with managerial implications. Originality/value By drawing on empirical research, the authors provide a holistic perspective of responsible capitalism that is influenced by interactions and interconnectedness of players in multiple levels of the supply chain. The authors expand the responsible capitalism theory by adding local context as a key determinant that need to be considered for supply chains to be responsive, effective and sustainable.
... Consequently, this paper's first research question (RQ) is the following: What indicators are considered regarding the occurrence of modern slavery in the supply chain of companies? (RQ1) Due to globally connected supply chains, the question arises to which extent companies contribute to modern slavery without consciously practicing it (New, 2015). The occurrence of modern slavery in supply chains brings ethical and reputational challenges for companies (Islam & Van Staden, 2021;Voss et al., 2019). ...
... In particular, the issue of modern slavery attracts higher attention because governments and corresponding legislations are getting involved in this topic. One legislation, for example, is the Modern Slavery Act, which consolidates the current criminal offenses on slavery and human trafficking (Crane, 2013;Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015). To combat modern slavery in their supply chain, companies also need to adopt appropriate methods and measures. ...
... Modern slavery in the supply chain is manifested primarily by poor working conditions, low-wages, contract workers, and child labor F I G U R E 1 Research approach T A B L E 1 Strengths and weaknesses of multi-method approaches (Choi et al., 2016) (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015;Schaper & Pollach, 2021). Especially the integration of third parties, such as labor agencies, which hire people outside the scope of corporate codes enables the employer to illtreat those workers and to avoid necessary policies. ...
Article
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Even though global supply chains are (usually unintentionally) tied to slave labor, research and practice have largely ignored the issue. This is expected to change as civil society activism and new legislation increase the risk of litigation and reputational damage to supply chain partners. To deal with and combat modern slavery in the supply chain, a theory inspired social supply chain management framework consisting of indicators and countermeasures of modern slavery in the supply chain is developed. The framework is refined in a qualitative expert interview study. The theoretical framework is then evaluated by a multimethod empirical analysis that includes a multicase study based on publicly available supply chain data from 6000 media articles and company websites as well as a quantitative empirical study based on survey data from 280 corporate sustainability experts operating in global supply networks. The results show that economic, political-legal, social, and environmental factors have a significant impact on contemporary slavery in the supply chain. The study also motivates supply chain partners to use preventative and detective measures to reduce the probability of encountering modern slavery actions in their supply chain. Theoretical and managerial implications are drawn from the findings, pointing to a holistic approach to combatting modern slavery in the supply chain.
... Most businesses will naturally focus on their larger, strategic suppliers which are commercially the most important to them, whereas most of the modern slavery risk may be in peripheral, hidden and informal actors in the supply chain or in areas where modern slavery is structurally embedded in the business model and culturally accepted." New (2015) recommends that all suppliers should be treated equally from a modern slavery perspective and that this should include both suppliers of workers (labour flows) and suppliers of materials and sub-assemblies (material flows). ...
... Such socio-culturally embedded understandings may also undermine the effectiveness of anti-slavery efforts. New (2015) also states that one of the key issues here is forced labour's potential invisibility and the difficulty of detecting it. ...
... Consequently, the types of approach used for some areas of supply chain monitoring (questionnaires, pre-notified audit visits) may not be suitable -or, indeed, pointless -for the investigation of forced labour." New (2015) ...
Article
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Modern slavery involves the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of people through any means for the purpose of exploitation. It is an extensive problem and one that causes immense human suffering. International Labour Organization figures suggest that there are 24 million victims of modern slavery or forced labour around the world at any one time, with a substantial proportion of these working on project-related activities. Modern slavery causes reputational risk to organisations from the perspective of customers and investors. In the UK, it is now subject to specific legislation. The damage and costs of legal action and compensation to victims of modern slavery can be crippling. Projects are particularly susceptible to modern slavery as they have complex flows of materials and labour that need to be constantly reinvented for each unique project context. The Association of Project Management sponsored a research investigation involving the University of Warwick, the University of Leeds and University College London to understand how project practices need to change to eliminate modern slavery. In order to answer this question, the research team undertook a Delphi exercise with experts representing project practitioners (eg. from organisations such as HS2 and Sir Robert McAlpine), NGOs (eg. The Bingham Centre and The Institute for Human Rights and Business) and professional membership organisations (eg. The International Association for Cost and Contract Management and the Royal Institute of British Architects), as well as academic researchers and individual experts. The investigation finds that the key to eliminating modern slavery is to give individuals working on projects the competence and confidence to spot modern slavery and to know what to do when this occurs. This requires support at an organisational, sectoral and legislative level. This report details this support.
... Modern slavery has been studied from areas of social sciences and humanities, such as law, geography, politics and international development, with a primary focus on victims (Gold et al., 2016). The literature addressing modern slavery from business and management perspective is nonetheless relatively limited ( Crane, 2013 ;New, 2015 ). The management research of modern slavery is predominately pertinent to supply chain management (SCM) and corporate social responsibilities (CSR). ...
... Gold et al. (2015) highlighted the connections between modern slavery and supply chain management and presented a framework conceptualising the challenges of slavery to supply chain management. New (2015) focused on modern slavery issues in supply chains and argued that traditional thinking and practices in corporate social responsibility are not sufficient for managing social issues along the supply chain, such as modern slavery. Crane (2013) maintained that the persistence of modern slavery by identifying the external institutional conditions and internal capabilities for sustaining slavery in businesses. ...
... Crane (2013) maintained that the persistence of modern slavery by identifying the external institutional conditions and internal capabilities for sustaining slavery in businesses. New (2015) and Barrientos (2013) claimed that focal firms should take substantial responsibilities to avoid human exploitation as they usually require short lead time and low prices, which lead to considerable pressure on suppliers or subcontractors to reduce costs, thereby giving rise to forms of modern slavery. ...
Article
Australia's Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) requires entities with at least AU$100 million annual consolidated revenues to submit annual modern slavery statement. The construction industry is considered as one sector most vulnerable to modern slavery. This research aims to identify the policies, systems and processes that will affect an organisation's approach to modern slavery risk and propose a framework for assessing the readiness of entities in the construction industry to address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Semi-structured interviews were used as the main research method to glean industry experts’ insights and perspectives on key themes and topics. The research finds that a successful modern slavery approach includes governance, risk assessment and ongoing due diligence, risk mitigation, grievance and remediation, performance monitoring and reporting, and education and capability building. This paper details the first academic research examining the implications of modern slavery legislation on construction businesses in Australia. The research contributes to existing body of knowledge by highlighting issues and concerns specific to modern slavery in an organisation's operation and supply chains. Focusing on the construction industry, this research opens up a dialogue on taking sector-specific approach in modern slavery risk detection and remediation. The research results offer practical reference for entities in the construction industry to plan, formulate and implement policies, systems, and processes to identify and mitigate modern slavery risk, so as to satisfy legislative requirements and to achieve social sustainability goals.
... Transparency legislation improves awareness of upstream risks amongst stakeholders, such as customers, media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (LeBaron & Rühmkorf, 2017;New, 2015), but typically statutory obligations are limited to only a few basic publication-oriented requirements, with non-binding guidance (AuGov, 2018;Harris, 2015;HMG, 2018) used to establish the reporting standards sought by policy makers. In practice, this affords firms considerable reporting freedom such that wide variations are noted in information disclosed in response to the Californian act (Koekkoek et al., 2017) and the UK act (Stevenson & Cole, 2018). ...
... They refer to "responsibility narratives" that can either omit or exaggerate activities. Voluntary reporting may also be ineffective in a modern slavery context because of its complex and distinctive characteristics (New, 2015), and the reporting freedom may also deflect attention from labour laws as the principal remedy to modern slavery (Fudge, 2018). There is therefore a risk that governments enter a "transparency trap" where they are attracted to an option with low implementation costs, but one which does not further their stated goals because firms' disclosure goals are image oriented, rather than outcome oriented (Hess, 2019). ...
... Firms typically adopt one of four disclosure strategies: transparency, where data are fully and openly disclosed; secrecy, where supply chain information is withheld for commercial reasons; distraction, where over-reporting of information is used to disguise a lack of meaningful content, or finally withholding, where firms neither seek, nor report information (Marshall et al., 2016). Disclosure options, however, depend on effective information discovery, and conventional corporate social responsibility (CSR) discovery practices may not be appropriate in a modern slavery context, where the issue is less tangible and often hidden (New, 2015). ...
Article
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Transparency lies at the heart of most modern slavery reporting legislation, but while publication of statements is mandatory, conformance with content guidance is voluntary, such that overall, corporate responses have been poor. Existing studies, concentrated in business to consumer rather than inter-organisational contexts, have not undertaken the fine-grained assessments of statements needed to identify which aspects of reporting performance are particularly poor and the underlying reasons that need to be addressed by policy makers. In a novel design, this study utilises the ethical trade initiative assessment framework to evaluate the content of 95 UK government suppliers’ modern slavery statements. The findings suggest that in a modern slavery context, discovery challenges are more important than firms’ attitudes to disclosure. We contribute to the transparency literature through a model contrasting discovery costs and disclosure risks and by identifying the disclosure of unknowns as an additional relevant dimension of disclosure. We then discuss the model in relation to normativity theory to consider options through which the currently low legitimacy of the reporting governance regime can be enhanced and the intended norms established.
... Crane et al. (2019) show that forced labor also exists in domestic production of goods that are produced for domestic consumption based on three industry cases in the UK (construction, food retail and cannabis). Similarly, in a case study based on vegetable production in the UK, New (2015) shows that power and information asymmetries in supply chains push suppliers to seek cheaper labor among migrant laborers, thus unintentionally creating some of the conditions Crane (2013) has identified. New (2015) further argues that this happens despite large corporations buying from UK vegetable farmers and having well-developed CSR programs, indicating a divide between what companies preach and what they allow to happen in their own supply chains. ...
... Similarly, in a case study based on vegetable production in the UK, New (2015) shows that power and information asymmetries in supply chains push suppliers to seek cheaper labor among migrant laborers, thus unintentionally creating some of the conditions Crane (2013) has identified. New (2015) further argues that this happens despite large corporations buying from UK vegetable farmers and having well-developed CSR programs, indicating a divide between what companies preach and what they allow to happen in their own supply chains. A significant part of management literature on modern slavery is on governance. ...
Article
Purpose Modern slavery is a humanitarian problem that affects global supply chains. Given the increasing pressures from legislature, consumers and investors, firms have a growing interest in eliminating forced labor and modern slavery from their supply chains. However, the impact of modern slavery on firm performance has not been shown before. This paper aims to investigate the impact of modern slavery allegations on companies’ operational performance. It also looks at the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts with respect to modern slavery. Design/methodology/approach The authors collect news articles on modern slavery in the global supply chains. The authors use an event study and use a robust matching method to measure the operational impact of modern slavery allegations. The authors also analyze the effects of media coverage and CSR practices on the relationship between allegations and firm performance. Findings The results show that modern slavery allegations do have a negative impact on performance, but this impact does not last long. The authors also show that strong CSR practices help firms mitigate the negative effect of these allegations. Research limitations/implications Because the issue is hidden, as a result limited data, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to retest the proposed propositions in the future. Practical implications The paper includes implications for the development of socially responsible supply chains and financial impact. Originality/value This paper presents the first empirical research investigating the impact of modern slavery allegations on companies’ operational performance.
... Regulatory efforts to address modern slavery predominately rely on voluntary disclosures and the incentivising effects of the market (New, 2015). 1 Coinciding with these developments is an emerging stream of accounting research on modern slavery, which like the broader literature on accounting for sustainability, focuses on assessing the veracity of disclosures and whether they generate improved organisational responses (Georg & Justesen, 2017;Rogerson et al., 2020;Sobkowiak et al., 2020). Existing research suggests that the efficacy of external reporting as a mechanism for addressing modern slavery, and organisational sustainability more generally, is limited at best (Christ, Roa and Burritt, 2019;Crane et al., 2019;Gold & Heikkurinen, 2018). ...
... For instance, forced labour is most prevalent in the case of multinational organisations that have complex, global supply chains in remote locations (Stringer & Michailova, 2018). However, extreme forms of labour exploitation have also been uncovered with local suppliers in developed economies (New, 2015). ...
Article
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This study examines how the risk of labour standards noncompliance can be rendered calculable and commensurable through a market device. We present a case study of the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF), an industry certification scheme, which seeks to address labour exploitation in the Australian contract cleaning industry. We pay particular attention to the central device of the certification scheme – the pricing schedule. We examine how the pricing schedule shaped the calculative space informing contracting parties during the procurement process. In doing so, the pricing schedule increased transparency around the potential risk of labour standards noncompliance. The nature of this transparency and the perceived objectivity of the pricing schedule acted to reshape the market for contract cleaning, resulting in a redistribution of accountability for labour exploitation. We also examine how the pricing schedule formed part of a wider framework of accountability, and how these mechanisms enabled strategic co-enforcement of labour standards compliance by supply chain stakeholders. Overall, our study indicates the potential for accounting practices to play a more active role in shaping how markets address modern slavery risks.
... While there is now a substantial literature on socially sustainable supply chain management (Koberg and Longoni 2019), it has long been argued that modern slavery is a particularly acute social problem that demands specific attention in its own right (e.g. New 2015). Yet, the hidden, criminal nature of the threat means that conducting research in this sphere is challenging (Stringer and Despite the close connection between modern slavery and conflict minerals, until now the two issues have been largely treated separately in the literature (Gold et al. 2015). ...
... It therefore connects the literature on modern slavery (e.g. Gold et al. 2015;New 2015) with the literature on conflict minerals (e.g. Kim and Davies 2016;Hofmann et al. 2018;Swift et al. 2019), which have in general been treated separately. ...
Article
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Modern slavery and conflict minerals are often treated as two separate grand challenges governed by different legislation, yet conflict mineral settings commonly involve and inflict slavery in supply chains-hence these two wicked problems are deeply interconnected. This paper focuses on due diligence in the context of conflict mineral supply chains, and in doing so provides important insights for modern slavery in general. Using more than 38 hours of recordings from exploratory interviews with 46 experts from 43 organizations, our study investigates: a) how due diligence costs and benefits are actually distributed in supply chains in practice; and b) the means through which due diligence costs and benefits can be (more appropriately) shared. We find that there is a lack of contextualization of cost-sharing mechanisms to conflict mineral supply chains, with most mechanisms being imported from the standard business literature where the producer must pay the production costs before reaping the benefits that offset these costs. But in conflict mineral supply chains, these benefits often do not materialize for the producer and, consequently, cost-sharing mechanisms lead to unintended consequences. The findings question the usefulness of due diligence, call for alternative financing mechanisms, and for contextualized solutions designed from the bottom up. This in turn has important implications for enhancing legislation on modern slavery.
... Debates are gaining attention in PSM/SCM, notably in the acceptance that conventional CSR and supply chain auditing practices are insufficient to address modern slavery (New, 2015), or human rights issues in the conflict minerals trade (Hofmann, Schleper & Blome, 2018). Yet, there are concerns that our field may not fare well under the lens of BNAU logics (Pagell and Wu, 2009). ...
... Yet, there are concerns that our field may not fare well under the lens of BNAU logics (Pagell and Wu, 2009). Dominant instrumental logics rest on the hegemony of growth (Johnsen et al., 2020), ubiquity of global supply chains (Gereffi and Lee, 2012), and externalization of natural and social risks (Sommer, 2017;New, 2015), and can frame unsustainable decisions as necessities for firms' survival (Montabon et al., 2016;Matthews et al., 2016). Alternative logics for BNAU include: 'ecologically dominant' logics whereby environmental and social issues supersede economic interests (Montabon et al., 2016); and a 'socio-economic' logic where sustainability priorities consider the impacts of businesses on stakeholders, rather than how businesses are impacted by stakeholders (McLoughlin and Meehan, 2021). ...
Article
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The raison d’ˆetre for this article is simple: traditional ways of researching, theorizing, and practicing purchasing and supply management (PSM) are no longer sufficient to ‘meet the moment’. Scholars need to advance a “business-not-as-usual” footing approach to their work, if they are to make a meaningful contribution to addressing the current and future emergencies, as highlighted by recent extreme weather and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, what can this, or should this, mean for a field rooted in traditional business thinking? This article builds on the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management’s (JPSM) 25th Anniversary Special Issue editorial (2019); members of the JPSM’s editorial team advance their unique perspectives on what “business-notas-usual” means for PSM. Specifically, we advocate both thinking much more widely, in scope and ambition, than we currently do, and simultaneously building our ability to comprehend supply chains in a more nuanced and granular way. We explore whether the bias toward positivist work has omitted potentially interesting findings, and viewpoints. This leads to a call to re-think how we approach our work: should the key criteria always be to focus on theory development or testing? Should academics “think bigger”? Turning to specific research themes, illustrations of how our current thinking can be challenged or broadened by addressing the circular economy, and role of purchasing and innovation. Specifically, the focus on the PSM function as an intrapreneur within the larger organization, and the role of innovation and technology in PSM work. Taken together, we hope the ideas and arguments presented here will inform and inspire ambitious and novel approaches to PSM research with significant and enduring impact on the transformation of business
... More recently, and especially after the introduction of the UK MSA, SCM researchers have started to shift their focus to modern slavery, a specific type of social issue in supply chains (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015). Different from traditional corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is understood as "doing good" or "doing more than what is required by law" (Arya and Zhang, 2009Zhang, , p. 1093, modern slavery, such as forced labor, human trafficking, and other forms of worker exploitation, is "illegal, often hidden, and involves a range of labor market intermediaries" (Caruana et al., 2021, p. 258) and it is viewed as "one of the most acute abuses of human rights in contemporary business practice" (Crane, 2013, p. 49). ...
... Different from traditional corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is understood as "doing good" or "doing more than what is required by law" (Arya and Zhang, 2009Zhang, , p. 1093, modern slavery, such as forced labor, human trafficking, and other forms of worker exploitation, is "illegal, often hidden, and involves a range of labor market intermediaries" (Caruana et al., 2021, p. 258) and it is viewed as "one of the most acute abuses of human rights in contemporary business practice" (Crane, 2013, p. 49). Such a distinction makes it challenging for researchers to conduct a direct investigation of modern slavery issues in supply chains due to personal safety concerns and the difficulty of obtaining reliable primary data (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015;Meehan and Pinnington, 2021 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 o n a l J o u r n a l o f O p e r a t i o n s a n d P r o d u c t i o n M a n a g e 5 requirements. In addition to organizational responses, recent studies have also explored how other stakeholder groups, such as investors and consumers, react to the introduction of modern slavery legislation (Cousins et al., 2020;Carrington et al., 2021). ...
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Purpose: There is still significant variation in firms’ efforts to address modern slavery issues in supply chains despite the importance of this grand challenge. Our research adopts the Awareness-Motivation-Capability (AMC) framework to investigate AMC-related factors that help to explain this variation. Design/methodology/approach: We hypothesize how AMC-related factors, including media coverage of modern slavery issues, slavery risks in supply chains, and corporate sustainability performance, are related to firms’ efforts to address modern slavery in supply chains. The proposed hypotheses are tested based on 201 UK firms’ modern slavery statements and additional secondary data collected from Factiva, Factset Revere, The Global Slavery Index, Worldscope, and Sustainalytics. Findings: Consistent with the AMC perspective, our test results show that firms put more effort into addressing supply chain modern slavery issues when there is greater media coverage of these issues, when firms source from countries with higher slavery risks, and when firms have better corporate sustainability performance. Our additional analysis further suggests that firms’ financial performance is not related to their efforts to address modern slavery issues. Originality: This is the first study adopting the AMC framework to investigate firms’ efforts to address modern slavery in supply chains. This investigation provides important implications for researchers studying firm behaviors related to modern slavery issues and for policymakers designing policies that enable firms to address these issues, in view of their awareness, motivation, and capability.
... Poverty, in this form, becomes a structural limitation on an individual's freedom that translates into the trap of modern slavery. In such a state of unfreedom, poverty and slavery feed into each other, making it difficult for the poor to resist extreme exploitation (Benstead et al., 2018;Cooke, 2003;Crane, 2013;Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015;Stevenson and Cole, 2018;Yea and Chok, 2018). Moreover, like the creation of poverty as a systemic feature of capitalism, slavery is inherent to it. ...
... Similarly, Douloti is sold as a commodity to work as a sex slave and her owners generate extraordinary profits. Several scholars examining modern slavery have pointed out that the extraction of surplus value through markets is at the heart of modern slavery (Bales et al., 2009;LeBaron et al., 2018;New, 2015). A way to achieve surplus is by reducing human beings to things, and slavery is based on "thingification" of humans, who can be bought and sold (Patterson, 1982). ...
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Researching Poverty and Austerity: Theoretical Approaches, Methodologies and Policy Applications, Routledge. Edited by Caroline Moraes, Morven McEachern and Deirdre O’Loughlin
... According to New's (2015) study, the distinct attributes of modern-day slavery may render conventional supply chain corporate social responsibility assessment (CSRA) initiatives ineffective. According to Faisal (2010), it is not necessary to allocate equal levels of attention to all supply chain obstacles related to corporate social responsibility (CSR). ...
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This paper aimed to study the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) accounting and supply chain management (SCM) in the context of less developed countries, such as Yemen. Primary data was gathered through a survey of 380 workers in Yemeni businesses. The information was gathered using a questionnaire. The findings showed that there is a statistically significant association between natural resource development (NRD), service quality improvement (IQS), CSR accounting, and SCM.
... The inclusion of CSR principles in supply chain management has gained importance in recent years, due to the negative effects on the organisation resulting from the socially irresponsible behaviour of its suppliers (Cole & Aitken, 2019;Sinkovics et al., 2016;Tang, 2018). Integrating CSR and supply chain management means taking into account such aspects as, among others: social issues as a priority during purchasing processes (Alghababsheh & Gallear, 2020;Miemczyk & Luzzini, 2019;Sancha et al., 2016); the impact of modern-day slavery and how organisations should deal with it in their supply chains (Bodendorf et al., 2022;Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015) and how ethical issues are dealt with in the context of the supply chain (Choi et al., 2022;Eltantawy et al., 2009;Shafiq et al., 2020). Thus, CSR in supply chains focuses on the development and implementation of practices that serve the main economic goals of the company, while taking into account legal, ethical, and discretionary obligations in the supply chains (Carroll, 2016). ...
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... Esses autores enquadram a escravidão moderna como um problema gerencial para organizações e cadeias de suprimentos desencadeado pela globalização do capitalismo moderno em crise (Gold, Trautrims, & Trodd, 2015;New, 2015). Essa agenda gerencialista incorpora reivindicações contestadas de superioridade civilizacional do Ocidente/Norte em relação ao "resto do mundo" (Davis, 2011;Gonzalez, 2020;Wynter, 2003). ...
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Resumo Esta edição especial, generosamente aceita e publicada pelo Cadernos EBAPE.BR, surge das lutas diárias pela preservação da vida no Brasil e em outras partes do Sul Global e contra a radicalização da invisibilidade das opressões coloniais e raciais em um momento de dupla pandemia, a da COVID-19 e da supremacia branca. Essa coleção de artigos que temos o prazer de compartilhar com você, incorpora nossa resposta decolonizadora e desracializadora a uma normalização da necropolítica, de decidir quem pode viver e quem deve morrer. Essa normalização pode ser vista, por exemplo, na falsa ideia de impunidade de agentes da aplicação da lei, como o policial de Mineápolis que matou George Floyd nos EUA. É importante destacar que o assassinato de George Floyd teria sido apenas mais uma estatística se não fosse a coragem e determinação da adolescente negra de 17 anos que filmou aquela ocorrência ordinária com seu celular. Inspirados pela coragem negra, reunimos oito artigos provocativos e perspicazes que nos ajudarão a refletir sobre as lutas enfrentadas por comunidades marginalizadas e o impacto da perspectiva eurocêntrica na compreensão das práticas de gestão e dinâmicas organizacionais. Esses artigos abordam temas como o papel da Contabilidade no sistema escravagista, formas contemporâneas de escravidão no Brasil e as experiências interseccionais das mulheres negras na exploração trabalhista. Nosso objetivo é desafiar narrativas existentes e, ao iluminar histórias ocultas sobre a escravidão negra por meio de perspectivas decoloniais e afrodiaspóricas, contribuir para decolonização e desracialização dentro e fora do campo da Gestão e dos Estudos Organizacionais.
... Such authors frame modern slavery as a managerial problem for organizations and supply chains triggered by the globalization of modern capitalism in crisis (Gold, Trautrims, & Trodd, 2015;New, 2015). This managerial agenda embodies contested claims of civilizational superiority of the West/North in relation to the 'rest of the world' (Davis, 2011;Gonzalez, 2020;Wynter, 2003). ...
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This special issue, generously accepted and published by Cadernos EBAPE.BR, emerges from the daily life-preserving struggles in Brazil and other parts of the Global South against the radical invisibility of colonial and racial oppressions at a time of the double pandemic of COVID-19 and white supremacy. This collection of articles that we have the pleasure to share with you embodies our decolonizing and deracializing response to normalization of necropolitics, of deciding who may live and who must die. This normalization can be seen in the false idea of impunity of law enforcement officials, such as the Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd in the USA. It is important to highlight that George Floyd’s death would have been yet another mere statistic if not for the courage and determination of the 17-year-old Black teenager who filmed it with her cell phone. Inspired by the attitude of this Black girl, we brought together eight provocative and insightful articles which will help us to reflect on the struggles faced by marginalized communities and the impact of the domain of Eurocentric perspective on the understanding of management practices and organizations’ dynamics. These papers cover topics such as the role of accounting in the slave-owning system, contemporary forms of slavery in Brazil, and the intersectional experiences of Black women in labor exploitation. Our goal is to challenge existing narratives and shed light on hidden histories to contribute to the decolonization and deracialization within and outside the field of Management and Organizational Studies.
... The first publications on the subject were conceptual, describing the conditions in which modern slavery can thrive (e.g. Crane, 2013); the challenges presented to supply chain management by recognition-legally and phenomenologically-of the issue (Gold et al., 2015;New, 2015); or the many and various failings inherent in the legislation (Islam & van Staden, 2021;Pesterfield, 2021), particularly resulting from government compromising the legislation before it was enacted (LeBaron & Rühmkorf, 2017;. ...
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There is a growing understanding that modern slavery is a phenomenon ‘hidden in plain sight’ in the home countries of multinational firms. Yet, business scholarship on modern slavery has so far focussed on product supply chains. To address this, we direct attention to the various institutional pressures on the UK construction industry, and managers of firms within it, around modern slavery risk for on-site labour. Based on a unique data set of 30 in-depth interviews with construction firm managers and directors, we identify two institutional logics as being integral to explaining how these companies have responded to the Modern Slavery Act: a market logic and a state logic. While the institutional logics literature largely assumes that institutional complexity will lead to a conciliation of multiple logics, we find both complementarity and continued conflict in the logics in our study. Though we identify conciliation between aspects of the market logic and the state logic, conflict remains as engagement with actions which could potentially address modern slavery is limited by the trade-offs between the two logics.
... From a review of literature in supply chain management, strategy, social issues in management, human resources management, accounting and marketing, Caruana et al. (2021) find that the modern slavery research field has been overlooked and is underdeveloped. They agree with New (2015) that slavery slipped off the agenda of business academics but are optimistic that additional research can help build better theory and make progress in relation to modern slavery. Caruana et al. (2021) consider that law, political science and history might provide the means for future progress. ...
Article
As the Global Reporting Initiative currently provides the most widely used set of voluntary sustainability reporting standards, the question arises as to the extent to which the Initiative's multi‐stakeholder governance is helping towards ending modern slavery in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8. Stakeholder theory and examination of the Initiative's sustainability standards are used, to examine the issue. Evidence from the Initiative's set of universal, topic and sector standards reveals that, while forced and child labour are identified as granular material topics for sustainability reporting, the broader concept of modern slavery has not been recognised as a required material theme for disclosure. One recent exception is voluntary publication of three new sector standards, where the modern slavery term appears to be introduced as a symbolic rather than a substantive notion. Main contributions from the research relate to, first, providing a critique of the multi‐stakeholder foundations for governance as used by the Initiative; second, examination of the results of the Initiative's standard setting process in terms of its standards and their incorporation of modern slavery, from a multi‐stakeholder governance perspective with the hope of improving governance in the future.
... Modern slavery in the supply chain is a complex ecosystem. Thus, an ecosystem approach must be taken to brings the entire supply chain together in cooperation (New 2015). In the face of a large and complex global supply chain systems, the technology of artificial biotechnology and blockchain can be used to provide technical support to individual organisations so that illegal acts of modern slavery in the supply chain can be detected and companies can be prompted to take relevant measures (Tambe and Tambay 2020). ...
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Modern slavery is a complex and challenging phenomenon that may hinder the sustainable development of the global supply chain. However, there is no existing academic review on modern slavery in supply chains. This study conducts a systematic literature review to synthesise this body of literature. We searched keywords in the Scopus database and identified 44 articles published between 2013 and 2022 to identify critical themes and propose a conceptual framework capturing the relationships among the identified themes. Through our analysis, three themes of modern slavery in supply chains were identified: antecedents (analyzed from regulatory, organisational, and social perspectives); practices (e.g. practices to mitigate modern slavery in supply chains); and outcomes (e.g. business compliance). We conclude by proposing a research agenda to inform future research.
... According to the study New (2015), the unique characteristics of contemporary slavery may render traditional supply chain CSRA efforts useless. In Faisal (2010), not all supply chain hurdles to CSR require the same level of attention. ...
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This study aimed to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility accounting (CSRA) and supply chain management (SCM). A survey of 375 employees from Jordanian businesses was used to gather primary data. For the data collection method, a questionnaire was used. SPSS version 25 was used to conduct descriptive statistical analysis. The results indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship at a significant level (α≤0.05) between the domains of corporate social responsibility accounting (CSRA) including human resource development HRD, Natural resources development NRD, improve quality product IQP, improve quality service IQS and supply chain management (SCM).
... Literature has shown that data integration with SCs has become indispensable for achieving sustainability (Bag et al., 2020;Singh and El-Kassar, 2019;. Dealing with SC transparency from an ecological perspective, a number of the recent studies can be indicated which include the ones dealing with: increased engagement with regulators and replenishment of the natural resources (Cousins et al., 2019), carbon footprint tracking (Acquaye et al., 2014), management of waste (Mena et al., 2014), social responsibility (New, 2015) and increased social/ecological performance (Bastian and Zentes, 2013). In addition to the direct causality between SC data integration and Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM), the relationship has also been shown as indirect, and it is mediated by SC coordination and support (Gupta et al., 2019). ...
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In order to realize the goals of Industry 5.0 (I5.0), which has data interoperability as one of its core principles, the future research in the Supply Chain (SC) visibility has to be aligned with socially, economically and environmentally sustainable objectives. Within the purview of circular economy, this paper indicates various aspects and implications of data sharing in the SCs in light of the published research. Taking into consideration the heterogeneity of data sources and standards, this article also catalog all the major data-sharing technologies being employed in sharing data digitally across the SCs. Drawing on the published research from 2015 to 2021, following the PRISMA framework, this paper presents the state of research in the field of data sharing in SCs in terms of their standardization, optimization, simulation, automation, security and more notably sustainability. Using the co-occurrence metric, bibliometric analysis has been conducted such that the collected research is categorized under various keyword clusters and regional themes. This article brings together two major themes in reviewing the research in the field. Firstly, the bibliometric analysis of the published articles makes manifest the contours of the current state of research and the future possibilities in the field. Secondly, in synthesizing the research on the foundations of sustainability within the CRoss Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) framework, this article deals with the various aspects and implications of information sharing in the SCs. By bringing these two themes together, this paper affords a prospective researcher with the research vis-à-vis the information sharing in SC, starting from the actual data standards in use to the modality and consequence of their application within the perspective of the circular economy. This article, in essence, indicates how all the aspects of data sharing in SCs may be brought together in service of the theme of I5.0.
... The mechanisms were also found to be specific to the actor responsible for their implementation, in line with the expectation that governments, companies and civil society all have parts to play in mitigating against forced and child labour risks [31,46]. While governments need to provide enabling legislation and effective enforcement [13], private companies have the capacity to implement standards on their vessels and supply chains [22,30] and individual and collective agency are important for holding actors to account [21]. ...
Article
Growing concern about forced and child labour abuses in the fishing industry has led to calls to integrate social issues within the sustainable seafood sector. While abusive labour practices in fisheries are increasingly studied, and consensus is building on overarching principles and benchmarks, few studies have reviewed the practical mechanisms available to mitigate forced and child labour risks. This paper provides an overview of labour risk management practices reported by fisheries certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard, representing over 15% of the world’s marine capture fishery production. MSC-certified fisheries have been required to submit forced and child labour statements since 2018. The statements were analysed to examine the mechanisms to mitigate forced and child labour across different fishery contexts. Results indicated where MSC-certified vessels were broadly in line with expectations from international, private, and NGO standards or guidelines on labour issues, but also illustrated where there were departures. These could be explained by differences in how policy and practice are applied in different regulatory and cultural contexts, such as the requirement for use of written contracts in countries that have ratified ILO C188 versus the preference in some cases for the use of verbal share agreements. This reflects the challenge of creating culturally-appropriate, adaptable standards that are able to detect real risks of labour violations. To fully consider these nuances, our proposed framework captures key aspects of setting, implementing, and monitoring and enforcement of requirements alongside the roles of government, companies, and civil society. We propose this framework could be applied more broadly to evaluate fisheries’ practices.
... Acknowledging both the intensity and illegitimacy of modern slavery, the last decade has seen a wave of activity from governments in the form of new legislation such as the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, 2010 in the United States, the Modern Slavery Act, 2015 in the United Kingdom and the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) in Australia. Such national legislation promotes transparency in operations and supply chains via corporate disclosures as an appropriate way to address modern slavery practices (New, 2015) and goes some way to addressing SDG 8. ...
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This research develops a set of specific modern slavery disclosure principles for organisations. It critically evaluates seven legislative Acts from five different countries and 16 guidelines and directives from international organisations. By undertaking an in-depth content analysis, the research derives an index comprising nine principles and 49 disclosure items to promote best-practice disclosure in tackling modern slavery. We promote nine active principles for organisations to implement and disclose: recognising modern slavery practices, identifying risks, publishing a modern slavery risk prevention policy, proactive in assessing and addressing risks, assessing efficacy of actions, garnering internal and external oversight, externally communicating modern slavery risk mitigation, implementing a suppliers’ assessment and code of conduct to ensure transparency and specifying consequences for non-compliance. The research is motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focusses on economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. The research findings will assist practitioners seeking to discover and disclose evidence of modern slavery practices and their mitigation to minimise and encourage the elimination of this unethical and illegal practice in domestic and global supply chains and operations.
... The escalation of the global international communities of migrants and the impacts upon local societies have attracted critical scholarship both in the humanities and social sciences in recent decades. The ambiguity in the legal production of various forms of illegal practices to the extent that a new form of slavery is emerging concerning the migrant workers takes center stage of the current debates (Isin 2007;Morales 2009;Griffiths and Bales 2010;Bales 2012;De Genova 2013;Mhurchú 2014;Fudge 2014;Dauvergne and Marsden 2014;Clarke, Coll, and Dagnino 2014;New 2015;Weissbrodt and Divine 2016;McNevin 2017;Friedman 2018;Nail 2019;Rioux et al. 2020). These studies challenge the exclusionary politics of citizenship within the nation-state that have made migrants, temporary migrant workers, and non-citizens an underclass and hence denied equal access to the social space (Mhurchú 33). ...
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The rapidly rising global capitalism and the increasing competition of neoliberal markets have speeded up temporary migrant workers' flow and exacerbated labor extraction through a sophisticated logistics system that contributes to neoliberal slavery in the twenty-first century. This essay argues that the legal ideology of citizenship in contemporary societies has contributed to the legal production of illegality, and consequently, new forms of internal colonization. This essay also urges the conceptualization of “citizens” to de-link with the notion of nationality based on abstract ideas of blood, religion, language, etc. “Citizens”—“city-dwellers”—should refer to those who live and work here belong to the place and should enjoy equal access to the social space. To elaborate my argument, I take the image of the sardine can at sea on Tempo magazine as a metaphorical trope for the complex logistical network that supports the neoliberal slavery system in the twenty-first century. From this axis of the logistic chain, I shall analyze the engine that drives the regeneration and transformation of the slavery system of today. The geo-historical parameters and the local economic demands are constitutive figures that pave the path to recruiting temporary migrant laborers as surplus reproductive troops. The discourse of multiculturalism is convenient for recruitment as a disguise. The juridical stipulations based on the legal ideology of citizenship further aggravate civic space's physical and symbolic violence. I shall conclude with the logistics of neoliberal slavery locked up with the citizenship ideology and propose a new conceptualization of citizenship and civil rights.
... Although consumers are increasingly likely to research ethical claims and put pressure on companies with their collective 'gaze' (Caruana and Chatzidakis, 2014), production processes are often too complex and changeable for individual consumers to assess. One might also acknowledge cases where companies deliberately obscure or ignore the less desirable consequences of their business models, such as downplaying modern slavery in the supply chain (New, 2015), knowingly using a chemical that has now tainted the blood of almost all living creatures on Earth (Rich, 2016), or profiting from forced labour camps (Kossof, 2020). ...
Article
Since the 1970s critical marketing scholars have called for systemic change to overcome the ethical problems generated by consumption, such as unsustainable resource use, industry-induced climate change, and social inequities. Mainstream marketing research has instead problematised the individual consumer and sought ways to diminish the so-called gap between ethics and consumption. The current conceptual paper follows Carrington et al. (2016) and other contemporary critical marketing scholars in redirecting attention away from individual (un)ethical consumers and toward the (im)moral market structures that inflect their decision-making. Its first contribution to this line of thinking is to propose an ethical consumption cap rather than an ethical consumption gap. This subtle but significant shift in emphasis suggests that contemporary capitalism creates conditions in which ethical consumption is costly in terms of money, time and effort. Rather than the responsibilising rhetoric of the ‘gap’, the ‘cap’ acknowledges the plethora of systemic pressures that make it difficult for consumers to consume ethically and invites researchers to look elsewhere for solutions. The second contribution of this paper is to follow Grayling (2019) in delineating the character of ethics from the concept of morality, which is more suggestive of obligations and duties. With this etymology in mind, it is argued that other market actors can do much more to remove problematic choices from the market and thus raise the mean market morality. Attending to the average morality of markets instead of emphasising capped ethical consumerism treads a difficult conceptual path between conflicting political positions, but may buy enough time for viable socioeconomic alternatives to neoliberalism to emerge and expand.
... Sejalan dengan itu, Buku Hijau Uni Eropa mendefinisikan CSR sebagai integrasi sukarela, oleh perusahaan-perusahaan yang memiliki kepedulian sosial dan lingkungan dalam operasi komersial mereka dan hubungan mereka dengan lawan bicara mereka (Longo dkk, 2005). Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa, pada bagiannya mengungkapkan bahwa perusahaan memiliki tanggung jawab sosial dan kewajiban moral untuk menggunakan kekuatan pasar untuk menjadikan globalisasi sebagai kekuatan positif bagi semua (Dusuki, 2008;New, 2015). ...
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A business's response to a crisis must be through inclusion in its mission to create social value beyond economic value for shareholders. However, CSR is not about how benefits are shared but about how they are created; Therefore, CSR should be seen as a new management model and not as a marketing tool. Incorporating CSR in organizations requires the integration of philosophies and principles at all levels. This article aims to explore the concept of CSR and its dimensions, in dialogue with stakeholders, in various management instruments in terms of corporate responsibility, and the value of its strategy; in such a way that companies that successfully align their interests and implement responsible environmental accounting, will achieve a competitive advantage that is difficult to imitate.
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Numerous corporate and state processes have long underpinned harms related to human trafficking and exploitation. A consequence of these processes has been a growing interest in how public and private sector organisations co-operate to address key challenges, including accountability for alleged exploitation. The purpose of this article is to examine these public-private sector dynamics in the Finnish construction industry, with a particular emphasis on how stakeholders respond to challenges associated with human trafficking, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the ‘grey economy’. The core argument developed is that despite a strong regulatory framework in Finnish construction, significant aspects of corporate compliance rely on companies’ voluntary efforts, whereby public sector authorities can have competing views of solutions to address trafficking and exploitation. This paper contributes to existing discussions within white-collar and corporate crime on the dynamics of CSR, and how these apply to the broader context of the grey economy.
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Mandatory annual reporting, to improve transparency of working conditions in firms' supply chains, is the favored approach of UK policymakers for reducing modern slavery risks in supply chains. Despite legislation and extensive guidance, annual corporate statements are disappointing, providing little evidence of substantive action. So far though, there has been little primary research of managers' understanding of the phenomenon or their perceived agency in tackling modern slavery. In a qualitative study, employing template analysis, data were drawn from multiple sources, including interviews with 32 managers from three large UK firms in a complex, high‐risk sector (construction). Four focus groups were used to establish credibility of the findings. As managers struggle with how to make sense of where to look, how to look, and what to see, they adopt narrowed perspectives and analogies that inhibit immediate, compelling action. Improved awareness of UK labor supply chain issues has distanced managers further from action relating to global material supply chains. Through analogy with health and safety legislation, which developed over a considerable period, managers justify a wait‐and‐see approach, deferring action. Such convenience framing helps them to avoid issues relating to complexity, control, cost, and (in)visibility. This framing needs to be disrupted for meaningful action to result. Drawing on sensemaking theory relating to paradoxical financial and sustainability objectives, the study suggests how extended legislation and governance may drive more substantive responses that transcend the constraints of business‐case logic.
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This paper investigates issues surrounding the continuity of Modern-Day Slavery (MDS) in Nigeria's mining sector, critically focusing on its prevalence, influencing elements, and implications. Despite its illegality, the perpetuation of MDS is a serious violation of labor ethics and human rights. Using a qualitative approach, this study unpacks issues surrounding MDS, while providing a critical analysis which provides insights into the historical underpinning and related socioeconomic dimensions that have fuelled the perpetuation of the issue in Nigeria's mining sector. The findings from the study identify that the lack of enforcement elements to improve the effectiveness of anti-slavery laws, the presence of systemic corruption, extreme poverty and low literacy levels as some factors facilitating the continuity of the scourge. Additionally, social desirability bias is recognised as an important factor that influences the underreporting of activities of MDS, thereby enabling its continuity. By providing a comprehensive light into the issue, the paper contributes to gaps in literature relating to MDS and underreporting in the sub-Saharan region and also extends policy discourses, which could serve as a foundation for mitigating the continuity of the issue in the mining sector.
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Social risk assessments and case studies of labour conditions in food production primarily focus on specific subpopulations, regions and commodities. To date, research has not systematically assessed labour conditions against international standards across diverse, complex food products. Here we combine data on production, trade, labour intensity and qualitative risk coding to quantitatively assess the risk of forced labour embedded in the US land-based food supply, building on our previous assessment of fruits and vegetables. We demonstrate that animal-based proteins, processed fruits and vegetables, and discretionary foods are major contributors to forced labour risk and that 62% of total forced labour risk stems from domestic production or processing. Our findings reveal the widespread risk of forced labour present in the US food supply and the necessity of collaborative action across all countries—high, middle and low income—to eliminate reliance on labour exploitation.
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The exploitation of workers in global supply chains (GSCs) has been strengthened over the past 40 years, mainly since the emergence of globalization and neoliberalism. A primary ethical concern of outsourcing and marketing is labour exploitation in developing countries. In Bangladesh's RMG industry, workers are often paid low wages and forced to work long hours in unsafe conditions. Many international clothing brands have been criticized for outsourcing their production to factories that violate labor rights. As a result, unethical outsourcing and marketing of the global supply chains from Bangladesh's RMG industry has left millions of RMG workers in dire straits. Furthermore, this chapter focuses on theoretical interpretations and finds that globalization and neoliberalism exposed modern slavery in the global supply chain networks. Hence, this chapter suggests that international clothing and fashion brands must ethically outsource from a country like Bangladesh.
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Purpose The globalisation of supply chains has contributed to modern slavery by degrading labour standards and work practices. The inherent difficulties involved in monitoring extremely fragmented production processes also render workers in and from developing countries vulnerable to labour exploitation. This research adopts a benchmark methodology that will help examine the inherent modern slavery challenges. Design/methodology/approach This study examines how the benchmark model, including governance, risk assessment, purchasing practice, recruitment and remedy of victims, addresses supply chain modern slavery challenges. The proposed hypotheses are tested based on the reoccurring issues of modern slavery in global supply chains. Findings Estimations suggest that modern slavery is a growing and increasingly prominent international problem, indicating that it is the second largest and fastest growing criminal enterprise worldwide except for narcotics trafficking. These social issues in global supply chains have drawn attention to the importance of verifying, monitoring and mapping supply chains, especially in lengthy and complex supply chains. However, the advent of digital technologies and benchmarking methodologies has become one of the existing key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring the effectiveness of modern slavery initiatives in supply chains. Originality/value This review provides an understanding of the current situation of global supply chains concerning the growing social issue of modern slavery. However, this includes various individual specialities relating to global supply chains, modern slavery, socially sustainable supply chain management (SCM), logistic social responsibility, corporate social responsibility and digitalisation. Furthermore, the review provided important implications for researchers examining the activities on benchmarking the effectiveness of the existing initiatives to prevent modern slavery in the supply chains.
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More than 50 million people in the world are estimated to be in a situation of modern slavery, the most extreme form of labour exploitation. Many of them are working in sectors such as mining and agriculture, which produce price-sensitive commodity products and where workers are particularly vulnerable. Against this challenge, we analyse a successful intervention against modern slavery in a place that has been labelled the “ground zero of modern slavery in the US”. The Fair Food Programme was established in the tomato growing industry in Immokalee, Florida, and is based on an innovative joint action between farmers, buyers, and workers. We use an agent-based model built on qualitative field data to explain the success of the programme and to investigate whether the programme could be successfully transferred to other contextual settings. We model several market structures and measure the time it takes for all actors in the system to join the Fair Food Programme after a shock event (such as a case of modern slavery being discovered) triggered a dynamic of joint action. Our model shows that a high heterogeneity in farmer sizes leads to an increase in the time taken for them all to join the Fair Food Programme, while a high heterogeneity in buyer sizes speeds up reaching the tipping point towards joint action. We discuss these results and their implications for the transferability of the Fair Food Programme as a voluntary, incentive-driven approach towards tackling modern slavery, to other locations and contexts.
Chapter
Human trafficking and forced labour are not new issues in Southeast Asia, and they are still prevalent today. This chapter explores the social and ecological dynamics of migration and trafficking, as well as the underlying causes of these problems, especially in multinational corporations. This chapter also examines the international and regional laws relating to human trafficking and forced labour. Although many international instruments have been established, these issues are still growing as many trafficking victims are still trapped in a variety of industries. The complexity of the global supply and demand chain have directly enabled human trafficking to be more profitable. Many countries have taken various initiatives to promulgate their home legislation to combat human trafficking. Nevertheless, the continued existence of human trafficking demonstrates a lack of enforcement. Finally, the study emphasises the significance of coordination and collaboration across member states, including transparent data exchange on human trafficking and forced labour.
Chapter
This chapter deals with the second fundamental component of supply network 5.0: sustainability. It considers the green supply network management and the relationships of green supply with the SCOR framework. It details the challenges of a circular economy and responsible automation. This chapter defines a Sustainable Supply Network Management (SSNM) model for supply network 5.0. It includes a description of the ideas around SSNM’s concept, and its aspects related to the economic, social, and environmental pillars. This chapter aims to provide and enlighten the relationship between sustainability and supply network management. Specifically, after carefully considering green supply network management, the application of sustainability, and the different operative models used to enhance performances, this chapter aims to provide an example through a real case. To do that and to prove this relationship and how the potential results could broadly impact organizations, this chapter includes the Rana Plaza case.KeywordsSustainabilitySustainable supply network managementGreen scoreGreen and leanCircular economyResponsible automation
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This paper presents a critical review of the relevant literature on socially sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). A systematic literature review of 291 papers that includes social sustainability published in peer-reviewed journals was conducted. The research contents of each papers were analyzed to identify the common themes, theories and methods which has been employed in the extant literature. The findings of this paper include the discussion of key research gaps, with a specific focus on research areas in social sustainability in the supply chain that needs to be addressed. Finally, the discussion on the opportunities for future research is presented.
Article
Transportation plays a key role in combating human trafficking and California is monumental in understanding this role. This paper presents one element of research undertaken for United States Department of Transportation for understanding the role of transportation in combating human trafficking in California through a survey of multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking practitioners followed by a semi-structured interview. This paper focuses on forced labor and supply chain management. It presents general knowledge on forced labor issues in California and globally, the intersection with transportation, efforts to combat forced labor in the supply chains, and experts’ suggestions on how to address forced labor. The study also supplements expert input with labor violation and transportation accessibility analysis. Experts state that in order the combat forced labor the underlying reason for forced labor, which is economic incentives, should be understood first for a shift to demand reduction. Experts urge for pricing studies, mapping and technology to understand the vulnerabilities, hot spots, legal operating price and detect anomalies in the supply chain. Second, experts suggest awareness and responsibility of all levels for achieving transparency in supply chains. Reexamination of California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and enforcement of other policies was also commonly suggested. Monitors, public private partnership and technology was recommended for ensuring sustainability of the efforts and capacity management. Labor violation and transit accessibility analysis supports the expert input for focusing on farm workers and garment industry and potential transportation accessibility solutions to address some of the vulnerabilities.
Article
This article describes an exercise that develops students’ capacity to identify ethical dilemmas, apply ethical frameworks, and consider ethical issues from multiple perspectives. The exercise consists of five interrelated activities that take place over the course of several weeks, with the central activity being a panel discussion featuring businesspeople from the local community. The exercise provides opportunities for students to work as a class, in small groups, and individually, and its culmination is a reflective essay that helps students internalize core concepts about business ethics. The exercise can be executed in a face-to-face class or a synchronous online environment.
Preprint
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One of the great challenges to campaigning against modern slavery is the availability of financial resources. Yet businesses have considerable social assets that can act as a major resource for meaningful anti-slavery campaigns. Inspired by social capital theory, this article reviews the Co-op's modern slavery campaign of 2017-2020 with the aim of identifying social assets that can be utilised by businesses in campaigning against modern slavery. It identifies four assets inherent in most businesses-identity, leadership, networks, and people, and discusses how these were leveraged by the Coop to contribute to anti-slavery action.
Article
Purpose There is a growing concern over the need for greater transparency of quality information by companies about modern slavery to contribute toward elimination of the practice. Hence, this paper aims to examine factors behind the quality of voluntary modern slavery disclosures and major sources of pressure on Australian company disclosures in a premodern slavery legislated environment. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis and cross- sectional regression modeling are conducted to analyze factors determining the quality of voluntary modern slavery disclosures of the top 100 firms listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and their implications for institutional pressures. Findings Results indicate that size, assurance by Big-4 firms and publication of stand-alone modern slavery statements are significant drivers of disclosure quality in the sample. Profitability, listing status and the degree of internationalization are found to be unrelated to the quality of voluntary modern slavery disclosures. Industry classification is significant but only partly supports the prediction, and further investigation is recommended. Practical implications This paper provides a foundation for regulators and companies toward improving the quality of their modern slavery risk disclosures with a particular focus on prior experience, assurance and size. In practice, contrary to suggestions in the literature, results indicate that monetary penalties are unlikely to be an effective means for improving the quality of modern slavery disclosure. Results of the study provide evidence of poor quality of disclosures and the need for improvement, prior to introduction of modern slavery legislation in Australia in 2018. It also confirms that regulation to improve transparency, through the required publication of a modern slavery statement, is significant but not enough on its own to increase disclosure quality. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research examining company level factors with an impact on voluntary modern slavery disclosure quality and the links to institutional pressures, prior to the introduction of the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018.
Article
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Supply chain transparency and its connection to sustainability is a current topic in supply chain management research. The term supply chain transparency is used very loosely in this discourse. Therefore, this article aims to clarify the understanding of supply chain transparency in the context of sustainability to enable future research. In a content analysis-based literature review, 92 peer-reviewed articles were identified in the intersection of sustainability, supply chains, and transparency. Only 30 articles contained a definition of transparency. Supply chain transparency was used and defined very differently among the researchers. By providing a general definition and framework of sustainable supply chain transparency, the term “supply chain transparency” gains more clarity. Three dimensions of transparency were identified: sustainable supply chain information, involved stakeholders, and perspective. The supply chain transparency research was conducted primarily in the context of the food and apparel industry. Transparency was characterized differently among the industries and was studied with different foci. Furthermore, the review revealed a focus of supply chain transparency research on the social dimension of sustainability. Additionally, a wide range of topics on supply chain transparency has been covered in the existing literature, and opportunities for future research are outlined. Future researchers are also encouraged to define transparency more clearly.
Chapter
Entire industries have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, global supply chains, along with their collaborators, have been severely affected. The slow pace of recovery has raised many questions as it is not only a matter of vaccination and employment. Other issues that preceded the pandemic are pushing recovery further; inequality is at the center of these issues. If unequal conditions and practices do not change, is recovery even possible? Another issue that arises is the illustrious need to get back to normal, which leads to the questions: should we be striving for normal? Is it the ideal state? The study contributes to the understanding of recovery’s slow pace and proposes a conceptual model to foster socially responsible supply chain governance by means of individual and organizational resilience to close the inequality gap and recover.
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La literatura sobre Brasil aún no ha realizado un resumen exhaustivo adecuado de todos los hechos históricos detrás de la crisis económica iniciada a lo largo de la primera administración de Dilma Rousseff (2011-2014). Los impactos de esta crisis económica y las políticas económicas de Michel Temer (2016-2018) en las condiciones laborales también son preguntas abiertas. Este trabajo ilustra los principales factores de- trás de la desaceleración cíclica brasileña después de 2011, relacionándolos con la desti- tución de Dilma en 2016; después de esto, el trabajo evalúa brevemente las tendencias laborales en Brasil desde 2016. El trabajo concluye que el proceso de impugnación de Dilma Rousseff fue una respuesta política a la crisis, respuesta que tenía como objetivo transferir los costos de los márgenes de beneficio más bajos al presupuesto estatal y a las clases trabajadoras.
Book
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'Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised'. So reads the legal definition of slavery agreed by the League of Nations in 1926. Further enshrined in law during international negotiations in 1956 and 1998, this definition has been interpreted in different ways by the international courts in the intervening years. What can be considered slavery? Should forced labour be considered slavery? Debt-bondage? Child soldiering? Or forced marriage? This book explores the limits of how slavery is understood in law. It shows how the definition of slavery in law and the contemporary understanding of slavery has continually evolved and continues to be contentious. It traces the evolution of concepts of slavery, from Roman law through the Middle Ages, the 18th and 19th centuries, up to the modern day manifestations, including manifestations of forced labour and trafficking in persons, and considers how the 1926 definition can distinguish slavery from lesser servitudes. The book includes a set of guidelines intended to clarify the law where slavery is concerned.
Article
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Purpose – This paper aims to draw attention to the challenges modern slavery poses to supply chain management. Although many international supply chains are (most often unknowingly) connected to slave labour activities, supply chain managers and researchers have so far neglected the issue. This will most likely change as soon as civil society lobbying and new legislation impose increasing litigation and reputational risks on companies operating international supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a definition of slavery; explores potentials for knowledge exchange with other disciplines; discusses management tools for detecting slavery, as well as suitable company responses after its detection; and outlines avenues for future research. Findings – Due to a lack of effective indicators, new tools and indicator systems need to be developed that consider the specific social, cultural and geographical context of supply regions. After detection of slavery, multi-stakeholder partnerships, community-centred approaches and supplier development appear to be effective responses. Research limitations/implications – New theory development in supply chain management (SCM) is urgently needed to facilitate the understanding, avoidance and elimination of slavery in supply chains. As a starting point for future research, the challenges of slavery to SCM are conceptualised, focussing on capabilities and specific institutional context. Practical implications – The paper provides a starting point for the development of practices and tools for identifying and removing slave labour from supply chains. Originality/value – Although representing a substantial threat to current supply chain models, slavery has so far not been addressed in SCM research.
Article
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This Article addresses the problem of preventing human rights violations abroad that result from the globalization of business. It specifically explores the challenge of improving labor standards in global value chains. The modern business has changed dramatically and has “gone global” in order to court foreign markets and secure resources, including labor. Familiar household names, such as Nike and Apple, have “outsourced” many of their functions to suppliers overseas. As multinational buyers, they dominate one end of the global value chain. At the opposite end of the value chain are the local managers and owners of the factories and workhouses where tablets are assembled, running shoes are made, and gowns are sown. These facilities are often the sites of serious human rights violations, such as forced labor and child labor.
Article
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The extent to what bad labor conditions across the globe are associated with international trade is unknown. Here, we quantify the bad labor conditions associated with consumption in seven world regions, the “bad labor” footprint. In particular, we analyze how much occupational health damage, vulnerable employment, gender inequality, share of unskilled workers, child labor, and forced labor is associated with the production of internationally traded goods. Our results show that (i) as expected, there is a net flow of bad labor conditions from developing to developed regions; (ii) the production of exported goods in lower income regions contributes to more than half of the bad labor footprints caused by the wealthy lifestyles of affluent regions; (iii) exports from Asia constitute the largest global trade flow measured in the amount bad labor, while exports from Africa carry the largest burden of bad labor conditions per unit value traded and per unit of total labor required; and (IV) the trade of food products stands out in both volume and intensity of bad labor conditions.
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The estimation of the "dark figure" for any crime (the number of actual instances of a specific crime committed minus the reported cases of that crime within a population) has primarily rested on the ability to conduct random sample crime surveys. Such surveys are based on the assumption that victims experience crimes that are discrete, time-bound, and of relatively short duration. The crime of enslavement, however, presents a special challenge to estimation because it is of indeterminate duration. This challenge is compounded by the fact that victims of slavery are also often isolated by the stigma linked to sexual assault, or a sense of shame over their enslavement. Using a unique dataset, based in part on the random sample surveys of Julia Pennington et al. (2009), and extended through a process of extrapolation, this paper estimates the numbers of victims of slavery and human trafficking for thirty-seven countries in Europe. These estimated numbers of slavery victims are then compared with reported cases of slavery and trafficking for the same countries.
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This paper investigates different modes of organizing for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on insights from organization theory, we theorize two ways to organize for CSR. “Complete” organization for CSR happens within businesses and depends on the availability of certain organizational elements (e.g., membership, hierarchy, rules, monitoring, and sanctioning). By contrast, “partial” organization for CSR happens when organizers do not have direct access to all these organizational elements. We discuss partial organization for CSR by analyzing how standards and cross-sector partnerships make selective use of organizational elements. We maintain that an important feature of the increasing institutionalization of CSR—not only within businesses but also among non-governmental, governmental, and professional actors—is the rise of partial forms of organization. We discuss the contributions to this Special Issue in the context of our theorization of complete/partial organization for CSR and outline avenues for further research.
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We outline the drivers, main features, and conceptual underpinnings of the compliance paradigm. We then use a similar structure to investigate the drivers, main features, and conceptual underpinnings of the cooperative paradigm for working with CSR in global value chains. We argue that the measures proposed in the new cooperation paradigm are unlikely to alter power relationships in global value chains and bring about sustained improvements in workers’ conditions in developing country export industries. After that, we provide a critical appraisal of the potential and limits of the cooperative paradigm, we summarize our findings, and we outline avenues for research: purchasing practices and labor standard noncompliance, CSR capacity building among local suppliers, and improved CSR monitoring by local resources in the developing world.
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Global supply chains are part of the corporate strategy of many multinational companies, with often adverse effects on labor conditions. While employment relations scholars focus on a production-oriented paradigm, revolving around interactions between employers, workers, and government, much of the activism motivating the development of private labor standards is based around companies’ relations with their consumers. This paper proposes an analytical framework conceptualizing the interface of employment relations and consumption relations within global supply chains, identifying four regimes of labor governance: governance gaps, collective bargaining, standards markets, and complementary regimes. Finally, we suggest a research agenda for examining the role of consumption relations in the changing nature of global labor governance.
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Celebrities now regularly engage with human trafficking policy and practice. A “sexy” topic, human trafficking is not only susceptible to alluring, fetishistic and voyeuristic narratives, but plays into the celebrity-as-rescuer-of-the-victim ideal that receives excessive attention from media, policymakers and the public. While some celebrities may become knowledgeable enough to give responsible advice to law and policy makers, others engaging in anti-trafficking activism are neither knowledgeable enough nor using good judgment when interacting with those who make the laws and create anti-trafficking programs. But the responsibility must lie primarily with those same law and policy makers who are so slavishly devoted to using celebrity witnesses in order to satisfy their own desire to interact with celebrities. The extent to which law and policy makers are abdicating their duties to constituents and donors by allowing celebrity activists to provide them with legal and policy advice is emblematic of the larger and more general problems with funding, narratives and the shallow level of discourse in current anti-trafficking initiatives.
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The conception of contracts as the outcome of a free choice generalises to all sorts of contracts, including contracts of employment. Liberal legalism, or the pure or general theory of contract that developed in the nineteenth century, grounded the almost limitless subordination of the wage-labourer in the anodyne fictions of consent. Marx himself defined free labour primarily in terms of the dispossession of labour, and then, of course, its ability to make valid contracts. Vulgar Marxists have worked with a rigid dichotomy between free and unfree labour, suggesting that lack of coercion is a defining feature of wage-labour. Sartres references to free labour in the Critique work in terms of an implicit contrast between the real freedom of the worker, identified as the workers human reality, and the abstract or mystified freedom of the wage-contract.Keywords: liberal legalism; Marxist theory; wage-contract; wage-labour
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Maria Holmund Is a researcher at the swedish school of economics and buisness administration, Helsigfors, Finland, and Soren Kock is an associate professor at the swedish school of Economics and Business administration, Vasa, Finland, Partnership, Co-operation, and stretegic alliance are among treds that have emerged during the 1990s as outcomes of changes in the economic environment. Supply chain managment, thedynamics and interaction in the relationship between buyers and supplier have received increased attention. The relationship between buyer and suppliers, however, have often been categorised as balanced as the studied compaqnies have been more or less equal in size. In this study we have chosen to analyse supply relationship between a dominating buyer and four small supplier. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the buyer-supplier relationship in order to evaluate their stregth. The focus ha mainly been on the technical planning, knowledge, social and legal economica bonds that have emered over time.in the studies relationship these bonds, when present, have been found in a range from rather weak to strong. Moreover we belive resources needed by the buyer are pre-requisite for maintaining long-term relationslhip. the studied relationship can be regarged as stable and long-lasting as the yongest originated in 1983 and the oldest in 1971. the relationship were established more or less in the same years that small suppliers were founded.
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Purpose This paper provides a structured literature review of sustainability in purchasing and supply management, moving beyond the traditional environmental and social sustainability. The paper reviews the concept of sustainability at three levels of inter‐organizational analysis – i.e. dyad, supply chain and network. The paper distils the nature and scope of existing research and synthesizes measures used to research sustainability across organizational boundaries. Design/methodology/approach This literature review systematically analyzes existing literature. In particular, the review focuses on definitions and measures of sustainable purchasing and supply management to obtain an accurate view of current research. Findings This paper uncovers two distinct trends in the type of research carried out. First, internal or dyadic issues are in focus and second, a tendency to deal with environmental, as opposed to social, sustainability. Despite the need to look beyond the dyad given the risks associated with the extended network, few studies do so in any of the sustainability dimensions. Research limitations/implications This review is limited by the method employed focusing on definitions and measures. Although the review considers supply chain and network research, it does so purely from a purchasing perspective, thus excluding issues such as logistics and transport. Practical implications The paper identifies areas open to future research and provides practical insights into how sustainable purchasing and supply are measured. It also synthesizes existing measures of sustainability at different levels and organizes these into a taxonomy. Originality/value The paper examines studies across multiple levels of analysis and integrates multiple fields of knowledge to show how research on sustainability in purchasing and supply is structured.
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Purpose – To explore the nature and scope of good and bad practice in the relationships that UK supermarkets have with their suppliers of own-label products in the main commodity sectors (meat, dairy, fresh produce). Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the results of a postal survey of supermarket suppliers, which formed part of a wider study of corporate social responsibility in UK supermarket supply chains. Findings – The results demonstrate the heterogeneity in relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers of own-label products in the main commodity sectors the extent to which retail and supply chain strategy is likely to influence the way in which supermarkets deal with suppliers. Best practice was most evident in the two supermarket supply chains where supply base rationalisation has virtually ceased and the adoption of lead suppliers and sole suppliers has been most evident in recent years. Research limitations/implications – Postal survey limited to suppliers in three commodity sectors, where buyer power is greatest. Would expect different results for relationships with branded suppliers. Practical implications – With supermarkets coming under increasing scrutiny over the way they treat suppliers, the conceptual framework and survey instrument represent a mechanism for independent assessment of supply chain relationships in sensitive markets, which could be used constructively to encourage the more widespread adoption of good practice and the elimination of bad practice in supermarket relationships. Originality/value – This paper presents the results of the first attempt anywhere to empirically measure fairness in relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers. Further research is necessary but the results of our early work are extremely encouraging.
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Abstract: Driven by the upsurge in global (out-)sourcing and the changing expectations of organizations'' stakeholders, companies are increasingly being held responsible for the actions of their suppliers. Subsequently, Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM) has emerged as an important factor in safeguarding organizations from being accused of irresponsible behavior. Grounded on the concept of ethical culture, the research in this paper identifies elements for guiding PSM behavior towards socially and environmentally sustainable supplier selection. Results indicate that different elements of the firms'' ethical culture have a significant impact on how purchasing managers account for social and environmental criteria when selecting suppliers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier] Copyright of International Journal of Production Economics is the property of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Book
This book presents a fundamental reassessment of the nature of wage labor in the nineteenth century, focusing on the common use of penal sanctions in England to enforce wage labor agreements. Professor Steinfeld argues that wage workers were not employees at will but were often bound to their employment by enforceable labor agreements, which employers used whenever available to manage their labor costs and supply. In the northern United States, where employers normally could not use penal sanctions, the common law made other contract remedies available, also placing employers in a position to enforce labor agreements. Modern free wage labor only came into being late in the nineteenth century, as a result of reform legislation that restricted the contract remedies employers could legally use.
Article
Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production' - Adam Smith Commodities are in love with money but the course of true love never did run smooth ' - Karl Marx For some theorists the consumer is king. The tastes and preferences of the individual, communicated through the magic mechanism of the market dictate what is produced and whether producers succeed or fail. For others comsumption traps the individual in a fetish like devotion to goods that can never satisfy real needs. Both positions have reached an apotheosis in the last decade, with the unequivocal arrival of the consumer society'. The World of Consumption presents a critical analysis of the major social theories of consumption before proceeding to develop new, more inclusive theory. The authors argue that individual commodities create their own distinct systems of provision', processes by which production, distribution, marketing and consumptioj are vertically integrated. Hence the function of marketing in the fashion industry is better explained by the function of other aspects of this industry. The book supports this argument with extensive case studies of the food and clothing systems.
Article
There is substantial evidence that the supply chain perspective is crucial for understanding the causes of and the solutions to modern slavery. During the passage of the UK Modern Slavery Act, a consultation was arranged to explore issues relating to the operationalisation of sections of the Act relating to transparency in supply chains. This document is a response to that consultation.
Article
Modern management theory is constricted by a fractured epistemology. which separates humanity from nature and truth from morality. Reintegration is necessary if organizational science is to support ecologically and socially sustainable development. This article posits requisites of such development and rejects the paradigms of conventional technocentrism and antithetical ecocentrism on grounds of incongruence. A more fruitful integrative paradigm of “sustaincentrism” is then articulated, and implications for organizational science are generated as if sustainability, extended community, and our Academy mattered.
Article
This is a groundbreaking application of contemporary philosophy to human rights law that proposes several significant innovations for the progressive development of human rights. Drawing on the works of prominent “philosophers of the Other” including Emmanuel Levinas, Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, Judith Butler, and most centrally the Argentine philosopher of liberation Enrique Dussel, this book develops an ethics based on concrete face-to-face relationships with the Marginalized Other. It proposes that this ethics should inspire a human rights law that is grounded in transcendental justice and framed from the perspective of marginalized groups. Such law would continuously deconstruct the original violence found in all human rights treaties and tribunals and promote preferential treatment for the marginalized. It would be especially attentive to such issues as access to justice, voice, representation, agency, and responsibility. This approach differs markedly from more conventional theories of human rights that prioritize the autonomy of the ego, state sovereignty, democracy, and/or equality.
Article
This Article analyzes the effectiveness of emerging domestic legislation on global supply chain transparency with respect to human rights and labor practices. It draws from a quantitative and qualitative study of the implementation of recent U.S. conflict minerals legislation, section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act, which is driving global norms in this area and serving as a guide for comparable domestic legislation abroad. This Article's analysis of section 1502 reveals a due diligence gap among firms, with only about 7% of companies reporting strong due diligence measures in their 2014 Conflict Minerals Reports. This Article also identifies several factors that are inhibiting implementation of section 1502: (i) international norms on supply chain due diligence are in their infancy; (ii) the proliferation of certification standards and in-region sourcing initiatives are still evolving and often competing; and (iii) inadequate local security and weak governance are inhibiting the mapping of the mineral trade and the tracing of minerals in the region. While this Article argues that using domestic law to regulate global supply chains has the potential to significantly shape corporate behavior, the existing due diligence gap suggests that the shift to domestic governance is not going far enough. Given the challenges associated with extra-territorially regulating complex, multi-tiered supply chains, home states need to play a larger role in implementation to facilitate corporate compliance. In addition, companies need to invest in their internal culture to facilitate organizational learning around responsible supply chain management.
Article
In the corporate jungle inhabited by Enrons and WorldComs, a lack of transparency is the root of all scandal. Yet delivering transparency seems immensely difficult, with the oftencompeting interests of shareholders, corporate boards, government regulators and other stakeholders to be taken into account. Drawing on a vast wealth of real-life examples from the commercial world, this lively business book goes in search of the appropriate limits of transparency. From commercial confidentiality and the ethics of marketing to lobbying and corporate corruption, the author addresses the position, significance and limits of transparency in modern corporate life, working through the dilemmas presented by the increasing calls for transparency. From the secrets of the boardroom to the struggles of NGOs, transparency is a persistent challenge. How much is enough? How much do we need? And how do companies actually report on their impacts?
Article
This book examines and evaluates various private initiatives to enforce fair labor standards within global supply chains. Using unique data (internal audit reports, and access to more than 120 supply chain factories and 700 interviews in 14 countries) from several major global brands, including NIKE, HP, and the International Labor Organization's Factory Improvement Programme in Vietnam, this book examines both the promise and the limitations of different approaches to actually improve working conditions, wages, and working hours for the millions of workers employed in today's global supply chains. Through a careful, empirically grounded analysis of these programs, this book illustrates the mix of private and public regulation needed to address these complex issues in a global economy.
Article
American evangelicals have a history of engagement in social issues in general and anti-slavery activism in particular. The last 10 years have seen an increase in both scholarly attention to evangelicalism and evangelical focus on contemporary forms of slavery. Extant literature on this engagement often lacks the voices of evangelicals themselves. This study begins to fill this gap through a qualitative exploration of how evangelical and mainline churchgoers conceptualize both the issue of human trafficking and possible solutions. I extend Michael Young's recent work on the confessional schema motivating evangelical abolitionists in the 1830s. Through analysis of open-ended responses to vignettes in a survey administered in six congregations I find some early support for a contemporary salvation schema. It is this schema, I argue, that underpins evangelicals' framing of this issue, motivates their involvement in anti-slavery work, and specifies the scope of their critique. Whereas antebellum abolitionists thought of their work in national and structural terms contemporary advocates see individuals in need of rescue. The article provides an empirical sketch of the cultural underpinnings of contemporary evangelical social advocacy and a call for additional research.
Article
There is considerable academic and policy interest in how immigrants fare in the labour market of their host economy. This research is situated within these debates and explores the nexus between migrant labour and segmented labour markets. Specifically the analysis focuses on East-Central Europeans in Britain: a sizeable cohort of largely economic and recent migrants. A large quantity of interviews with low-wage employers and recruiters is used to examine the role served by East-Central European migrant labour in the UK labour market, to question whether this function is distinct from conventional understandings of the function of migrant labour and to explore how employer practices and other processes ‘produce’ these employment relations. Based on the findings from this approach, an argument is developed which contends that the ready availability of a well perceived cohort of migrant labour has sustained and extended flexible labour market structures towards the bottom end of the labour market.
Article
While the criminological literatures explore celebrity trials and investigations, the celebrity’s placement as an actor in criminal justice processes – and as an authoritative voice on crime – remains less investigated. With celebrity activism and testimony increasing around issues like human and child trafficking, this article contemplates the celebrity as an ‘expert-advocate’ who reinforces the state’s ability to regulate, especially in light of ongoing challenges to its sovereignty, such as trafficking. Through the Demi and Ashton (DNA) Foundation’s ‘Real Men’ and Customs and Border Protection campaigns, we note that celebrities are no longer just ‘public faces’, but also members of a ‘firm’ working with the state to recreate the illusion of state sovereignty, bolstering borders and divides. We call for further research into celebrities as influential agents in the criminal justice system.
Article
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First is to investigate the impact of social supplier development practices on the suppliers’ social performance. Second is to analyze if the implementation of supplier development practices by Western buying firms pays off in terms of operational and economic results. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are tested in a sample of 120 Spanish manufacturing firms using Path Analysis. Findings – The results suggest that while supplier development practices help to improve the suppliers’ social performance and the buying firm’s operational performance, they do not pay off in terms of economic performance. Research limitations/implications – The paper shows that supplier development practices help to improve the suppliers’ social performance while improving the operational performance of the buying firm. The study has two main limitations. First, because cross-sectional data are used, possible recursive relationships could not be accounted for. Second, the study is limited to the Spanish scope and, as such, results need to be interpreted in that context. Practical implications – The results of this study provide insights to managers with respect to the implementation of supplier development practices to make their suppliers more socially responsible. Furthermore, managers are shown the implications of implementing such practices in terms of operational and economic outcomes. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the existing literature on the effectiveness of sustainable supplier development practices by including the suppliers’ performance, which has been generally neglected. Objective measures for economic performance are also included.
Article
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify key categories of Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and related practices that are required to fulfill the demands of sustainability and, therefore, contributing to sustainability performance. As part of this, the authors will identify different approaches in practice implementation in SSCM and supply chain management (SCM). SSCM has become a topic of great interest and is linked to the assumption that a more sustainable performance for businesses would be achieved on its implementation. Such performance has to be achieved with respect to all three dimensions of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature. The authors draw from literature on SSCM and examine frameworks and critical accounts on the topic. This allows identifying key aspects of SSCM and pointing out differences and overlaps with SCM. Findings – The authors identify five key categories which are of high importance for the sustainable management of supply chains: orientation toward SCM and sustainability, continuity, collaboration, risk management and proactivity. In a second step, the authors describe distinctive practices which allow organizations to follow the goals formulated in the five key categories. Finally, they highlight issues preventing companies that follow a rather “conventional” approach to SCM to reach the level where it can be called SSCM, i.e. how to reach sustainability performance in SCM. Research limitations/implications – The work presented is conceptual in nature. It would be required to operationalize respective categories and, therefore, test them in empirical research. Practical implications – The categories and practices identified within the framework can be used for guiding managers toward the implementation of SSCM. This is the case when management takes performance implication into account without solely considering rather simplistic indicators. At the same time, differentiating a company based on the implementation of sustainability practices has become more difficult, due to the proliferation of sustainability in a wider field. Social implications – Social aspects are integrated into the framework on the same level as environmental and economic aspects, emphasizing the triple bottom line orientation. Originality/value – While all practices applied in SSCM have originally been identified and described by researchers for the case of “conventional” SCM, their particular interrelation and joint implementation makes up SSCM and ensures a contribution to sustainability performance.
Article
The perception of a race to the bottom in international sourcing has lead to calls for worldwide standards to improve health, safety, and wage conditions among Global South workers. With the state's retreat and immature international regimes, the primary regulatory response has been private codes of conduct which buyers impose on foreign suppliers. This represents a sociological shift with buyers assuming a paternalistic role over the factories' workers. When this role combines with poor code enforcement, the buyer may be at legal risk under U.S. law. Workers could claim that the buyer's code and related policies create a duty to ensure supplier compliance. When workers are then damaged by a code violation, they might sue the buyer. Our Article considers the argument's viability using standard tort and contract claims. The legal analysis is informed by interviews of buyers and suppliers, and surveys of workers. The feasibility of each claim varies but all are colorable, posing risk for buyers and potential for foreign workers. The risk and potential are enhanced by American jurisprudence's historical broadening of legal duties and the persistent evolution of global human rights principles.
Article
Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to assess and explain the trust situation in EU agri-food supply chains in the context of the assumption that the existence of well-functioning trust-based supplier-buyer relationships enables a secure and safe food supply. Design/methodology/approach ‐ Using structural equation modelling (SEM) and survey data (n=1,430) on supplier-buyer relationships from six different countries, two commodity supply chains (meat and cereals) and two supply chain stages (farmer-processor and processor-retailer), main trust determinants are identified and discussed. By simultaneously covering two supply chain stages the analysis adopts a perspective beyond the dyad. Findings ‐ The SEM results indicate that trust in supply chain partners can be significantly improved by effective communication and by positive past collaboration. The existence of personal bonds (ties) between partners does not seem to play a direct role in the retailer-processor relationship but is important when dealing with farmers. In both supply chain stages positive past collaboration as well as the existence of personal bonds also indirectly enhance trust by promoting effective communication which in turn positively impacts on trust levels, thus proofing communication to be a powerful mediator variable. Practical implications ‐ This study's findings can be used by practitioners to learn how to improve trust in their supply chain relationships and how to communicate effectively. Originality/value ‐ The results provide large-scale empirical evidence on trust drivers in European agri-food supply chains thus confirming earlier studies on the topic from other industries.
Article
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) transparency claims are propagating a belief in a modern panopticon for ensuring responsible corporate behavior. Corporations use transparency claims to cultivate the impression of full disclosure. The paper aims to explore why people believe transparency ensures responsible behavior from corporations as well as the negative effects of this pseudo‐panopticon. Design/methodology/approach The paper explores transparency in relation to CSR, CSR reporting, the internet, and activism and describes how their confluence produces pseudo‐panopticon. Findings The paper finds that the pseudo‐panopticon allows corporations to claim transparency in CSR communication and for stakeholders to accept that claim. The reality is that a minority of activist stakeholders bear the burden of ensuring true transparency by questioning disclosure. Social implications Transparency should be seen as a process, and it fails if activists cannot create public awareness of CSR shortcomings. The challenge is to find ways to make transparency as a process work in a world where apathy and self‐deception, in part facilitated by the pseudo‐panopticon, work against the process. Originality/value The paper builds on the process view of transparency by developing its implications for CSR communication. The result is a novel approach to CSR reporting and transparency that contributes to other critical voices concerned about the value and effects of CSR communication.
Article
Purpose ‐ To make their supply chains more socially responsible, many companies are implementing supplier assessment tools and collaborative practices. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review on the governance structures used to extend sustainability to suppliers. More specifically, the authors aim to answer two questions: "What is the impact of these mechanisms or governance structures on sustainable performance?" and "What are the enablers of these mechanisms?". Design/methodology/approach ‐ A structured literature review is carried out that analyses published studies, evaluates contributions, summarises knowledge and identifies managerial implications and lines for further research. Findings ‐ Both assessment and collaboration have a positive impact on environmental performance and corporate social responsibility, although the most recent collaborative paradigm stresses that assessment alone is not enough. Some enablers of these practices are identified. Research limitations/implications ‐ Although the authors believe that the right search terms have been used, the choice of these terms could be a limitation of this study. Also, the selection of the articles could be considered subjective, although the papers were reviewed by two researchers. Practical implications ‐ Supplier assessment and collaboration are effective in improving sustainability. However, the results also indicate that assessment alone is not enough. Firms also need to adopt a collaborative approach. Finally, a list of enablers to implement these practices is provided. Originality/value ‐ The paper summarises knowledge related to the impact of supplier assessment and collaboration on sustainability, and describes the enablers of such initiatives, providing some managerial implications and lines for further research.
Article
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop understanding of the role of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to sustainable supply chain management, i.e. how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is integrated in their relationship with customers and suppliers. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from a survey of CSR requirements among 410 Spanish SMEs, the paper examines the extent to which SMEs receive social and environmental requirements from diverse customer typologies and the extent to which they pass on such requirements to different supplier typologies. Findings Based on survey results, it is concluded that large businesses are the most demanding customers in terms of the CSR requirements imposed to their SME suppliers. In turn, SMEs are able to transfer the requests received from their (larger) customers to their own suppliers. Research limitations/implications The data are confined to companies located in a particular region (Catalonia in Spain), which questions its generalizability to other geographical contexts. Practical implications The research shows that small and medium companies can be effective in spreading the CSR requirements received from large companies through the supply chain. Originality/value The paper contributes to research on sustainable supply chain management from the SME perspective and offers a systematic analysis of the CSR activities of SMEs, both as suppliers and buyers. In addition, it proposes a rigorous way to measure the CSR‐related supply chain pressure.
Article
After a decade or more during which private codes to monitor supply chain and workplace standards have proliferated, recent years have seen the re-emergence of state-based initiatives to create more oversight and accountability across global value chains. In January 2012, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (Senate Bill 657) (CTSCA) was enacted. The CTSCA requires that retailers and manufacturers doing business in California, with annual worldwide gross receipts of $100 million or more, must explicitly disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking, and protect basic human rights, along their entire supply chain. Companies have moved quickly to update their auditing mechanisms to ensure all supplier factories meet the requirements of the Act. The overall goal of the regulation is to ensure companies operate with a much greater level of caution when selecting suppliers and making sourcing decisions. This Working Paper outlines the dimensions of the Act, its implications for global sourcing and some early responses to it by companies that do business in California.
Article
Scant attention has been paid to the phenomenon of modern slavery in the management literature. This paper redresses this by identifying modern slavery as a management practice, comprising exploiting/insulating capabilities and sustaining/shaping capabilities. A model is presented that specifies how these micro organization-level capabilities enable enterprises that deploy slavery to take advantage of the macro institutional conditions that permit the practice to flourish in the face of widespread illegality and illegitimacy. Potential implications for management theory and suggestions for further theoretical and empirical research are then advanced.
Article
Why have systems of "transnational private regulation" recently emerged to certify corporate social and environmental performance? Different conceptions of institutional emergence underlie different answers to this question. Many scholars argue that firms create certification systems to solve problems in the market-a view rooted in a conception of institutions as solutions to collective action problems. The author develops a different account by viewing institutions as the outcome of political contestation and by analyzing conflict and institutional entrepreneurship among a wide array of actors. Using a comparative case study design, the analysis shows how these arguments explain the formation of social and environmental certification associations. Both theoretical approaches are needed, but strong versions of the market-based approach overlook an important set of dynamics that the author calls the "political construction of market institutions." The analysis shows how both problem solving in markets and political contention generate new institutional forms.
Article
In a recent critique of the deproletarianization thesis, which links the reproduction of unfree labour mainly - but not only - in Third World agriculture to class struggle prosecuted by capitalist producers, Banaji maintains in effect that there is no such thing as unfree labour. Equating the latter with nineteenth-century liberal ideas about freedom as consent, he conceptualizes all historical working arrangements simply as 'disguised' wage-labour that is free, a theoretically problematic claim first made during the Indian mode of production debate. Such a view, it is argued here, ignores the fact that unfree workers get paid and also appear in the labour market, but not as sellers of their own commodity. Moreover, by abolishing the free/unfree labour distinction, and adopting instead the view that all rural workers are simply 'disguised' hired labourers who are contractually 'free', Banaji aligns himself with anti-Marxist theory in general, and neoclassical economic historiography in particular.