IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v17y2008i7p431-443.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Global supply chains and social requirements: case studies of labour condition auditing in the People's Republic of China

Author

Listed:
  • Ketty Kortelainen

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to (1) discuss the usability of labour condition auditing as a tool, (2) identify main differences between quality and environmental auditing and labour condition auditing and (3) define typical improvement areas in a high technology supply chain in the People's Republic of China (hereafter ‘China’). The increased interest in labour conditions of global supply chains has driven companies to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into supply chain management (SCM) practices. Companies face legal requirements as well as voluntary social requirements. This paper focuses on the empirical part of labour condition auditing at selected factories during 2003 and 2004. Findings from these audits include non‐conformances in health and safety, remuneration, working hours and disciplinary practices. Based on the experiences of the case studies, labour condition auditing is seen as a beneficial tool for inducing continuous improvement in supply chain management, but it requires a new set of skills from the auditors. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ketty Kortelainen, 2008. "Global supply chains and social requirements: case studies of labour condition auditing in the People's Republic of China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(7), pages 431-443, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:17:y:2008:i:7:p:431-443
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.634
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.634
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.634?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Tinsley, 2002. "EMS models for business strategy development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(6), pages 376-390, November.
    2. Tine Herreborg Jørgensen & Gorm Simonsen, 2002. "Prospects of a unified management system," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 91-98, June.
    3. Gerusa Giménez Leal & Martí Casadesús Fa & Jaume Valls Pasola, 2003. "Using environmental management systems to increase firms' competitiveness," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 101-110, June.
    4. Johnson, Homer H., 2001. "Corporate social audits--this time around," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 29-36.
    5. Petra Christmann & Glen Taylor, 2001. "Globalization and the Environment: Determinants of Firm Self-Regulation in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(3), pages 439-458, September.
    6. Elaine Lawrence & Duncan Andrews & Brian Ralph & Chris France, 2002. "Applying organizational environmental tools and techniques," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 116-125, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Zhu, Qinghua & Lai, Kee-hung, 2019. "Enhancing supply chain operations with extended corporate social responsibility practices by multinational enterprises: Social capital perspective from Chinese suppliers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 1-12.
    2. Gale Raj-Reichert, 2016. "Exposing forced labour in Malaysian electronics: the role of a social auditor in labour governance within a global production network," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 052016, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    3. Anette von Ahsen, 2014. "The Integration of Quality, Environmental and Health and Safety Management by Car Manufacturers – a Long‐Term Empirical Study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(6), pages 395-416, September.
    4. Laura Maria Ferri & Nelly Oelze & André Habisch & Mario Molteni, 2016. "Implementation of responsible Procurement Management: An Institutional Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 261-276, May.
    5. Mohamed Basta & James Lapalme & Marc Paquet & Patrick Saint‐Louis & Tarek Abu Zwaida, 2018. "How are supply chains addressing their social responsibility dilemmas? Review of the last decade and a half," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 833-843, September.
    6. Elizabeth A. Bennett, 2018. "Extending ethical consumerism theory to semi-legal sectors: insights from recreational cannabis," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(2), pages 295-317, June.
    7. Sadaat Ali Yawar & Stefan Seuring, 2017. "Management of Social Issues in Supply Chains: A Literature Review Exploring Social Issues, Actions and Performance Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 621-643, March.
    8. Mani, Venkatesh & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Delgado, Catarina, 2018. "Supply chain social sustainability: Standard adoption practices in Portuguese manufacturing firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 149-164.
    9. Remigiusz Kozlowski & Marek Matejun, 2015. "The identification of difficulties in using advanced technologies in the implementation of projects," International Journal of Business and Management, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 3(4), pages 41-60, November.
    10. Christina Niforou, 2015. "Labour Leverage in Global Value Chains: The Role of Interdependencies and Multi-level Dynamics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 301-311, August.
    11. Kudla, Nicole & Stölzle, Wolfgang, 2011. "Sustainability Supply Chain Management Research," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 65(3), pages 263-301.
    12. Valentina Carbone & Valerie Moatti & Vincenzo Esposito Vinzi, 2012. "Mapping Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Supply Chains: an Exploratory Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(7), pages 475-494, November.
    13. Walter J.V. Vermeulen, 2015. "Self‐Governance for Sustainable Global Supply Chains: Can it Deliver the Impacts Needed?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 73-85, February.
    14. Francesco Testa & Olivier Boiral & Iñaki Heras‐Saizarbitoria, 2018. "Improving CSR performance by hard and soft means: The role of organizational citizenship behaviours and the internalization of CSR standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 853-865, September.
    15. Hannes Hofmann & Christian Busse & Christoph Bode & Michael Henke, 2014. "Sustainability‐Related Supply Chain Risks: Conceptualization and Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 160-172, March.
    16. Darian McBain & Ali Alsamawi, 2014. "Quantitative accounting for social economic indicators," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(3), pages 193-202, August.
    17. Sartor, Marco & Orzes, Guido & Di Mauro, Carmela & Ebrahimpour, Maling & Nassimbeni, Guido, 2016. "The SA8000 social certification standard: Literature review and theory-based research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 164-181.
    18. Jonas Gamso, 2018. "Trade-based adoption of voluntary environmental programs in the developing world: Racing to the top or stuck in the mud?," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 51(4), pages 515-543, December.
    19. Greg Distelhorst & Richard M. Locke & Timea Pal & Hiram Samel, 2015. "Production goes global, compliance stays local: Private regulation in the global electronics industry," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(3), pages 224-242, September.
    20. Romy Morana & Stefan Seuring, 2011. "A Three Level Framework for Closed-Loop Supply Chain Management—Linking Society, Chain and Actor Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-14, April.
    21. Karen Maas & Sanne Rosendaal, 2016. "Sustainability Targets in Executive Remuneration: Targets, Time Frame, Country and Sector Specification," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 390-401, September.
    22. Nicola Dalla Via & Paolo Perego, 2018. "Determinants of Conflict Minerals Disclosure Under the Dodd–Frank Act," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 773-788, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Runa Sarkar, 2008. "Public policy and corporate environmental behaviour: a broader view," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(5), pages 281-297, September.
    2. Eduardo Duque‐Grisales & Javier Aguilera‐Caracuel & Jaime Guerrero‐Villegas & Encarnación García‐Sánchez, 2020. "Does green innovation affect the financial performance of Multilatinas? The moderating role of ISO 14001 and R&D investment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3286-3302, December.
    3. Birgit Brunklaus & Tove Malmqvist & Henrikke Baumann, 2009. "Managing stakeholders or the environment? The challenge of relating indicators in practice," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 27-37, January.
    4. Yan lI, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility of Chinese Manufacturing Companies' effect on Green Business Strategy, Innovation and Performance," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 31(1), pages 522-552, May.
    5. Olusola O. Ololade & Palesa P. Rametse, 2018. "Determining factors that enable managers to implement an environmental management system for sustainable construction: A case study in Johannesburg," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1720-1732, December.
    6. Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Seyi Saint Akadiri & Usenobong Akpan & Bisola Aladenika, 2023. "Asymmetric effect of financial globalization on carbon emissions in G7 countries: Fresh insight from quantile-on-quantile regression," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1285-1304, August.
    7. Blackman, Allen & Guerrero, Santiago, 2012. "What drives voluntary eco-certification in Mexico?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 256-268.
    8. Magali Delmas & Ivan Montiel, 2009. "Greening the Supply Chain: When Is Customer Pressure Effective?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 171-201, March.
    9. Maria Lam, 2009. "Beyond Credibility of Doing Business in China: Strategies for Improving Corporate Citizenship of Foreign Multinational Enterprises in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 137-146, April.
    10. Fabien Martinez, 2014. "Corporate strategy and the environment: towards a four-dimensional compatibility model for fostering green management decisions," Post-Print hal-02887618, HAL.
    11. Kyungmin Baek, 2018. "Sustainable development and pollutant outcomes: The case of ISO 14001 in Korea," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 825-832, September.
    12. Canfei He & Fenghua Pan & Yan Yan, 2012. "Is Economic Transition Harmful to China’s Urban Environment? Evidence from Industrial Air Pollution in Chinese Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(8), pages 1767-1790, June.
    13. Yu Wang & Yetaotao Qiu & Yi Luo, 2022. "CEO foreign experience and corporate sustainable development: Evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2036-2051, July.
    14. Rajan Varadarajan, 2017. "Innovating for sustainability: a framework for sustainable innovations and a model of sustainable innovations orientation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 14-36, January.
    15. Haiyang Shang & Fang Su & Serhat Yüksel & Hasan Dinçer, 2021. "Identifying the Strategic Priorities of the Technical Factors for the Sustainable Low Carbon Industry Based on Macroeconomic Conditions," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, May.
    16. Valentina Marano & Steve Sauerwald & Marc Essen, 2022. "The influence of culture on the relationship between women directors and corporate social performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(7), pages 1315-1342, September.
    17. Nan, Shijing & Huo, Yuchen & You, Wanhai & Guo, Yawei, 2022. "Globalization spatial spillover effects and carbon emissions: What is the role of economic complexity?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    18. Vikrant Shirodkar & Palitha Konara, 2017. "Institutional Distance and Foreign Subsidiary Performance in Emerging Markets: Moderating Effects of Ownership Strategy and Host-Country Experience," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 179-207, April.
    19. Long, Xingle & Chen, Yaqiong & Du, Jianguo & Oh, Keunyeob & Han, Insoo, 2017. "Environmental innovation and its impact on economic and environmental performance: Evidence from Korean-owned firms in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 131-137.
    20. Upadhayay, Neha B. & Rocchetta, Silvia & Gupta, Shivam & Kamble, Sachin & Stekelorum, Rebecca, 2024. "Blazing the trail: The role of digital and green servitization on technological innovation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:17:y:2008:i:7:p:431-443. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

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

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

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

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

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

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