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Bargaining for corporate responsibility: The global and the local of framework agreements in the USA

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  • Fichter, Michael
  • Stevis, Dimitris
  • Helfen, Markus

Abstract

Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) are still a marginal topic in political and academic discourses over global governance and corporate responsibility. In functional terms, GFAs are a commitment to include global labor standards with respect to human resource management as part of this broader turn to CR. But to what extent are these intentions and goals actually realized? Are corporations able and willing to implement GFAs in a joint effort together with the unions across a vastly diverse range of institutional settings and national arrangements? And do GFAs have an influence on core elements of a company's business policy decisions? Drawing on the insights from an interdisciplinary and multinational project, this paper uses four case studies to explore the conditions and variations in GFA implementation in the USA. Although we observe, as have others before us, that key matters of business strategy such as investments, acquisitions, restructuring, or relocation are more centralized than corporate policies on labor relations, we provide some evidence that the implementation of GFAs can be moved forward by a confluence of external actor involvement and of corporate strategies motivated by a desire to streamline HRM practices (that include the goals covered by GFAs in their core business practices). This finding of the influence of external actor voice in implementation processes may also have broader explanatory power with respect to CR initiatives in general. And in theoretical terms it allows us to explore the interplay between macro structural explanations like the Varieties of Capitalism approach, and the strategic “micro-political” explanations. Our study, in fact, suggests a strong need to combine these in a more systematic fashion.

Suggested Citation

  • Fichter, Michael & Stevis, Dimitris & Helfen, Markus, 2012. "Bargaining for corporate responsibility: The global and the local of framework agreements in the USA," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 1-31, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:buspol:v:14:y:2012:i:03:p:1-31_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Pierre Garaudel, 2020. "Exploring meta-organizations’ diversity and agency: A meta-organizational perspective on global union federations," Post-Print halshs-02474817, HAL.
    2. Markus Helfen & Michael Fichter, 2013. "Across Boundaries: The Global Challenges Facing Workers and Employment Research 50th Anniversary Special Issue," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(3), pages 553-576, September.
    3. Feuerstein, Patrick & Herrigel, Gary, 2017. "The limits of global labor governance and an emerging perspective," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 18(2), pages 6-15.
    4. Garaudel, Pierre, 2020. "Exploring meta-organizations’ diversity and agency: A meta-organizational perspective on global union federations," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    5. Jörg Sydow & Michael Fichter & Markus Helfen & Kadire Zeynep Sayim & Dimitris Stevis, 2014. "Implementation of Global Framework Agreements," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 20(4), pages 489-503, November.

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