Corporate social responsibility decisions in apparel supply chains: The role of negative emotions in Bangladesh and Pakistan

This article integrates the global value chain literature with the micro organization literature on negative emotions to explore the drivers of fear and anger among supplier factory senior managers in apparel supply chains after Rana Plaza—a major industrial disaster—and their influence on decisions on CSR practices. Based on a comparative study around Dhaka and Lahore—two key apparel manufacturing hubs—this study elucidates that supplier factory senior managers experienced similar market tensions but different social tensions after the Rana Plaza incident. Crucially, similar market tensions helped create market fear and anger, but different social tensions led to social fear and anger in Bangladesh but not in Pakistan, therefore influencing the way supplier factory senior managers take decisions regarding CSR practices. By conceptualizing communal alignment and competitive CSR, this research finally advances the global value chain literature and contributes to the current conversations on negative emotions in organizations.