IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-02952241.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Accounting for the Gaps in Labour Standard Compliance: The Role of Reputation-Conscious Buyers in the Cambodian Garment Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Chikako Oka

    (RHUL - Royal Holloway [University of London])

Abstract

Working conditions in global supply chains have come under increased public scrutiny. Faced with this growing demand for accountability, some multinational enterprises have come to play regulatory roles in developing countries where they do business. This article combines quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the effects of reputation-conscious buyers on supplier labour standard compliance in the Cambodian garment sector. Using unique factory-level panel data, this article shows that factories producing for reputation-conscious buyers are associated with better compliance levels than other factories, controlling for factory characteristics. Field-based interviews also demonstrate that reputation-conscious buyers regulate supplier compliance both 'reactively' and 'proactively.' The findings shed light on the opportunities and limits of buyer-driven regulation. L'attention du public est de plus en plus attire´e par les conditions de travail dans la chaıˆne de valeur globale. Certaines firmes multinationales en viennent a`jouer un roˆle de re´gulation dans les pays ou`se situent leurs activite´s afin de re´pondre a`cette exigence de responsabilite´. Cet article combine des me´thodes quantitatives et qualitatives dans le but d'examiner les effets des comportements) responsables * des acheteurs quant au respect des normes du travail par les fournisseurs dans le secteur du veˆtement au Cambodge. A partir de donne´es de panel originales au niveau de l'entreprise, cet article de´montre que les entreprises produisant pour des acheteurs soucieux de leur image respectent mieux les normes internationales du travail que les autres entreprises, et ceci en utilisant les caracte´ristiques des firmes comme variables de controˆle. Des entretiens effectue´s sur le terrain soulignent e´galement que les acheteurs soucieux de leur image ont un roˆle de re´gulation vis-a`-vis du respect des normes par les fournisseurs que ce soit graˆce a`leurs initiatives ou a`leurs re´actions. Les re´sultats mettent en e´vidence a`la fois les opportunite´s et limites de la re´gulation par les acheteurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Chikako Oka, 2010. "Accounting for the Gaps in Labour Standard Compliance: The Role of Reputation-Conscious Buyers in the Cambodian Garment Industry," Post-Print hal-02952241, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02952241
    DOI: 10.1057/ejdr.2009.38
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02952241
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-02952241/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/ejdr.2009.38?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. Polaski, Sandra, 2006. "Combining global and local forces: The case of labor rights in Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 919-932, May.
    2. Kimberly Ann Elliott & Richard B. Freeman, 2003. "Can Labor Standards Improve under Globalization?," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 338, April.
    3. Locke, Richard M. & Qin, Fei & Brause, Alberto, 2007. "Does monitoring improve labor standards? Lessons from Nike," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 59405, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Alex Hughes & Martin Buttle & Neil Wrigley, 2007. "Organisational geographies of corporate responsibility: a UK-US comparison of retailers' ethical trading initiatives," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 491-513, July.
    5. David Weil, 2001. "Assessing OSHA Performance: New Evidence from the Construction Industry," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 651-674.
    6. Barrientos, Stephanie & Dolan, Catherine & Tallontire, Anne, 2003. "A Gendered Value Chain Approach to Codes of Conduct in African Horticulture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 1511-1526, September.
    7. Graham, David & Woods, Ngaire, 2006. "Making corporate self-regulation effective in developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 868-883, May.
    8. W. Kip Viscusi, 1979. "The Impact of Occupational Safety and Health Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 117-140, Spring.
    9. Ashenfelter, Orley & Smith, Robert S, 1979. "Compliance with the Minimum Wage Law," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(2), pages 333-350, April.
    10. David Weil & Carlos Mallo, 2007. "Regulating Labour Standards via Supply Chains: Combining Public/Private Interventions to Improve Workplace Compliance," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(4), pages 791-814, December.
    11. Finnemore, Martha & Sikkink, Kathryn, 1998. "International Norm Dynamics and Political Change," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 887-917, October.
    12. Bin Jiang, 2009. "Implementing Supplier Codes of Conduct in Global Supply Chains: Process Explanations from Theoretic and Empirical Perspectives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(1), pages 77-92, March.
    13. Gary S. Becker, 1983. "A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(3), pages 371-400.
    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. Yoko Asuyama & Dalin Chhun & Takahiro Fukunishi & Seiha Neou & Tatsufumi Yamagata, 2013. "Firm dynamics in the Cambodian garment industry: firm turnover, productivity growth and wage profile under trade liberalization," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 51-70.
    2. Naila Kabeer, 2018. "Women Workers and the Politics of Claims Making: The Local and the Global," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 759-789, May.
    3. Raymond Robertson & Drusilla Brown & Rajeev Dehejia, 2021. "Working conditions and factory survival: Evidence from better factories Cambodia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 228-254, February.
    4. Ebert, Franz Christian., 2013. "Social dimensions of free trade agreements," Studies on Growth with Equity, International Labour Office, Research Department, number 994838513402676, April.
    5. Michael Palmer & Jenny Williams, 2020. "Are Employment Protection Laws for Disabled People Effective in a Developing Country?," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 20-22, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    6. Hyunji KWON & Sun Wook CHUNG & Joonkoo LEE, 2021. "South Korean first‐tier suppliers in apparel global value chains: Upgrading and labour implications in the Asian context," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(4), pages 553-569, December.
    7. Ana ANTOLIN & Laura BABBITT & Drusilla BROWN, 2021. "Why is the business case for social compliance in global value chains unpersuasive? Rethinking costs, prices and profits," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(4), pages 571-590, December.
    8. Mathias Koenig‐Archibugi, 2017. "Does transnational private governance reduce or displace labor abuses? Addressing sorting dynamics across global supply chains," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), pages 343-352, December.
    9. Jean-Christophe Graz & Nicole Helmerich & Cécile Prébandier, 2020. "Hybrid Production Regimes and Labor Agency in Transnational Private Governance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 307-321, March.
    10. Ebert, Franz Christian, 2013. "Social dimensions of free trade agreements," Studies on Growth with Equity 483851, International Labour Office, Research Department.
    11. Dionne Pohler & Chris Riddell, 2019. "Multinationals’ Compliance with Employment Law: An Empirical Assessment Using Administrative Data from Ontario, 2004 to 2015," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 606-635, May.
    12. Patrice Cassagnard & Tendai Espinosa, 2019. "From Boycott to Buycott: Is Activism from the North Good for the South?," Working papers of CATT hal-02623685, HAL.
    13. Jodi L. Short & Michael W. Toffel & Andrea R. Hugill, 2016. "Monitoring global supply chains," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(9), pages 1878-1897, September.
    14. 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.
    15. Mari Tanaka, 2023. "Ethical production and export performance across destinations: evidence from Myanmar," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 413-437, July.

    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. Chikako Oka, 2010. "Channels of buyer influence and labor standard compliance: the case of Cambodia's garment sector," Post-Print hal-02952274, HAL.
    2. Raymond Robertson, 2022. "Pioneering a new approach to improving working conditions in developing countries: Better Factories Cambodia," Chapters, in: Handbook on Globalisation and Labour Standards, chapter 20, pages 359-381, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Céline Louche & Lotte Staelens & Marijke D’Haese, 2020. "When Workplace Unionism in Global Value Chains Does Not Function Well: Exploring the Impediments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 379-398, March.
    4. Nick Lin-Hi & Igor Blumberg, 2017. "The Power(lessness) of Industry Self-regulation to Promote Responsible Labor Standards: Insights from the Chinese Toy Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 789-805, July.
    5. Alejandro Donado, 2021. "Why do they JUST DO IT? A Theory of Outsourcing and Working Conditions," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 559-586, July.
    6. David WEIL, 2008. "A strategic approach to labour inspection," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 147(4), pages 349-375, December.
    7. Berliner, Daniel & Greenleaf, Anne & Lake, Milli & Noveck, Jennifer, 2015. "Building Capacity, Building Rights? State Capacity and Labor Rights in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 127-139.
    8. Mia Mahmudur Rahim, 2017. "Improving Social Responsibility in RMG Industries Through a New Governance Approach in Laws," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 807-826, July.
    9. Christine Jolls, 2007. "Employment Law and the Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 13230, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Guojun He & Jeffrey M. Perloff, 2013. "Does Customer Auditing Help Chinese Workers?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(2), pages 511-524, April.
    11. Amengual, Matthew, 2010. "Complementary Labor Regulation: The Uncoordinated Combination of State and Private Regulators in the Dominican Republic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 405-414, March.
    12. Lucio Baccaro & Valentina Mele, 2012. "Pathology of Path Dependency? The ILO and the Challenge of New Governance," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 195-224, April.
    13. Venkatesh, V.G. & Zhang, Abraham & Deakins, Eric & Mani, Venkatesh, 2021. "Antecedents of social sustainability noncompliance in the Indian apparel sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    14. Jodi L. Short & Michael W. Toffel & Andrea R. Hugill, 2016. "Code Contingencies: Designing Monitoring Regimes to Promote Improvement in Supply Chain Working Conditions," Harvard Business School Working Papers 17-001, Harvard Business School, revised Mar 2019.
    15. Büthe Tim, 2010. "Private Regulation in the Global Economy: A (P)Review," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(3), pages 1-40, October.
    16. Maria Besiou & Mark Hunter & Luk Wassenhove, 2013. "A Web of Watchdogs: Stakeholder Media Networks and Agenda-Setting in Response to Corporate Initiatives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 709-729, December.
    17. Raymond Robertson & Drusilla Brown & Rajeev Dehejia, 2021. "Working conditions and factory survival: Evidence from better factories Cambodia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 228-254, February.
    18. Donna Marshall & Lucy McCarthy & Marius Claudy & Paul McGrath, 2019. "Piggy in the Middle: How Direct Customer Power Affects First-Tier Suppliers’ Adoption of Socially Responsible Procurement Practices and Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 1081-1102, February.
    19. Vivek Soundararajan & Jill A. Brown, 2016. "Voluntary Governance Mechanisms in Global Supply Chains: Beyond CSR to a Stakeholder Utility Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 83-102, March.
    20. repec:ilo:ilowps:430295 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Anne Tallontire & Maggie Opondo & Valerie Nelson & Adrienne Martin, 2011. "Beyond the vertical? Using value chains and governance as a framework to analyse private standards initiatives in agri-food chains," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(3), pages 427-441, September.

    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:hal:journl:hal-02952241. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.