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

Chikako Oka ()
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Chikako Oka: RHUL - Royal Holloway [University of London]

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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.

Keywords: reputation; supply chains; garment; Cambodia; labour standards; compliance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-02
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02952241
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Published in European Journal of Development Research, 2010, 22 (1), pp.59-78. ⟨10.1057/ejdr.2009.38⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02952241

DOI: 10.1057/ejdr.2009.38

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