Corporate response to labour and environmental risk in global supply chains

Principal Investigator: Jinsun Bae, International Business
Project Title: Corporate Responses to Labour and Environmental Risks in Global Supply Chains: A Systematic Literature Review
Funder: CORIS Development Grant

International companies have pursued cost efficiency by outsourcing labor- and resource-intensive production processes to external suppliers in developing countries. This globalized production scheme has been criticized for promoting a “race to the bottom” in labor and environmental standards among suppliers, and problems in these areas are likely to grow worse due to climate change.

This research will identify how companies have responded to labor and environmental problems in global supply chains and determine what else needs to be done. The systematic review of research about the globalization of production will draw from the literature of multiple social science disciplines and advance the field in two ways: first, it will consider not only those studies that focus on corporate response to labor or environmental problems, but also those that demonstrate how these problems co-exist and influence each other. Second, it will overcome the lead firm bias by seeking out studies that document how suppliers respond to labor and environmental problems in global supply chains. The analysis will help identify emerging themes and relationships in these areas and thereby inform future research about this timely issue.