The Politics of Global Supply Chains E-Book

Kate MacDonald

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 468

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

The Politics of Global Supply Chains analyses the changing politics of power and distribution within contemporary global supply chains. Drawing on over 300 interviews with farmers, workers, activists, businesses and government officials in garment and coffee sector supply chains, the book shows how the increased involvement of non-state actors in supply chain governance is re-shaping established patterns of global political power, responsibility and accountability. These emerging supply chain governance systems are shown to be multi-layered and politically contested, as transnational governance schemes interact with traditional state governance arrangements in both complementary and conflicting ways. The book's analysis of changes to the relationship between state and non-state actors within transnational governance processes will be of particular interest to scholars and students of globalisation, global governance and regulation. The Politics of Global Supply Chains also suggests some practical ways by which the effectiveness and accountability of supply chain governance could be strengthened, which will interest both scholars and practitioners in fields of global business regulation and corporate social responsibility. Conclusions are relevant to the business and civil society actors who participate directly in non-state governance schemes, and to state regulators whose distinctive governance capacities could play a much greater role than at present in supporting transnational, non-state governance processes.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title page

Copyright page

Acronyms

Acknowledgements

Introduction: The Politics of Global Supply Chains

The Neglect of Supply Chain Politics

Aims of the Book

The Book's Approach

The Politics of Global Supply Chains: An Overview

Dilemmas of Multi-Level Power and Governance

Chapter 1: Power and Governance in Garment Supply Chains

Sources and Consequences of Economic Power Within Global Supply Chains

The Challenge of Supply Chain Power to State Governance

Chapter 2: The Emergence of Non-State Governance: Anti-Sweatshop Campaigns

The Emergence of Campaigns

Brand-Based Campaigns

Solidarity Campaigns: The Case of Chentex

Conclusions from Campaigns

Chapter 3: The Private Sector Response: Codes of Conduct

Entrenching Learning and Organizational Change Within Supply Chains

Transparency, Participation and Code Effectiveness

Dynamic Analysis of Code-Driven Processes of Change

Concluding Comments

Chapter 4: Dispersed Power Within Coffee Supply Chains

Social Governance Challenges in the Coffee Sector

State Governance Capacity to Tackle These Challenges

Transnational Constraints on Nicaraguan State Governance

Consequences for the Capacity of State-Centred Supply Chain Governance

Chapter 5: The Transformative Challenge: Fair Trade as an ‘Alternative’ Institutional Model

Building a Fair Trade Market: Redefining Transnational Responsibilities

Building New Capabilities Within the System of Supply Chain Governance

Confronting Power Asymmetries Within the Fair Trade System

Scope and Scale of the Fair Trade System: Limits and Potential

Conclusions

Chapter 6: Starbucks CAFÉ Practices: The ‘Responsible’ Corporation Responds

Emergence of the Initiative

Reinforcing Recognition of Transnational Responsibilities: Corporate Responsibility in Global Supply Chains

Incentivizing Capacity Building in Institutions of Supply Chain Governance

Lack of Commitment to Public Accountability

Conclusions

Chapter 7: Interaction Between Initiatives: Diffusing Change Beyond ‘Niche’ Supply Chains

Transforming Decision Making Across National and Public–Private Divides

Conclusions

Chapter 8: Lessons and Synthesis: Power, Responsibility and Governance Beyond the State

New Forms of Political Power Within Global Supply Chains

New Claims of Transnational Responsibility

Building New Systems of Supply Chain Governance and Accountability

How Have Non-State Supply Chain Governance Schemes Performed?

Bringing the State Back In?

The Role of the State Within a Multi-Level System of Supply Chain Governance

Conclusion: Ongoing Political Contests in Global Supply Chains

References

Index

Copyright © Kate Macdonald 2014

The right of Kate Macdonald to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2014 by Polity Press

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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

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ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-6170-4

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-6171-1 (pb)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7973-0 (epub)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7972-3 (mobi)

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Acronyms

Alianza Bolivariana Para Los Pueblos de Nuestra AmericaALBAAlternative Trading OrganizationsATOAmerican Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial OrganizationsAFL-CIOAsia Monitor Resource CentreAMRCAsia Pacific Labour Update/Institute of Industry and Labour StudiesAPLU/IILSAsian Development BankADBAsociación de Cafés Especiales de NicaraguaACENAsociación de Trabajadores del CampoATCAsociación Servicios de Promoción LaboralASEPROLAAssociation of Southeast Asian NationsASEANCaribbean Basin InitiativeCBICenter for Reflection, Education and ActionCREACentral Sandinista de Trabajadores UnionCST UnionCentre for Applied Philosophy and Public EthicsCAPPECentre for Economic and International Studies (Formerly the Centre for International Studies on Economic Growth)CEISCentro Nicaragüense de Derechos HumanosCENIDHComisión Presidencial de CompetitividadPROCOMPECommon Code for the Coffee CommunityCCCCConfederación de Trabajadores Nicaragüenses (autónoma) UnionCTNa UnionConsejo Permanente de Trabajadores UnionCPT UnionCorporate Social ResponsibilityCSRCorporatión de Zonas FrancasCZFDepartment for International Development (UK)DFIDDominican Republic–Central America Free Trade AgreementCAFTA-DRExport Development CanadaEDCExport Finance & Insurance Corporation (Australia)EFICExport Processing ZoneEPZFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias SocialesFLACOFair Labor AssociationFLAFair Trade Labelling OrganisationFLOFair Trade USAFTUSAFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFAOFrente Sandinista de Liberación NacionalFSLNGeneralised System of PreferencesGSPInstitute of Behavioral ScienceIBSInternational Centre for Trade and Sustainable DevelopmentICTSDInternational Coffee OrganizationICOInternational Fair Trade AssociationIFATInternational Labor Rights ForumILRFInternational Labour OrganizationILOInternational Monetary FundIMFInternational Restructuring Education Network EuropeIRENEInternational Rights AdvocatesIR AdvocatesKorea Trade-Investment Promotion AgencyKOTRALa Asociación Coordinadora Municipal de Proyectos de Ciudades Hermanas de TipitapaCOMPALCIHTMaquila Solidarity NetworkMSNMaria Elena CuadraMECMesa Laboral de Sindicatos de la MaquilaMLSMMinisterio Agropecuario y ForestalMAGFORMinisterio de Fomento, Industria y ComercioMIFICMinisterio del Trabajo de NicaraguaMITRABMulitnational CorporationMNCNational Bureau of Economic ResearchNBERNational Coffee CouncilCONACAFENational Labor CommitteeNLCOccupational health and safetyOHSOffice of the United States Trade RepresentativeUSTROrganisation for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentOECDOverseas Private Investment CorporationOPICOverseas Private Investment CorporationOPICProfesionales para la Auditoria Social EmpresarialPASEScientific Certification SystemsSCSSocio-Economics and the Environment in DiscussionSEEDSustainable Agriculture Initiative PlatformSAI Platform(Taiwanese) Council of Labour AffairsCLATrading Company of ECOM Coffee GroupAtlanticTrading Company of Mercon Coffee GroupCISATransnational CorporationsTNCUnión de Cafetaleros de NicaraguaUCAFENICUnión de Cooperativas Agropecuarias Cafetaleros de DipiltoUCAFE DipiltoUnión Nacional de Agricultores y GanaderosUNAGUnited Nations Children's FundUNICEFUnited Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentUNCTADUnited Nations Development ProgramUNDPUnited Nations Economic and Social CouncilECOSOCUnited Nations Industrial Development OrganizationUNIDOUnited Nations Research Institute for Social DevelopmentUNRISDUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentUSAIDUnited States Trade RepresentativeUSTRUS Labor Education in the Americas Project (formerly United States/Guatemala Labor Education Project (US/GLEP))US/LEAPWorld Trade OrganizationWTOWorldwide Responsible Accredited ProductionWRAP

Acknowledgements

Throughout the long process of research that has fed into this book, I have benefited from contributions and assistance from a large number of individuals and institutions. The people who have influenced or supported the research in various ways are far too numerous for me to even try to list individually. And although I can't resist mentioning a few by name, my comments below focus on identifying the key institutions in which I was based during various phases of the research and writing process, as well as the individuals and organizations who directly contributed to the research itself.

First of all, I want to acknowledge friends, colleagues and mentors from Oxford University, where the research began. Particular thanks for guidance, insights and support to Frances Stewart at the Department of International Development (Queen Elizabeth House), and Ngaire Woods and Walter Mattli from the Department of Politics and International Relations. Many thanks also to staff at the research institute Nitlapan at the Central American University in Managua, where I was based during the first phase of the field research, and who provided much support and advice. In particular I want to thank Arturo Grigsby for facilitating my stay there. I also received invaluable insights and encouragement from colleagues at both the Government Department and the Development Studies Institute (DESTIN) at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where I was based for two of the years I was working on this research – especially Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, David Held and other colleagues in the Global Politics Program, and Robert Wade at DESTIN. Thanks also to colleagues and friends at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University, where I worked for a short period while still ploughing my way through the research for this book. During the final stages of revising and updating the text, I have received a huge amount of support from friends and colleagues at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne.

Of course I also owe a huge debt to the hundreds of people who were generous enough to give their time to meet with me and participate in formal interviews, invite me to attend events and meetings they were involved with, and share further information and ideas with me on subsequent occasions over the phone and by email. Many people who assisted and contributed to the research have now moved on from the roles they were in when I met with them, while others have continued working in similar roles through the long period over which my work on this topic has extended. All of those I met with have influenced the ideas presented in the book in important ways. In particular, I want to single out for special thanks Nick Hoskyns, Santiago Rivera, Henry Hueck, Chris Bacon, and Hsin-Hsing Chen, all of whom met and spoke with me on numerous occasions, and offered invaluable and ongoing sources of information and insight.

For various forms of financial support throughout different stages of the research, I want to thank the Commonwealth Scholarship Foundation, the Carr and Stahl Funds from St Antony's College at Oxford University, and the Webb Medley travel fund from the Oxford University Department of Economics.

And most importantly, I want to thank all of the friends and family members who have been so unfailingly supportive throughout the seemingly interminable process of researching and writing this book. I won't single them out by name, but they know who they are.

Introduction: The Politics of Global Supply Chains

From corporate boardrooms to the butcher's paper and whiteboards of activist workshops, the phrase ‘supply chain politics’ has become increasingly commonplace. It is now routine practice for major global companies to hire specialist staff responsible for ‘supply chain compliance’, which involves managing human rights, labour standards and other aspects of social governance in farms and factories supplying a company's manufacturing or retail operations. Meanwhile, grassroots activists working with marginalized workers use diagrams of corporate ‘supply chains’ when planning how to most effectively mobilize against transnational structures of corporate power. And consultants within the rapidly expanding industry of ‘responsible supply chain management’ organize events to consult factory workers on their employers' operations, with titles such as ‘The Supply Chain Talks Back’ (CSRAsia 2005). The objectives and experiences of such actors are far removed from each other, yet all recognize the importance of supply chain politics for understanding and transforming patterns of contemporary globalization.

What, then, are these diverse groups referring to when they vigorously debate how global supply chains should be managed? Most now share a broad understanding of a supply chain as an increasingly common arrangement through which the steps involved in producing a given product and bringing it to market are divided up and coordinated beyond the boundaries of a single firm. The term ‘global supply chain’ highlights the associated trend towards the chopping up and spreading out of stages of production not only across different organizational units, but also across different geographical sites.1

What this means in practical terms is that transnational companies in many agricultural and industrial sectors no longer rely primarily on in-house facilities to organize production of the goods they sell. Rather, they source much of their product through chains of contractual, market and network relationships across a number of countries, linking a potentially diverse range of companies, farms and other organizations (Henderson 2005; Ponte and Gibbon 2005). The functional disaggregation of the production process enables ‘lead firms’ to take advantage of the distinctive competencies, efficiencies and flexibilities offered by other firms and geographical locations at different stages of the production process. As a result, firms and countries no longer trade simply in raw materials and final products. Rather, different firms and countries specialize not just in producing different products, but in different parts of different products, each focusing variously on design, assembly, marketing, and so on.

Production processes differ in how amenable they are to this kind of disaggregation and dispersion. As a result, supply chain organization varies significantly across sectors. Nevertheless, supply chains play an important role in the production of a wide range of goods, notably in manufacturing, agriculture and horticulture sectors. Such processes have become most visible in supply chains through which everyday household consumer goods such as clothing and sportswear, tea and coffee, and popular electronic consumer goods such as Apple iPhones and iPods are produced and traded. But global supply chains also play an important role in organizing the production of less visible and politicized goods such as transport equipment, electronic components and industrial machinery.