Crossvergence of socially (ir)responsible employment practices in supplier firms

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of crossvergence from international human resource management (IHRM) as a conceptual lens for understanding and analyzing the formation of socially (ir)responsible employment practices in supplier firms in global production networks (GPNs). The crossvergence perspective can particularly contribute to understanding how the agency of suppliers is influenced by the interaction of global–local dynamics. Design/methodology/approach The paper illustrates how the formation of socially (ir)responsible employment practices can be understood as a process of crossvergence. Subsequently, it reviews and structures insights from GPN and IHRM literature to detail the process. Findings The paper underscores the complicated role of suppliers in ensuring decent work in GPNs. Suppliers face a multitude of global and local interacting, and partially conflicting, demands. They process these demands as active agents and need to develop suitable employment practices in response. Originality/value The paper supports the nascent discourse on supplier agency in forming socially responsible employment practices. It connects different streams of literature to illuminate the perspective of suppliers, introduces IHRM insights to the debate and offers conceptual guidance for analyzing interacting global and local pressures on suppliers.

Research progress on working conditions in supply chains: a comprehensive literature review and future research propositions

“…Enforcement of this Act helps mitigate activities not limited to bondage labour and human trafficking (Chen et al, 2020). Further, implementing the modern slavery act is expected to reduce contextual risk factors related to working conditions (Holzberg, 2019;Hasle and Vang, 2021). In manufacturing setups, here referred to the garment industry in Bangladesh, labour is not the only factor to be at risk of modern slavery in the factories (Alamgir and Banerjee, 2019; Smith and Johns, 2020), instead it is the kind of raw materials used to manufacture products is associated with SC working condition risks (Chen et al, 2020).…”

Uncovering missing links in global value chain research – and implications for corporate social responsibility and international business

“…The early 2000s already saw the first studies on a range of sectors, including electronics, footwear, toys and clothing, as well as coffee, cocoa, tea, palm oil, sugar and soy (Gereffi, 2014;Kaplinsky and Morris, 2000;Schmitz, 2006). Increasingly, GVC research also addresses environmental, human rights and labour implications of globally produced goods and discusses the interrelation between the mode of organizing production across borders in GVCs and the mode of governing CSR concerns in specific nodes of GVCs Bair and Palpacuer, 2015;Holzberg, 2019;LeBaron et al, 2017;Ponte, 2019). Despite these insights, however, one "component" has consistently received little attention.…”

“…Increasingly, GVC research also addresses environmental, human rights and labour implications of globally produced goods and discusses the interrelation between the mode of organizing production across borders in GVCs and the mode of governing CSR concerns in specific nodes of GVCs Bair and Palpacuer, 2015;Holzberg, 2019;LeBaron et al, 2017;Ponte, 2019). Despite these insights, however, one "component" has consistently received little attention.…”

The Third Space, mimics and ambivalence of HRM in the Global South: a postcolonial reading

“…In this context, the literature depicts such identity of HRM either as a result of dualisms, such as convergence–divergence and Western/non-Western human resource (HR) practices or as a blend of Western and indigenous/local (people) management practices as a result of the crossvergence of HR practices in the South (Al Ariss and Sidani, 2016; Azolukwam and Perkins, 2009; Ghebregiorgis and Karsten, 2007; Holzberg, 2020; Yahiaoui, 2015). In turn, it seems to overlook the historical context – the (post-)colonial [1] condition – of the South within which HRM is supposed to play its role in Southern organisations (Al Ariss and Sidani, 2016; Frimousse et al , 2012).…”