Rana Plaza collapse aftermath: are CSR compliance and auditing pressures effective?

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the intended and unintended consequences of compliance and auditing pressures in the Bangladeshi garment industry. To explore this issue the authors draw on three medium-sized suppliers. The institutional changes that followed the Rana Plaza accident in April 2013 make Bangladesh in general and the garment industry in particular an interesting and suitable research setting for standards compliance. Design/methodology/approach -The study adopts a multiple case study approach. Face-to-face interviews have been conducted with the owners of three Bangladeshi garment manufacturing firms and several workers. Additionally, organisational documents and local newspaper articles had been collected wherever possible. Findings -The results indicate that the pressure for compliance has led the case companies to prioritise the implementation of measurable standards over the socially grounded needs and priorities of workers. As a consequence certain initiatives instead of adding new social value in fact destroyed previously existing social value. Furthermore, the pressure for compliance created the necessity to find ways to cover the sizable cost of compliance. This prompted firms to pursue process upgrading through technological advancements and increased work pressures on the labour force. These initiatives led to an increased power imbalance and the exclusion of unskilled workers from the job market.Research limitations/implications -The paper contributes to the understanding of the human rights implications of compliance and auditing pressures and initiatives. Furthermore, in order to further enrich existing knowledge in the critical accounting literature, the study draws on insights from the global value chains (GVC) and international business (IB) literatures. Originality/value -The paper contributes to the understanding of the human rights implications of compliance and auditing pressures and initiatives. Furthermore, in order to further enrich existing knowledge in the critical accounting literature, the study draws on insights from the GVC and IB literatures.

Stakeholder interactions and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices

“…Indeed, our analysis supports Sinkovics et al's (2016) conclusions as to the nature of the garment industry in Bangladesh. This is that the copper mining sector in Zambia holds a paradoxical role in this country as it is both a heavy contributor to the country's economic development but also that it acts as a potential obstacle to its future development .…”

“…They cite clear evidence of what they term the "state-business nexus" in perpetuating human rights disasters, with "this nature of the state creat[ing] the necessary conditions for businesses to disregard human rights in businesses" (Siddiqui and Uddin, 2016, p. 696). Moreover, given the existence of weak institutions, high rates of corruption and the inability of governments to implement regulations (Visser, 2006), there have been increased calls for "surrogate accountability" in developing countries (Sinkovics et al, 2016). Such surrogates, which can take a variety of forms (governments, supra-national bodies, partnerships among corporations or civil society) may be better equipped to pressurise power wielders to do what is "right" (Rubenstein, 2007).…”

“…From this perspective, civil society is considered good at advocacy but poor at analysis. Given MNCs' role as power wielders or as dominant stakeholders in the Zambian context of severe institutional constraints on the part of the state, civil society has the potential to act as surrogate account holders (Belal el al., 2015;Rubenstein, 2007) pressurising the powerful to act in an ethical manner (Sinkovics et al, 2016). However, other constraints in turn, relating to civil society's power of analysis render this difficult.…”

Égalité entre hommes et femmes et gouvernance des chaînes d'approvisionnement mondiales: promouvoir les droits des travailleuses

“…Autoréglementée par nature, l'application des normes sociales trouve sa source dans la mission de responsabilité sociale des entreprises. Dans les chaînes d'approvisionnement complexes, les multinationales jouent le rôle de prescripteurs en matière de responsabilité, imposant de l'extérieur des normes de conduite en matière de reddition de comptes et d'audit à leurs fournisseurs de pays en développement (Sinkovics, Hoque et Sinkovics, 2016). La responsabilité sociale est à présent une énorme industrie, qui représente entre 15 et 80 milliards de dollars des États-Unis par an, et fait appel à nombre de grandes sociétés internationales d'audit et d'organisations indépendantes à but non lucratif (Terwindt et Armstrong, 2019).…”

A poor country clothing the rich countries: case of garment trade in Bangladesh

“…Sinkovics, Hoque and Sinkovics (2016) found that the pressure for compliance has led the case companies to priorities the implementation of measurable standards over the socially grounded needs and priorities of workers. As such instead of adding new social value in fact destroyed previously existing social value as well as the pressure for compliance created the necessity to find ways to cover the sizable cost of compliance [16].…”