Corporate Social Responsibility and Labour Agency: The Case of Nike in Pakistan

Peter Lund-Thomsen, Neil M. Coe

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    This article examines the circumstances under which corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives facilitate and/or constrain labour agency in global production networks (GPNs). Using a case study of Nike’s CSR approach in the football manufacturing industry of Pakistan, we explore the extent to which the measures advocated in a new, emerging policy paradigm on CSR in GPNs enabled labour agency at Nike’s main football supplier factory in Pakistan. We argue that while such CSR policies can create enhanced space for labour agency, that potential agency is also shaped (i) by wider economic forces within the global economy and (ii) relationships with local/national actors and regulatory frameworks. Understanding the intersection of these dimensions becomes vital to interpreting the potential for, and activation of, labour agency within CSR-influenced GPNs.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalJournal of Economic Geography
    Volume15
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)275-296
    Number of pages22
    ISSN1468-2702
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2015

    Keywords

    • Labour agency
    • Global production networks
    • Football manufacturing
    • Pakistan
    • Corporate Social Responsibility

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