Premium
Social upgrading and cooperative corporate social responsibility in global value chains: the case of Fairphone in China
Author(s) -
JINDRA BJÖRN,
HATANI FAITH,
STEGER THOMAS,
HIEMER JOHANNES
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
global networks
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.685
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1471-0374
pISSN - 1470-2266
DOI - 10.1111/glob.12232
Subject(s) - corporate social responsibility , business , supply chain , industrial organization , china , value (mathematics) , social responsibility , global value chain , production (economics) , social welfare , value chain , market economy , commerce , marketing , economics , public relations , microeconomics , international trade , comparative advantage , machine learning , political science , computer science , law
In this article, we explore how a lead firm's strategy for corporate social responsibility influences the social upgrading of a supplier in a global value chain. Based on a single case study approach, we investigate the interaction between Dutch smartphone producer Fairphone and its Chinese supplier Guohong. On the one hand, the case illustrates how a cooperative approach to corporate social responsibility can lead to progress in suppliers' social upgrading. In particular, we highlight the role of a so‐called workers' welfare fund as a mechanism not only for improving measurable labour standards but also for enabling rights. On the other hand, the case demonstrates how the limited production and technological capabilities of the suppliers, a competitive market environment and lead firms' limited strategic access to the supply chain might constrain the extent of social upgrading through a cooperative approach towards corporate social responsibility in a global value chain.