Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2015
  • Article
  • Regulation & Governance

Codes in Context: How States, Markets, and Civil Society Shape Adherence to Global Labor Standards

By: Michael W. Toffel, Jodi L. Short and Melissa Ouellet
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Transnational business regulation is increasingly implemented through private voluntary programs—like certification regimes and codes of conduct—that diffuse global standards. But little is known about the conditions under which companies adhere to these standards. We conduct one of the first large-scale comparative studies to determine which international, domestic, civil society, and market institutions promote supply chain factories' adherence to the global labor standards embodied in codes of conduct imposed by multinational buyers. We find that suppliers are more likely to adhere when they are embedded in states that participate actively in the ILO treaty regime and that have stringent domestic labor law and high levels of press freedom. We further demonstrate that suppliers perform better when they serve buyers located in countries where consumers are wealthy and socially conscious. Taken together, these findings suggest the importance of overlapping state, civil society, and market governance regimes to meaningful transnational regulation.

Keywords

Transnational Regulation; Labor Standards; Consumer Politics; Codes Of Conduct; Compliance; Governance Compliance; Operations; Globalization; Labor

Citation

Toffel, Michael W., Jodi L. Short, and Melissa Ouellet. "Codes in Context: How States, Markets, and Civil Society Shape Adherence to Global Labor Standards." Regulation & Governance 9, no. 3 (September 2015): 205–223.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Author

Michael W. Toffel

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Global Sourcing at Nike

    By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Michael W. Toffel
    • December 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Spreadsheet Supplement

    By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
    • December 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Video Supplement

    By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
More from the Authors
  • Global Sourcing at Nike By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Michael W. Toffel
  • Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Spreadsheet Supplement By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
  • Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Video Supplement By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College