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Labour Leverage in Global Value Chains: The Role of Interdependencies and Multi-level Dynamics

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Abstract

The global segmentation of production and distribution has resulted in highly complex global value chains (GVCs) where vertical and horizontal dynamics are equally important in determining working conditions and providing points of leverage for labour. Borrowing notions of multi-level governance, we propose an analytical framework for describing and explaining success and failure of labour agency when attempting to improve working conditions along GVCs. Our starting point is that the high complexity of GVCs and the absence of a global overarching authority have been balanced by the emergence of governance mechanisms of different forms and at different levels. An assessment of these mechanisms, which emphasize process over institutions, reveals how different types of interactions and interdependencies along GVCs impact on labour’s use of power. We argue that, in order to fully situate labour agency within governance debates, any future research agenda needs to be driven by micro-level bottom-up approaches.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Paul Edwards for his valuable comments on an earlier version of the paper.

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  1. Organisation, Work and Employment, Birmingham Business School, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    Christina Niforou

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  1. Christina Niforou
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Correspondence to Christina Niforou.

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Niforou, C. Labour Leverage in Global Value Chains: The Role of Interdependencies and Multi-level Dynamics. J Bus Ethics 130, 301–311 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2222-8

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