Corporate Social Accountability Standards in the Global Supply Chain: Resistance, Reconsideration and Resolution in China

Abstract:     
This Article provides a view on corporate social accountability standards from a Chinese perspective, a slightly different angle from that of legal scholars in the United States. The legal literature in the United States typically only focuses on the importance and effectiveness of corporate social accountability standards to regulate the conduct of multinational companies in the era of globalization. However, the views of the outsourced companies in the developing countries on which the multinational companies impose the standards have seldom received attention. This Article tries to fill this void by examining the situation in China. As shown in this Article, effective implementation of corporate social accountability standards requires a refined approach that considers local circumstances in developing countries.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 51

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, corporate codes of conduct, SA 8000, protectionism, bargaining power

working papers series