Socio-Economic Impacts of CSR

Abstract

Globalization and the emergence of global value-chains have changed the way business relates to society. CSR has emerged as a concept promoting equality throughout multi-national corporations different subsidiaries. International labour standards are to be enacted through voluntary commitments by corporations in developing countries, sometimes in place of functioning law enforcement. This minor field-study set out to gather information on a number of parameters related to this socio-economic development. Divided into sub-questions the primary theme of the research was to explore whether development can be traced to voluntary CSR commitments. The study took a multi-stakeholder perspective, evaluating the opinions of different actors affiliated to the ready-made garment industry. An interview study with workers was the primary core data. From the material gathered during the field-study this report concludes that some areas of international labour standards are successfully improved by CSR implementation. These areas were limited to tangible factors such as access to medical facilities, safety equipment and the payment of minimum wages. Other areas regulated by international standards such as employment conditions, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are noted to be largely unaffected by CSR initiatives. From this it is concluded that while CSR has the potential to be a tool for development, implementation is currently limited to certain areas.