Why are MNCs expanding their sphere of responsibility to also include child labour issues in their supply chains?

5. Discussion and Conclusion

It is clear that five chosen companies all engage in the responsible supply chain management with child labour provisions in their codes of conduct and increasingly behave in similar ways. This phenomenon can be explained by isomorphism in the institutional theory, proposes by DiMaggio and Powell (1983). There are three types of isomorphism: coercive, normative, and mimetic. Coercive isomorphism is pressure from political influence and the problems of legitimacy (e.g. governmental regulations, international codes, consumer groups). Mimetic isomorphism refers to when an organisation is uncertain about what to do, this feeling encourages imitation or copying of other successful organizations (e.g. competitors receive favourable reputation through specific strategies). Normative isomorphism means an independently decided action stems from professionalization such as education and training methods and professional networks.

The following section addresses institutional isomorphism to analyse the MNCs’ motivation.

 Levi Strauss: Normative
LS&Co is a value-led business, the company’s vision, strategies and behaviour are based on its core values (Sustainability Guidebook 2013). To bring its value back to life, LS&Co starts from its employees by engaging them in local non-profit organizations to identify needs, plan activities, and create volunteer and donation opportunities (LS&Co 2014). Through charitable activities, employees can be educated to foster empathy and, change the way they do business. It is evidence that this educational programme is one of the factors that LS&Co, as early in 1991, decided to expand its responsibility to child labour issue.

 C&A: Normative
Although few years later than LS...

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