Analyse der Institutionalisierung ausgewählter Umwelt- und Sozialstandards (English shop)

Preview

Table of Contents, Datei (41 KB)
Extract, Datei (120 KB)

In times of globalisation, numerous companies in industrialised nations are increasingly taking the opportunity to relocate at least part of their production to so-called low-wage countries. The often unacceptable working and living conditions have been taken up and publicised above all by non-governmental organisations. As an instrument of sustainability policy, voluntary environmental and social standards have become widespread, giving companies the opportunity to implement social, ecological and economic improvements in their value chain. This instrument is the starting point for the present study, which draws on the theory of neo-institutionalism (NSI) and uses four selected environmental and social standards to identify their institutionalisation process and the factors underlying it. Within the framework of a qualitative-exploratory research process, numerous expert interviews were conducted that take into account the entire value chain of the standards examined – in the form of the Forest Stewardship Council, the Marine Stewardship Council, the Flower Label Programme and the Common Code for the Coffee Community. Neo-institutionalism is examined in detail and subjected to critical reflection in its context of application.