Journal of Economic Geography Advance Access originally published online on March 10, 2008
Journal of Economic Geography 2008 8(3):323-343; doi:10.1093/jeg/lbn003
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Global standards, global governance and the organization of global value chains
*Senior Lecturer in Development Economics, Institute of Development Policy and Management (IDPM), School of Environment and Development (SED), University of Manchester, Arthur Lewis Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. email < khalid.nadvi{at}manchester.ac.uk>
Compliance with international standards is now a sine qua non for entry into globalized production networks. Developing country firms and farms are confronted by an array of distinct product and process standards that they must meet. This has heightened the competitive challenges they face. Non-compliance can result in exclusion from profitable markets. This article uses the recent case of Nike's termination of sourcing of soccer balls from its lead supplier in Pakistan as a lens to analyse the relationship between standards and governance. The article addresses first the global governance implications associated with how standards are being shaped and implemented. Second, it considers how global standards affect the governance of value chain ties. Finally, in terms of questions for further research, it suggests the need to explore the relationship between standards and ‘intra-firm’ governance, in particular to assess outcomes for those engaged within the chains—namely local firms and their workers, and the social contexts in which global standards are imposed from the outside.
Keywords: international standards, labour standards, child labour, global value chains, governance, Pakistan,
JEL classifications: F23, J80, L23, L50, O19
Date submitted: 14 December 2007
Date accepted: 29 January 2008