Sustainability in Global Production Networks: Rethinking Buyer-Driven Governance

Sustainability in Global Production Networks: Rethinking Buyer-Driven Governance A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2016 Rachel Alexander School of Environment, Education and Development Table of Contents 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 17 1.1) INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 17 1.2) SITUATING THIS STUDY ........................................................................................................................... 18 1.3) CORE CONCEPTS AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................... 20 1.4) THE CASE OF INDIAN PRODUCTION OF COTTON CLOTHING FOR UK RETAILERS .................................................. 27 1.5) RESEARCH OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 31 1.6) RESEARCH FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................. 33 1.7) THESIS STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................ 35 2: CONSIDERING VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL GOVERNANCE OF PRODUCTION IN EXTENDED SUPPLIER NETWORKS ............................................................................................................................................ 37 2.1) INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 37 2.2) SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES FOR MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS ..................................................................... 38 2.3) UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANISATION OF GLOBALISED OUTSOURCED PRODUCTION ........................................... 42 2.3.1) Production in Global Value Chains .......................................................................................... 43 2.3.2) Production in Global Production Networks ............................................................................. 48 2.3.3) Drawing from the GVC and GPN Frameworks ......................................................................... 59 2.4) PRODUCTION ACROSS AN ESN ................................................................................................................. 60 2.4.1) Considering Producers as Connected through an ESN ............................................................ 60 2.4.2) Governance Flows across the ESN ........................................................................................... 62 2.5) LEAD BUYER GOVERNANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION .......................................................................... 67 2.5.1) Vertical Approach to Buyer-Driven Governance ...................................................................... 67 2.5.2) Alternate Approaches to Buyer-Driven Governance ............................................................... 73 2.5.3) Lead Buyers and Governance for Sustainability across ESNs .................................................. 76 2.6) CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 78 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 80 3.1) INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 80 3.2) RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................................................ 80 3.2.1) Research Philosophy ................................................................................................................ 81 3.2.2) Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 88 3.2.3) Conceptualising the Network .................................................................................................. 90 3.2.4) Choosing the Case ................................................................................................................... 90 3.2.5) Exploring the Structure of the Case Study ESN ...................................................................... 102 3.3) APPROACH ........................................................................................................................................ 105 2 3.3.1) Using a Case Study with Five Embedded Comparative Cases ............................................... 105 3.3.2) Using Institutional Ethnography............................................................................................ 107 3.3.3) Overview of Activities ............................................................................................................ 108 3.4) DATA COLLECTION .............................................................................................................................. 110 3.4.1) Interviews .............................................................................................................................. 110 3.4.2) Documentary Analysis ........................................................................................................... 113 3.4.3) Additional Data Sources ........................................................................................................ 114 3.4.4) Research Journal ................................................................................................................... 114 3.4.5) Ensuring Validity.................................................................................................................... 115 3.5) DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................. 116 3.5.1) Understanding the Structure of the ESN ............................................................................... 116 3.5.2) Vertical Governance through Sourcing Relationships across the Case Study ESN ................ 116 3.5.3) Horizontal Governance in Local Productive Systems ............................................................. 117 3.5.4) Retailer Governance over ESN Producers .............................................................................. 118 3.6) CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS OF STUDY ................................................................................................ 118 3.7) CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................... 122 4: UK RETAILERS’ POSITION AT THE TOP OF THE CASE STUDY COTTON GARMENT EXTENDED SUPPLIER NETWORK ............................................................................................................................................ 124 4.1) INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 124 4.2) RETAILERS AS LEAD BUYERS .................................................................................................................. 124 4.3) GOVERNANCE OF RETAILERS SELLING IN THE UK ....................................................................................... 129 4.4) RETAILERS ’ VERTICAL SOURCING CONNECTIONS ........................................................................................ 136 4.5) RETAILERS ’ HORIZONTAL NON -SOURCING CONNECTIONS ........................................................................... 154 4.6) CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................... 157 5: MAPPING THE PRODUCTION NETWORK CONNECTING INDIAN COTTON TO INDIAN COTTON CLOTHING ............................................................................................................................................ 158 5.1) INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 158 5.2) CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPPLIERS ............................................................................................................. 159 5.2.1) Garment Manufacturing ....................................................................................................... 162 5.2.2) Wet Processing ...................................................................................................................... 165 5.2.3) Textile Manufacturing and Yarn Spinning ............................................................................. 166 5.2.4) Cotton Production ................................................................................................................. 169 5.2.5) Intermediaries ....................................................................................................................... 170 5.3) CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BUSINESSES ...................................................................................................... 174 5.3.1) Sourcing Connections ...........................................................................................................

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