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Multi-Stakeholder Labour Monitoring Organizations: Egoists, Instrumentalists, or Moralists?

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Abstract

This article examines four leading multi-stakeholder labour monitoring organizations. All operating in the maquiladora industry, these organizations are viewed in light of the growing global trend toward industry self-regulation, or what has been referred to as the ‘global out-sourcing of regulation’. Their Board compositions, codes of conduct and monitoring and enforcement strategies are all examined as a means of tentatively positioning these organizations along an ‘egoist-instrumentalist-moralist’ ethical culture continuum. Such a framing provides insights into the perceived salience of these organizations’ broader stakeholders, the effectiveness of codes of conduct on workplace practices more generally, and the role that ethics plays in the governance and accountability of these increasingly important types of organizations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, Calgary, AL, Canada, T2N1N4

    Jeff S. Everett, Dean Neu & Daniel Martinez

Authors
  1. Jeff S. Everett
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  2. Dean Neu
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  3. Daniel Martinez
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Correspondence to Jeff S. Everett.

Additional information

Jeff S. Everett teaches financial accounting at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business. Along with his research on maquilas, Jeff conducts research in the areas of professional ethics, environmental accounting, and accounting education.

Dean Neu is a professor of accounting at the Haskayne School of Business. His research examines how accounting numbers play a crucial role in shaping public perceptions and public policy. Currently a research assistant at the Haskayne School of Business.

Daniel Martinez is examining issues related to fair trade, corruption, and economic development in indigenous communities.

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Everett, J.S., Neu, D. & Martinez, D. Multi-Stakeholder Labour Monitoring Organizations: Egoists, Instrumentalists, or Moralists?. J Bus Ethics 81, 117–142 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9484-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9484-3

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