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Cited by 186Global trade, sustainability, and social impactSoftware Engineering and Design PatternsSustainable Supply Chain Management

The role of supply chains in the global business of forced labour

Open access
LeBaron, Genevieve·2021·Journal of Supply Chain Management
DOI 10.1111/jscm.12258
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Abstract

Supply chains are fundamental to whether decent work flourishes or not. Not only do supply chain dynamics shape employment practices and working conditions, but they also influence business models and capabilities which structure opportunities for decent work. As scholars and policymakers race to strengthen labor standards in supply chains and confront barriers to their effective implementation, management scholars can both benefit from and advance an understanding of the role of supply chains in giving rise to indecent work, especially the business practices commonly described as forced labor and modern slavery. To help realize this potential, this article draws from my research on the business of forced labor to emphasize three points. First, there are clear and discernible patterns with respect to the root causes of forced labor in supply chains. Second, forced labor in supply chains cannot be understood in isolation of broader dynamics of work and employment, since low‐waged workers tend to move in and out of conditions of forced labor in relatively short periods of time. Third, on‐the‐ground studies of the effectiveness of buyer‐centric governance programs reveal serious gaps between corporate social responsibility standards and business practices when it comes to indicators most relevant to forced labor. I conclude with a discussion of future directions in this research agenda and highlight the potential for business scholars to make a contribution.

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  • Dominant firms that sit atop concentrated markets can shape production and processing technologies, working conditions, retail market contexts, and product offerings, simply by making business decisions that matter for their own bottom lines.

    “Based on their size and significance in the market, dominant firms that sit atop concentrated markets can shape production and processing technologies, working conditions, retail market contexts, and product offerings, simply by making business decisions that matter for their own bottom lines (LeBaron 2021).”

    From Corporate concentration and power matter for agency in food systems (2025) · cites this paper as LeBaron 2021

    The Root Causes of Forced Labor section links concentrated corporate power and sourcing practices to labor exploitation, and the Introduction says supply chains shape working conditions. Our copy does not establish the claim that dominant firms’ business decisions shape production and processing technologies, retail market contexts, or product offerings. Page numbers are unavailable in the indexed passages. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. LeBaron, G. (2020). Combatting modern slavery: Why labour governance is failing and what we can do about it. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
  2. LeBaron, G., J. Pliley, & D. Blight (Eds.) (2021). Fight- ing modern slavery and human trafficking: History and contemporary policy. Cambridge, UK: Cam- bridge University Press. forthcoming.
  3. Rioux, S., LeBaron, G., & Verov sek, P. (2019). Capital- ism and unfree labour: A review of Marxist per- spectives on modern slavery. Review of International Political Economy, 27(3), 709-731.
  4. She was elected to the College of the Royal Society of Canada in 2020. Her research focuses on labor rights and standards in the global economy and the governance of supply chains, which is the subject of her most recent book, Combatting Modern Slavery: Why Labour Governance is Failing and What We Can Do About It (LeBaron, 2020). Gen- evieve's field research has investigated business models of forced labor in agricultural, garment, construction, and retail supply chains across India, China, Ghana, the UK, and the US. She has analyzed the effective- ness of government and industry efforts to combat forced labor, including through Fairtrade certification, ethical auditing, and home state regulation. She has published on these topics in leading academic jour- nals and is author or editor of four books, published by Polity, Oxford University Press, and Cambridge University Press. In addition to her academic work, Genevieve writes regularly for the media and has had bylines in The Guardian, Salon, and openDemocracy. Her recent media appearances include CBC Ideas, Radio France, BBC, and Whose Century Is It?, and her research has been profiled in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Independent, The Guardian, and The Washington Post, among other outlets.

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Authors
LeBaron, G.
Affiliations
University of Sheffield (GB)
Corresponding author
LeBaron, Genevieve
ORCID
LeBaron, Genevieve
Venue
Journal of Supply Chain Management
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2021-02-13
Volume
57
Issue
2
Pages
29-42
ISSN
  • 1055-6001 (ISSN-L)
  • 1523-2409
  • 1745-493X
DOI
10.1111/jscm.12258
OpenAlex
W3119182343
Cited by
186
References
78
Citations by year
2026: 49 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 11
FWCI
21.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Supply Chain Management (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Ford Foundation
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Global trade, sustainability, and social impact
  • Social Sciences › Development › Software Engineering and Design Patterns
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Keywords
forced labor, supply chain, modern slavery, decent work, labor standards, corporate social responsibility, low-wage workers, working conditions, organizational practices

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