Reconfiguration and regulation of supply chains and HRM in times of economic crisis

This chapter reviews existing evidence on the reconfiguration and regulation of supply chains and employment relations during times of economic crisis. On the one hand, literature has highlighted pressures towards a degradation of standards as firms seek short-term cost advantages. This view is informed by various perspectives from organization studies to political economy but is united by the idea that structural changes in global capitalism drive how firms relate to their suppliers. On the other hand, it has been argued that counter-pressures range from consumer backlashes to the extension of formal and informal regulation across national boundaries. This undeniably heterogeneous literature has common themes suggesting that global forces may be mediated by existing embedded institutional arrangements at transnational, national and local level, and that there are still open-ended possibilities for social action. This chapter synthesizes and evaluates these two streams and identifies agendas for future research.