Recent developments on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Hardware Manufacturing. MULTI Working Paper No.103

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been around for a long time in sectors suchas textiles and toys, but is relatively new to electronics. This paper examines corporatesocial responsibility in ICT manufacturing, in particular the extent to which brands worktowards improving conditions of work in their supply chains, and how they go about doingthis. The aim is to understand better some of the industry forces shaping choices brandsand suppliers make concerning CSR, both at the company level and various industryinitiatives.CSR issues are specific to each industry structure. Key factors include: the degree towhich production is concentrated in relatively few suppliers; the power relationshipbetween the brands and the suppliers, which is a function of, inter alia, how easilyproduction can be moved between suppliers; and the level of commitment brands arewilling to make to support suppliers in their efforts to upgrade labour practices. Not least,national legal frameworks of countries in which production is concentrated stronglyinfluence whether internationally recognized fundamental principles and rights at work arerealized in practice at the factory level.