Pillon, Marie (2019) The effectiveness of corporate human rights self-regulation : empirical research into the Tanzanian tea industry. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the extent to which voluntary self-regulatory mechanisms are effective in ensuring that companies meet their international human rights responsibilities. First the thesis develops a typology of corporate self-regulatory mechanisms which differentiates, most importantly, between company-level (e.g. human rights policies, industry codes of conduct, international human rights conventions) and product-level (e.g. certification labels) self-regulatory mechanisms. The thesis argues that the effectiveness of company-level and product-level mechanisms should be evaluated collectively because (1) companies view them as component parts of their overarching human rights/sustainability strategies, and (2) they address many of the same human rights issues.

The literature on self-regulation is then explored and a series of characteristics are identified for effective self-regulation, such as an inclusive drafting process, internal and external communication of standards, and clear sanctioning guidelines. A case study is then undertaken of three tea firms operating in Tanzania with differentiated levels of commitment to company/product level self-regulation. Field research was carried out in Tanzania involving 161 interviews. The field research identifies various positive human rights impacts of the self-regulatory mechanisms examined, but also serious deficiencies in design and implementation as well as inherent limitations in what human rights-based approaches can achieve when seeking to address critical social problems in challenging environments. Some of the characteristics for effective self-regulation which were earlier identified are found to be particularly important to well-functioning mechanisms, such as the inclusion of a comprehensive set of human rights, management’s genuine motivation, training of workers and managers, and third-party monitoring with significant consequences for non-compliance. However, a number of additional factors are also identified which are critical to improve corporate human rights performance, such as the conditions under which bottom-up action from affected stakeholders occurs and the state of the company’s financial resources.

On the basis of this case study, conclusions are therefore drawn about the effectiveness of self-regulatory mechanisms in the context of the Tanzanian tea industry. Suggestions are also made for further work that is then needed to address the issue of effectiveness of voluntary self-regulatory mechanisms in other industries and geographical settings.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor K Law [Moys] > KB General and Comparative Law K Law [Moys] > KR Africa
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Tea trade -- Self-regulation -- Tanzania, Corporate governance -- Law and legislation -- Social aspects -- Tanzania, Social responsibility of business -- Tanzania, Human rights -- Tanzania
Official Date:	October 2019
Dates:	Date Event October 2019 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Law
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Harrison, James, 1974-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	426 leaves : colour illustrations, colour maps.
Language:	eng

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