Emerald Management Reviews

Design/methodology/approach - Focuses on Nike, the sports shoe manufacturer, to study the impact of corporate codes of conduct on pay, working conditions and health and safety. Uses data from Nike's inspections of supplier factories carried out once or twice yearly since 1997 and its audit of suppliers carried out in 2002 to assess working conditions in suppliers' factories, and whether they comply with Nike's code of conduct. Analyses why some factories perform well and some perform badly, looking at factory characteristics, the relationship between the supplier factory and Nike, and country and industry effects. Also studies if compliance has improved over time.

Findings - Reports that the variation in compliance with Nike's code reflects country effects, notably the local labour standards and the labour inspectorate's ability to enforce labour laws; the age and size of the factory; and the strength of the relationship with Nike, particularly, the number of times Nike staff visit the factory and if the factory works for other companies. Concludes that monitoring its code of conduct has had limited and mixed effects on compliance, despite the company strengthening its compliance monitoring over time.

Research limitations/implications - Describes the research methods and the limitations.

Originality/value - Questions the effectiveness of monitoring codes of conduct to improve labour standards.