Summary
The study draws on survey data from managers and workers from Brazil and Kenya in the agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors. The study examines the effectiveness of transnational private regulatory initiatives with labour standards included in multistakeholder initiatives and company codes of conduct. Using linear multilevel models, the authors find that labour standards are associated with very limited effects on worker-employer interactions among suppliers of global production networks.The relationship holds only for improvements that depend on unilateral employer action which can be easily withdrawn.