Abstract
There is an ongoing debate in the extant literature regarding whether the relationship
between occupational health and safety (OHS) and operational practices is contradictory or complementary. However, previous research has focused on companies situated in developed and highly
industrialized countries. We contribute to the debate by investigating the relationship between OHS
and operational practices in 50 selected garment factories in the context of a developing country
(Bangladesh). We investigated OHS and operational practices in a developing country because the
institutional context and the industrial tradition are different from those in developed countries, and
these factors are very likely to influence how companies invest in enhancing work conditions and
improving operational practices. Indeed, the main contribution of this study is that, in contrast to
findings from developed countries, our results indicate that both the maturity levels of OHS and
operational practices and the complementarity between them depended on plant size. In particular,
large plants had higher levels of maturity and were more likely to perform well in both OHS and
operational practices than small and medium plants. Based on these findings, we emphasize that,
to enhance work conditions and remain competitive, small and medium companies must embrace
multi-stakeholder initiatives involving international buyers, local government, and international
labor. Organizations can contribute to building the capabilities of suppliers and balance the pressure
of cost reduction with investment in OHS improvement
Original language | English |
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Article number | 4313 |
Journal | Sustainability |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 8 |
Number of pages | 20 |
ISSN | 2071-1050 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2021 |
Keywords
- Bangladesh
- Lean
- Occupational health and safety
- Sustainable operations