PhD defence by Britta Holzberg

Referring to Social Development Goal 8 - Decent work for all - she argues that despite efforts by the global textile and garment to achieve this, indecent work realities persist, especially in textiles and garment supplier firms in the Global South.

Previous research showed that a multitude of global and local (glo-cal) influences shape work realities on the factory floor. To better understand the complex problem of ensuring decent work in global garment production, this dissertation, therefore, focuses on the actor in global production networks that stands where the glo-cal influences interact – the local supplier.

Her thesis was guided by three research questions: 

1. How do glo-cal influences crossverge at the point of the supplier and motivate (in)decent work outcomes in the global garment production network?
2. How do crossvergence dynamics diffuse across different horizontal nodes and vertical stages of the global garment production network?
3. How do owners-managers of garment supplier firms frame their decent work perspectives?

She answers these questions in a series of papers investigating the formation of glocal perspectives and decent work practices in the textiles and the garment industries in Egypt and the garment industry in Jordan.

Doctoral Board

Chair

Professor Inge Hutter

Doctoral dissertation supervisors

Professor Uta Wilkens, Ruhr University Bochum
Professor Peter Knorringa, ISS

Full Doctoral Committee

Professor Peter Lund-Thomsen, Copenhagen Business School
Dr Shamel Azmeh, University of Manchester
Professor Meike Tilebein, University of Stuttgart
Professor Eva Gerharz, Fulda University of Applied Sciences
Professor Irene van Staveren, ISS
Professor Wil Hout, ISS