IBS Lunchtime Research Seminar - A Holistic Understanding of Aggression Between Workers in Global Supply Chains

You are cordially invited to attend an International Business and Strategy Departmental Research Meeting, during which there will be a presentation by Professor Vivek Soundararajan, School of Management, University of Bath. A reminder that attendance for IBS (full time, research oriented) staff and full-time students is compulsory, and where possible, must be in person. Individuals unable to attend in person, due to legitimate reasons will be provided a Teams link on request. Non-IBS staff are welcome to attend, but must register prior to the event. If you have not received the email invite please email Angie Clark

Please join us in Room 108, Henley Business School, if you would like to attend, please register using the link below:

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Please make sure you let me know in advance if you intend to attend in person so that the correct amount of catering is booked.

Date: Wednesday 7th May 2025, HBS Room 108

Time: 13.00 - 13.30

Abstract:

While research on exploitation in global supply chains (GSCs) has advanced significantly, much of it continues to treat workers as a homogenous group when identifying the causes of poor working conditions and inequalities. A second, more horizontal strand of research addresses demographic differences—such as gender or migration status—but often overlooks how these dynamics are shaped by the structural features of GSCs. Consequently, existing literature has yet to fully theorize labour as a heterogeneous category or explore how GSCs capitalize on this diversity. Responding to the “social turn” in GSC research and calls to foreground the embeddedness of economic activity in social contexts, this study examines how GSC structures shape interactions, tensions, and relations among diverse groups of workers. Drawing on interviews with 25 internal migrant workers and 46 local workers, the study identifies: (1) vertical factors rooted in GSC structures that contribute to workplace aggression; (2) horizontal factors that influence how aggression is experienced and perceived; and (3) the concept of cyclical aggression, which captures how these vertical and horizontal dynamics interact to sustain and reproduce hostility in the workplace. By foregrounding worker-to-worker relations within the context of GSCs, this research offers a more nuanced understanding of labour dynamics and contributes to emerging scholarship on social relations and inequalities in global supply chains.