Serena Masino, Nadia Laura von Jacobi and Mavis Akuffobea-Essilfie
This paper aims to investigate the governance of labour standards in the less-studied yet rapidly globalising Ghanaian construction sector. While incorporation into international…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the governance of labour standards in the less-studied yet rapidly globalising Ghanaian construction sector. While incorporation into international production networks generates several opportunities for workers, the drivers of adverse incorporation originate at multiple levels of analysis. The study offers an investigation into such drivers and their interconnections.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilise a multi-scalar framework and mixed methods of analysis. Both the qualitative and multi-level quantitative analyses rely on a primary dataset collected among 30 firms and 304 respondents, through semi-structured interviews.
Findings
A composite yet unbalanced labour standards governance configuration emerges, where the absence of social governance combined with a weak role of the State leaves labour standards subject to the variegated landscape of firms' embeddedness in the sector.
Originality/value
The construction industry is acquiring ever-increasing relevance in the economic trajectory of Ghana as well as that of several other African economies, not least for its large employment generation potential. Research on the governance of labour standards in the sector is, however, largely missing. The authors argue that labour incorporation dynamics represent a complex under-investigated regulatory challenge as well as a policy-making priority. The analysis is one of the first to offer a reconstruction of the governance landscape determining the challenges workers face in the Ghanaian construction sector, from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective.
Details
Keywords
Xiaolan Fu, George Essegbey and Godfred Frempong
This study investigates the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on economic and human development in Africa. Specific focus is placed on the local managerial capability…
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on economic and human development in Africa. Specific focus is placed on the local managerial capability building. Capability building is an important part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) framework and is considered a necessary prerequisite for achieving poverty alleviation targets. The low level of local capabilities is a well-recognized issue in Africa. The study also addresses the emerging stream of research devoted to MNEs from developing countries. Such MNEs have a different level of managerial capabilities, a different corporate culture, and different operation models compared to MNEs from developed countries. This study analyzes the industrial development of Ghana and compares cases of Chinese and European MNEs operating in this country. On the basis of multimethod analysis, we provide extensive policy implications.