Planting Seeds for Social Dialogue: An Institutional Work Perspective

Abstract

How to get workplace social dialogue started at the bottom of Global Value Chains remains a difficult question. Drawing from institutional work literature, we investigate how local unions, supplier and buyer worked together to start the process of social dialogue in the anti-union context of pineapple plantations in Costa Rica. The process unfolds along four phases each involving specific sets of institutional work. The study highlights the evolving brokerage role of the international buyer and the importance of balancing compliance and commitment approaches to build the foundation for workplace social dialogue.