SMEs in their Own Right: The Views of Managers and Workers in Vietnamese Textiles, Garment, and Footwear Companies

What is it about?

As Vietnam moves away from a command economy, it has been developing a ‘‘market economy with socialist orientation.” Through interviews with workers and managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in textiles, garment, and footwear industries, we find that socially responsible practices and expectations developed long before the arrival of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a Western concept and a multinational corporate (MNC) agenda. While identifying and contributing ideas concerning forms of ‘‘informal’’ CSR practices—influenced by social and cultural expectations—we are conscious of the mixed effects of these practices and the ongoing nuanced negotiations between workers and managers in these SMEs.

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Why is it important?

In our research, we found that it takes active participation and enforcement by both domestic and international stakeholders to improve labor conditions in Vietnam under the banner of CSR.