Taylor and Francis

Taylor and Francis

English

'Markets are growing increasingly demanding in terms of social, environmental and labour standards, which poses a challenge to firms that are not prepared to ensure compliance. This book sheds light on how clustered firms respond to this challenge and outlines how public policy and insertion into global value chains affects their capacity to comply and compete.' Giovanna Ceglie, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna 'Yes, there are many ways to improve the economic, social and environmental conditions around clusters, but most traditional approaches rely on piecemeal actions and on naïve assumptions about the power of markets or the good intentions of well meaning businesses and governments. This book is about upgrading the upgrading, presenting a comprehensive AND sustainable approach.' Antonio Vives, Former Manager, Sustainable Development, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and creator of the Inter-American Conferences on CSR 'This book brings to light how savvy actors have (or could) tweak the dynamics of tensions, conflicts and resistance to work in favor of social upgrading, instead of against it - one of the book's most refreshing and important contributions.' Judith Tendler, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA