Workplace safety barriers in global supply chains: Insights from the leather tanning industry

Abstract

The global leather supply chain has been widely criticized for poor workplace safety and inadequate sustainability practices. Drawing on the Institutional Logics Perspective, this study examines the barriers to workplace safety and the improvement of occupational health and safety (OHS) in Bangladeshi tanneries. Data was collected through 23 semi-structured interviews and floor observations across six tanneries. The findings reveal that safety logic is largely absent, while market and financial logics dominate organizational decision-making, prioritizing profitability over workplace safety improvements. As a result, safety compliance is predominantly audit-driven and symbolic rather than embedded as a core business policy. In addition, community logic regulates workers’ acceptance of unsafe practices. This study contributes to the global supply chain literature by applying Institutional Logics Theory to OHS governance in a Global South industrial context, an area that remains underexplored. The research also illustrates the potentially influential role of global brands in improving workplace safety and promoting the sustainability of leather supply chains.