Framing the Shift to Mandatory Due Diligence in the Garment Industry
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2025-07-08
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en
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This thesis explores how multinational companies (MNCs) in the garment industry frame the need to adapt their supply chain management practices in response to the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Using a qualitative, inductive research design, the study analyses public documents, sustainability reports, public consultations, and industry events. Drawing on framing theory concepts of diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing, the research examines how companies construct meaning around the CSDDD. The findings reveal that MNCs predominantly diagnose the problems needing to be addressed by the directive as stemming from external systemic conditions, thereby deflecting responsibility and shifting the blame. Prognostically, the CSDDD is framed both as a challenge and an opportunity, shaping understanding of the CSDDD. Motivationally, companies legitimise their engagement through instrumental, legal, reputational, and especially ethical reasoning, positioning compliance as a reflection of broader corporate values.
The study offers a deeper understanding of how firms navigate mandatory sustainability regulation by shaping its meaning through framing, providing insight into the interpretive dynamics of regulatory engagement in the garment sector.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen