Seminars topic: Global supply chain disruptions pose significant operational challenges, yet their impact on labor rights remains understudied. This study investigates how disruptions influence the frequency and severity of employment violations using a comprehensive dataset from 2000-2021, combining disruption announcements, employment violation records, and firm-level governance data. Employing a staggered difference-in-differences approach with propensity score matching, we analyze violations pre- and post-disruption for both treated and control firms. Results indicate that supply chain disruptions are associated with a significant increase (β = 0.76, p <0.01) in the likelihood of violations occurrences, but a reduction (β = -0.284, p <0.01) in the number of employment violation cases and no statistically significant relationship is observed with the severity of violations (β = 0.29, p =0.196). Robustness tests involving alternative matching methods, dependent variable measures, observation windows and placebo test confirm these findings. Mechanism analyses show that disruptions significantly raise the frequency of non-discrimination violations(such as wage theft and safety breaches) and intensify the severity of discrimination-related violations. Firms with a history of violations experience a higher likelihood but fewer total violations following disruptions. Additionally, labor-intensive firms, particularly those with high labor intensity, face an increased likelihood of violations but exhibit a decrease in the total number of violations. These findings contribute essential insights into the complex dynamics between operational disruptions and labor rights, providing practical strategies for firms to proactively manage labor compliance risks during periods of supply chain instability.

Scholars Background: Dr. Oingxia Kong is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam. After completing her Ph.D. at the National University of Singapore, she worked as an assistant professor of Operations at Universidad Adolfo lbanez, Santiago de Chile. She joined Erasmus University in 2016Kongs research interests are healthcare operations management, medical decision making, andbehavioral operations.

Time and Location: April 22, 2025 | 9:00-10:30 (GMT+8), Room A523 (School of Management)

Language: English