Abstract:
Firm self-regulation with regards to illegal and unethical labor practices has
become a significant trend recently, as firms face possible negative exposure from the
investigatory media. This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the determinants
corporate labor practices and the role played by the investigatory media in firm selfregulation.
The model finds that firms, when facing a media investigation, are no more
likely to use unethical labor regardless of how cost effective it is. Instead, the firm is
actually driven towards certain labor choices based upon the parameters of the
investigatory media’s profitability. This communicates the importance of outside
monitoring bodies on the road towards improved global labor standards.
