Social Accountability 8000 standard certification: analysis of worldwide diffusion

Abstract

This study analyzes the worldwide diffusion of the Social Accountability 8000 standard certification in sixty-five countries and sixty-six activity sectors from 1999 to 2011. The logistic curve model is used to assess the current situation on both a global scale and a local scale. Additionally, instability and concentration indices are used to analyze whether the diffusion process developed in a homogeneous manner across countries and economic sectors. The results (i) increase the understanding of SA8000’s diffusion, (ii) provide an exploratory descriptive analysis of the current SA8000 diffusion worldwide in both macro and microanalyses compared with other standards and (iii) identify future trends in SA8000 diffusion concluding that currently SA8000 follows a similar pattern than other standards and, in consecuence, a growing trend is expected in next years. These findings suggest some challenges and opportunities. The standard must be more flexible to accommodate the differing perspectives of cultures, increase the dialogue with stakeholders, and include more small companies from developing countries.