Organizing the Exploitation of Vulnerable People: A Qualitative Assessment of Human Trafficking
Journal
Journal of Management
ISSN
0149-2063
Type
journal article
Author(s)
Abstract (De)
Focusing on the organizing practices by which vulnerable individuals are exploited for their labor, we build a model that depicts how human traffickers systematically target impoverished girls and women and transform their autonomous objection into unquestioned compliance. Drawing from qualitative interviews with women forced into labor in the sex industry, human traffickers, brothel managers, and other sources (e.g., doctors, nongovernment organizations, and police officers fighting human trafficking), we inductively theorize that organizing of vulnerable individuals for human exploitation involves four interrelated practices—(1) deceptive recruiting of the vulnerable, (2) entrapping through isolation, (3) extinguishing alternatives by building barriers, and (4) converting the exploited into exploiters—that together erode and eventually eliminate workers’ autonomy. We conclude by discussing implications of our research for theory—specifically, the literature on human exploitation and loss of worker agency.
Language
English
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Sage Publ.
Volume
48
Number
8
Start page
2421
End page
2457
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
267680
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
01492063211046908.pdf
Size
969.03 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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