INNOVATION CAPACITY EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE VALUE CHAINS

The traditional approach to innovation assessment has mainly focused on the economic outcomes and failed to capture the ecological and social dimensions of sustainability. By giving high attention to the role of specific kind of innovation (technological innovation), there is little empirical work on whether combining different kinds of innovation leads to progress in social-ecological sustainability in developing countries. The sustainability orientation in the assessment of innovation performance becomes increasingly important for achieve successful transformation towards sustainability. The research question of this study is under what condition or combination of conditions the intervention for innovation reconciles the trade-offs between socioeconomic and ecological performance and thus improve progress towards sustainability in poor countries. Combing concepts and methods from literature on strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR), value chain upgrading, sustainability, and technological capability, this study identifies different mechanisms and conditions for building innovation capacity and then empirically evaluates the relationship between the degree of innovation capacity and the progress towards social-ecological sustainability by taking four cases from Ethiopia. The data for this study is collected using key informant interviews, focus group discussion, and biodiversity and innovation scorecard questionnaire. Mixed methods combing comprehensive fuzzy evaluation, biodiversity scorecard and qualitative comparative analysis are used for analysis. The study found that combing value chain innovation and green governance innovation either with technological upgrading or innovation platform learning are sufficient conditions for achieving social-ecological sustainability. We also found that innovation in green governance and in value chain are necessary conditions for sustainability. By developing and applying fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model for measuring innovation capacity and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis for identifying necessary and sufficient conditions for sustainability, this study made an important methodological contribution to existing literature.

Institutional Change in Value Chains: Evidence from Tea in Nepal

Several subsidy programs are being implemented by nations all over the world in an effort to support the growth of the new energy vehicle industry and increase its capacity for innovation. In order to assess the sector’s capacity for technical innovation, the innovation capability level of China’s new energy vehicle industry from 2012 to 2017 was computed using a network DEA model. Technology development and innovation transformation were the two stages into which the sector was split. The findings demonstrate that a mismatch between the effectiveness of the technology development stage and the effectiveness of the innovation transformation stage is the cause of innovative technology’s inability to support business operations. This mismatch also contributes to the new energy vehicle industry in China’s overall low level of innovation capability. Based on the study’s findings, significant policy suggestions are made in order to progress the new energy vehicle industry’s technological capabilities within the constraints of China’s present new energy policy.

The present document addresses the need to move towards sustainable value chains in the countries of the Andean Region, focusing on Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The region faces particular challenges, since a significant proportion of its emissions are linked to export activities, mainly agricultural products and fossil fuels. However, the global trend towards a decarbonized economy presents opportunities in terms of integration with global and regional value chains, with potential benefits in productivity, knowledge transfer, and job creation. The study identifies links and opportunities with high potential to strengthen regional integration and mitigate carbon emissions. In particular, opportunities in value chains of sectors such as fisheries, textile, plastics, rubber, and automotive are studied. In this regard, five strategic priorities are proposed for regional and international integration and another five to promote decarbonization, ranging from institutional strengthening to financing for the implementation of sustainable projects. Emphasis on capacity development underscores education and vocational training as key pillars for the region. Decarbonization involves not only reducing emissions but also rethinking production and consumption, prioritizing a circular economy model that includes practices such as recycling and reuse. To consolidate this opportunity, international cooperation is posited as crucial, facilitating access to advanced technologies and best practices. For this reason, bilateral, multilateral, and regional agreements can play a key role in promoting a common agenda. This report provides a roadmap, the execution of which will depend on well-formulated policies and the ability to advance a shared vision to build a more prosperous and sustainable future.

The primary task of urban innovation capacity evaluation is to design a set of scientific and reasonable evaluation index system, and whether the evaluation index system is reasonable or not has a direct impact on the accuracy of the subsequent evaluation results. According to the connotation of city innovation capacity, the innovation capacity of the city can be regarded as an input-output system, and the design concept of the four-dimensional integrated classification dimension has been put forward, which includes innovation input, innovation output, innovation subject and innovation environment support. And then, a set of city innovation capacity evaluation index system is initially proposed. Lastly, confirmatory factor analysis model is used to test the evaluation index system. The research results show that: the evaluation index system of city innovation capacity proposed in this paper has a high degree of scientificity and rationality, which can be used as a reference for the evaluation.

Sustainable intensification of aquaculture value chains between Asia and Europe: A framework for understanding impacts and challenges

Development of a Methodology to Analyze Energy and Resources Consumption Along the Product Value Chain

Fragmented governance of international value chains, operating in multiple jurisdictions, is insufficient to prevent social and environmental mismanagement. Smart Mixes, which are combinations of compulsory and voluntary measures, have been proposed as a possible means of securing environmental and social standards, but the concept has not been operationalized in the academic literature. We aim to identify the factors that have contributed to, or hindered, the performance of existing Smart Mixes in three international value chains (conflict minerals, palm oil, and bonds) using data from interviews with 32 experts, supplemented by a literature review. The results suggest that Smart Mixes are effective when they cover a specific issue under conditions in which enforcement mechanisms create a level playing field: thereby aligning public and private sector interests. The keys to success in a Smart Mix include positive interactions, harmonization, and complementary and supportive measures, which combine to motivate engagement by the private sector. We conclude that Smart Mixes can contribute to sustainability in value chains but their effectiveness is dependent on the strength of the relationships between the measures that compose them.

Scientific and reasonable water and fertilizer regimes positively affected crop growth, yield, fruits quality and soil environment improvement. As a liquid quick-acting organic fertilizer to substitute chemical fertilizers, biogas slurry has been widely used in agricultural production. However, the lack of research on the proper comprehensive quality evaluation model and irrigation mode under biogas slurry limits the promotion and large-scale application of biogas slurry in agricultural production. In this study, three biogas slurry (BS) ratio (1:4BS, 1:6BS, 1:8BS; volume ratio of biogas slurry to water), three irrigation levels (W1, W2, W3) and three fertilizer control treatments (CF1, CF2, CF3) were conducted in field experiments. Eleven single indexes from four type qualities (external quality, taste quality, nutrition quality, storage and transportation quality) were adopted to establish the comprehensive evaluation index system of tomato. The principal component analysis, grey correlation analysis, membership function analysis and TOPSIS analysis model (based on the combination of objective entropy method and subjective analytic hierarchy process) were used to estimate the comprehensive quality of tomato fruits. Moreover, the objective combination evaluation mode based on overall diversity was used to evaluate the results obtained from the four independent comprehensive evaluation methods. The aim is to mitigate inconsistencies of multi-attribute evaluation models. The results showed that biogas slurry application was beneficial to the accumulation of aboveground biomass under the same irrigation amount, which can effectively improve the sugar to acid ratio and lycopene content of tomato. T3 (1:4BS, W3) and T1 (1:4BS, W1) obtained the highest yield and water use efficiency (WUE), respectively. The results of Kendall consistency test and Pearson correlation coefficients showed that there were good compatibility and high consistency among the four independent comprehensive evaluation models, and the combined quality evaluation model can be performed directly. As the correlation coefficients between combined evaluation model and each of four independent methods reached 0.965, the combined evaluation model was capable of reducing the differences of four independent comprehensive evaluation model. The combined quality evaluation results showed that T2 (1:4BS, W2) recommended strongly in this study could effectively improve the yield, quality and WUE of tomato.

A review of the literature on value chains, including but not restricted to Markets and Rural Poverty: Upgrading in Value Chains, edited by J. Coles and C. Mitchell, and Value Chains, Social Inclusion and Economic Development: Contrasting Theories and Realities, edited by A.H.J. Helmsing and S. Vellema, all reviewed by Nigel Poole. Competition and Efficiency in International Food Supply Chains: Improving Food Security, by John Williams, is reviewed by Ulrich Kleih. Finally, Contract Farming Handbook: A Practical Guide for Linking Small-scale Producers and Buyers through Business Model Innovation by Margret Will, is reviewed by Andrew W. Shepherd.

In India’s export basket, Basmati rice has secured a special place for it. Not only does it earn a significant number of foreign exchanges, but also helps in expanding India’s cultural footprint and boosts its soft-power across the globe. In the year 2022, basmati rice of worth 4018.64 million USD were exported to different parts of the world. But the potential of financial gain from basmati rice is far from reached given the various constraints faced by its stakeholders. Even though several past studies have highlighted the constraints faced by the basmati growers in India, a holistic study covering all the major stakeholders from farm to fork was missing. To fill this gap the current study was conducted to find out the various constraints faced by different stakeholders in the value chain of Paddy cv. Pusa Basmati 1121. The major stakeholders considered for the above study include, farmers, local traders, commission agents, millers, wholesalers and retailers. The findings of the study showed that the major constraints faced by them include, “high price of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals” (R.B.Q Score, 94.66), inconsistent quality of the produce (R.B.Q Score 93.22), high price fluctuation of commodities (95.70), inconsistent quality of produce (R.B.Q Score 94.23), and lack of adequate credit facilities (R.B.Q Score 93.74 respectively. The findings of the study would be helpful to the policymakers in addressing these value chain barriers, and creating more sustainable value chains so that it can benefit all the stakeholders.

This research delves into the identification of opportunities for the consolidation of the lemon value chain in the department of Tolima, Colombia, through the associativity model called: Special Administrative Planning Region. This model is a land-use planning system, officially recognized in Article 325 of the Political Constitution of Colombia and in Law 114 of 2011, which functions as a planning tool at the regional level. Its main objective is to integrate a given region with other territorial entities at the departmental level. The study is framed within exploratory research that employs qualitative and quantitative methodologies for its development, in addition to using data collection instruments, in order to identify the main elements that define the possibilities of establishing a profitable and sustainable value chain in the citrus-lime sector in Tolima. The results show that the potential for competitive insertion of lemon in global value chains reaches potential international markets such as Russia, Germany, France, Poland, Canada and Saudi Arabia, and the support of different government institutions. However, it is necessary to overcome major threats and weaknesses that currently hinder this insertion.

Sustainability assessment of new technologies using multi criteria decision making: A framework and application in sectioning end-of-life wind turbine blades

Non-timber forest product (NTFP) markets are often used as a development tool to improve livelihood stability of socio-economically vulnerable communities with access to natural resources. Interventions to encourage growth of NTFP markets, however, often succeed at reaching only subsets of target populations. To address impacts of changing NTFP markets on livelihoods and sustainable forest management, value chain and livelihood systems analyses were used to evaluate impacts of a buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) handicraft market on heterogeneous buriti users in Maranhão, Brazil. Data were obtained through interviews with 97 individuals who operated as different types of buriti users. Buriti value chain diagrams were constructed by identifying patterns among responses. Socioeconomic characteristics of actors were identified using statistical means comparisons. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the socioeconomic factors that correlated with peoples' role in the value chain. Results showed that the new market has introduced new individuals who interact with pre-existing buriti users. Actors differ by livelihood strategy, socioeconomic factors, and perceptions regarding sustainability of leaf collection. Social heterogeneity in NTFP value chains should be considered by initiatives that seek to influence participation in NTFP markets, evaluate effects of commercialization on livelihoods, and effectively design and implement resource management strategies.

Global Value Chains - 2[-]Table of Contents - 6[-]Part I Theoretical Contributions - 8[-] 1 Global Value Chains An Overview of the Issues and Concepts - 10[-] 2 The Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) and the Private Sector A Value Chain Research Approach - 32[-] 3 Value Chains in Developing Countries A Framework for Analysis - 44[-]Part II Local Agricultural Value Chains - 70[-] 4 Beer multinationals Supporting Africa's Development? How Partnerships Include Smallholders into Sorghum-beer Supply Chains - 72[-] 5 Bush-to-energy Value Chains in Namibia Institutional Challenges for Pro-poor Rural Development - 90[-]Part III International Agricultural Value Chains - 118[-] 6 Localizing Global Standards Illustrative Examples from Kenya's Horticulture Sector - 120[-] 7 Using a Partnership to Achieve Sustainable Development of the Palm Oil Value Chain in Malaysia - 138[-]Part IV Value Chains in the Industrial and Services Sector - 164[-] 8 Global Competition in the Semiconductor Industry A Comparative Study of Malaysian and Chinese Semiconductor Value Chains - 166[-] 9 Business-community Partnerships The Link for Sustainable Local Development? - 202[-]Part V Conclusions: Upgrading Value Chains in Developing Countries - 236[-] 10 Upgrading of Value Chains in Developing Countries - 238[-] 11 A Learning Case of a Local Value Chain The Banana Subsector in Arusha Municipality and Arumeru District: Producing Banana Beverages - 252[-]About the Authors - 274[-]Index - 278