Is social upgrading occurring in South Asia’s apparel industry?

Recent decades have witnessed an increasing integration of developing countries into global value chains (GVCs). This growing participation in global production sharing has raised hopes for economic upgrading within such value chains. However, globalization has intensified international competition, and achieving economic upgrading is not an easy task. Moreover, the social consequences of participating in GVCs are not always positive; however, they have received considerably less attention in the literature. This paper suggests a simple and parsimonious approach to measuring economic and social upgrading (and downgrading) in GVCs. Applying this parsimonious methodology and using quantitative secondary data, we analyze how widespread upgrading has been in four selected manufacturing GVCs: apparel, wood furniture, automotive, and mobile phones. We also investigate to what extent downgrading is part of the reality and undertake a comparative analysis across GVCs, regions and country groups (developing vs. developed countries). We find that the promise of industrial upgrading through participation in GVCs does not materialize for everyone. Indeed, economic upgrading has taken place in just over a quarter of the countries in our sample, among them mainly developing countries. Finally, we examine the relationship between economic performance and social performance in the different GVCs to investigate whether or not economic upgrading is typically associated with social upgrading. While patterns differ across GVCs, we find that economic upgrading is more likely to occur simultaneously with social upgrading than without, and vice versa. Our analysis, thus, suggests that economic upgrading is conducive to, but not sufficient for, social upgrading to occur.

Economic and Social Upgrading Dynamics in Global Manufacturing Value Chains: A Comparative Analysis

Environmental and social upgrading are emerging in the global value chains (GVCs) literature as areas of investigation related to upgrading. A limited number of studies have been conducted to explore environmental upgrading processes and outcomes, while considerable research has analysed the relationship between economic and social upgrading in GVCs. However, the relationship between environmental and social upgrading still needs to be investigated. This qualitative empirical research explores this under-theorised area by studying apparel firms in South Asia, namely in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where social upgrading initiatives can be linked to environmental upgrading. Empirical findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between environmental and social upgrading in GVCs. Environmental upgrading not only results in increased wages, bonuses and allowances through skills development, learning and training but also results in improved working conditions. Employees are enthusiastic about being part of an environmental upgrading initiative.

This research examines how institutional factors (public, private and social governance) Influence social upgrading in supplier firms in global value chains (GVCs) in the soccer ball industry of Pakistan. Using primary multi-source data, we found that institutional factors in GVCs play a critical role in the social upgrading of the industry. Furthermore, we revealed that social upgrading is an outcome of an interplay between public, private and social governance in GVCs.

Nurturing International Business research through Global Value Chains literature: A review and discussion of future research opportunities

Purpose The study aims to catalyze research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other non-heteronormative sexual identity (LGBTQIA+) issues within the international business (IB) field in a structured manner beyond human resource management (HRM) or marketing topics. In addition to the growing number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) researchers, the authors also want to speak to a broader audience of IB scholars focused on multinational enterprise (MNE) non-market strategy, IB policy and strategic management scholars. Design/methodology/approach The study first looks at the evolving LGBTQIA+ terminology. It then synthesizes the extant LGBTQIA+ literature, as it relates to the IB field, starting with the marketing literature from the 1990s. Findings Within the IB literature, HRM issues, particularly around expatriation and the diffusion of LGBTQIA+ policies and practices, dominate. The study also finds that the majority of LGBTQIA+ research is etic rather than in nature and is heavily dominated by Anglo-American terminology and western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) ontologies. Originality/value The IB field has only recently started systematically addressing diversity, such as gender, ethnicity and race. The interest in sexual orientation and the LGBTQIA+ community is even more novel. The authors make a case for more emic-type of LGBTQIA+ research and stronger cultural theorizing to provide nuanced and pluralistic approaches beyond so-called WEIRDperspectives. The study also provides guidance on how the IB field should engage with LGBTQIA+ topics across multiple levels of theorizing and analysis and provides some supporting research questions.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the intended and unintended consequences of compliance and auditing pressures in the Bangladeshi garment industry. To explore this issue the authors draw on three medium-sized suppliers. The institutional changes that followed the Rana Plaza accident in April 2013 make Bangladesh in general and the garment industry in particular an interesting and suitable research setting for standards compliance. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a multiple case study approach. Face-to-face interviews have been conducted with the owners of three Bangladeshi garment manufacturing firms and several workers. Additionally, organisational documents and local newspaper articles had been collected wherever possible. Findings – The results indicate that the pressure for compliance has led the case companies to prioritise the implementation of measurable standards over the socially grounded needs and priorities of workers. As a consequence certain initiatives instead of adding new social value in fact destroyed previously existing social value. Furthermore, the pressure for compliance created the necessity to find ways to cover the sizable cost of compliance. This prompted firms to pursue process upgrading through technological advancements and increased work pressures on the labour force. These initiatives led to an increased power imbalance and the exclusion of unskilled workers from the job market. Research limitations/implications – The paper contributes to the understanding of the human rights implications of compliance and auditing pressures and initiatives. Furthermore, in order to further enrich existing knowledge in the critical accounting literature, the study draws on insights from the global value chains (GVC) and international business (IB) literatures. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding of the human rights implications of compliance and auditing pressures and initiatives. Furthermore, in order to further enrich existing knowledge in the critical accounting literature, the study draws on insights from the GVC and IB literatures.

This paper identifies several governance factors that enable economic upgrading and the link between economic and social upgrading /downgrading of smallholders and Abusa sharecroppers in Ghana's cocoa value chain (GCVC). The findings are based on qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with various actors in GCVC. Our findings suggest two types of economic upgrading: process and product upgrading, achieved by smallholder producers and Abusa Sharecroppers in GCVC. While process upgrading is enabled by governance factors such as price stabilization and controlling opportunistic behavior, transparency in the sale of certified beans and premium management is key for product upgrading. Regarding the link between economic and social upgrading, we reveal that process upgrading leads to the same outcome of social upgrading and downgrading for smallholders and Abusa sharecroppers due to governance factors such as production and purchasing policies and lack of resources and capabilities. However, product upgrading links to social upgrading and downgrading for smallholders and Abusa sharecroppers respectively owing to governance factors such as controlling resources and bargaining power. We provide insights into key actors and their interests, drivers of change and effects of incentives that play crucial roles in shaping governance factors that influence economic and social upgrading of smallholders and Abusa sharecroppers in GCVC. In our conclusion, we identify how regulations, institutional support and conflicts of interest are key for enabling upgrading of developing countries’ agricultural value chains.

Confronted with mixed evidence linking economic upgrading in global value chains to improved social outcomes, proponents have called for a new emphasis on “social upgrading” to promote better employment, gender equality, and poverty reduction. Originally focused on a central role for states, unions, and social movements, the discourse on social upgrading has shifted, emphasizing the benefits of corporate social responsibility and global markets. Drawing on political economic, critical theory, and psychoanalytic paradigms, we explore the politics of this shift and argue that social upgrading is gradually being deployed as a neoliberal market fantasy, designed not to challenge the limits of market integration, but to obscure and deny them. The strength of the social upgrading discourse emerges less from its pretense toward objective, data-driven analysis, than its effectiveness as an ideological fantasy in meeting the contradictory, non-rational desires of experts and non-experts.

The mainstream Global Value Chain (GVC) framework was augmented with the concept of ‘social upgrading’ to understand how workers can benefit from employment in GVCs. This chapter identifies several insights derived from the concept of social upgrading, but also weaknesses stemming from its under-theorization of class relations. It introduces three alternative approaches that emphasize workers’ struggles to improve their conditions. While the Labour Geography agenda foregrounds the agency of workers, its recent studies tend to neglect the structural features of Capitalist Value Chains (CVCs). Conversely, the Power Resource Approach (PRA) situates labour agency within CVC structures but tends to abstract such agency from its political-economic contexts. This chapter demonstrates how these weaknesses can be addressed through developments in the Labour Regime approach and applies this approach to reveal instances of labour struggles and social upgrading from below in garments CVCs.

Decarbonizing global value chains: The mediating role of economic upgrading in renewable energy transitions.

The rise of global value chains (GVCs) has been associated with the rapid expansion of outsourcing by lead firms in the global North to interlinked networks of cross-border suppliers in developing countries. Outsourcing was facilitated by trade and financial liberalization initiated in the 1970s and 1980s, and driven by intense competitive pressures for cost reduction. GVC and global production network (GPN) analysis provide crucial insights into inter-firm coordination and governance, with diverse and uneven embeddedness across an expanding range of countries (Coe and Yeung, 2015; Dicken et al., 2001; Gereffi et al., 2001, 2005). The consequences for suppliers and workers have been mixed. The search for cost reduction went hand in hand with entry into relatively unregulated environments leading to what Appelbaum et al. (2005) have called ‘the race to the bottom’ in many industries. At the same time, buyer pressure for product quality and consistency has increased the demands on suppliers to comply with private standards and monitoring (Nadvi, 2008). For some the outcome has led to a combination of economic upgrading (suppliers moving to higher value activities) and social upgrading (better terms and conditions for workers), while others have experienced economic and social downgrading (Barrientos et al., 2011a; Lee and Gereffi, 2015). Global outsourcing has led to the creation of new architectures for the organization of production, trade and consumption in the global economy. Today multilateral organizations (including the WTO, World Bank and OECD) have acknowledged that GVCs have reshaped traditional trading patterns between nations. UNCTAD (2013) estimates that 80% of world trade now passes through GVCs. Furthermore the developing country share in global value-added trade increased from 20% in 1990 to over 40% today, and GVC participation contributes 28% to their GDP on average. Global production has opened up new opportunities for employment to millions of workers in developing countries. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that in 2013, 453 million jobs were GVC

The Co-Evolution of Concentration in Mobile Phone Global Value Chains and Its Impact on Social Upgrading in Developing Countries

Innovation and international business: A systematic literature review

Abstract.Economic development has increasingly become synonymous with “economic upgrading” within global production networks (GPNs). Yet, while there has been much research on connecting economic upgrading with economic growth and international trade, there has been less analysis of the relationship between economic and “social upgrading”, i.e. improvements in the wages, conditions, rights, gender equality and economic security of workers in GPNs. Focusing on developing countries, this article reviews the ways in which economic and social upgrading are measured and scrutinizes the theoretical connection between these two dimensions of upgrading. The authors conclude with a brief discussion of policy implications.