IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v110y2020icp144-159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Validating scales for economic upgrading in global value chains and assessing the impact of upgrading on supplier firms’ performance

Author

Listed:
  • Islam, Mohammad Tarikul
  • Polonsky, Michael Jay

Abstract

Economic upgrading in global value chains is critical for developing economies, as upgrading enhances supplier firms’ performance, employment and economic growth. However, to date there is no valid measure of firm-level upgrading, making it hard to systematically measure and address deficiencies within firms to enhance firms’ performance and national economic development. This paper addresses this gap by developing and validating measures of four types of economic upgrading using data from senior executives (n = 350) in Bangladeshi apparel supplier firms. The resulting measures have reliability, convergent and discriminant validity as well as nomological validity. The findings of the assessment of nomological validity suggest that suppliers’ manufacturing capability is critical to all four types of upgrading. The four types of upgrading, however, have differing impacts on supplier firms’ production and export performance. Suggestions as to how these measures can be used in practice, policy and research to better understand and manage firm-level upgrading are provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Islam, Mohammad Tarikul & Polonsky, Michael Jay, 2020. "Validating scales for economic upgrading in global value chains and assessing the impact of upgrading on supplier firms’ performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 144-159.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:110:y:2020:i:c:p:144-159
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320300138
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William MILBERG & Deborah WINKLER, 2011. "Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: Problems of theory and measurement," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 150(3-4), pages 341-365, December.
    2. Tewari, Meenu, 1999. "Successful Adjustment in Indian Industry: the Case of Ludhiana's Woolen Knitwear Cluster," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(9), pages 1651-1671, September.
    3. Humphrey, John,, 2004. "Upgrading in global value chains," ILO Working Papers 993698523402676, International Labour Organization.
    4. Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2011. "Global Value Chains Meet Innovation Systems: Are There Learning Opportunities for Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1261-1269, July.
    5. Gary Gereffi & Joonkoo Lee, 2016. "Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains and Industrial Clusters: Why Governance Matters," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 25-38, January.
    6. Chikashi Kishimoto, 2004. "Clustering and upgrading in global value chains: the Taiwanese personal computer industry," Chapters, in: Hubert Schmitz (ed.), Local Enterprises in the Global Economy, chapter 9, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Gabriel R G Benito & Bent Petersen & Lawrence S Welch, 2019. "The global value chain and internalization theory," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1414-1423, October.
    8. Stacey Frederick & Gary Gereffi, 2011. "Upgrading and restructuring in the global apparel value chain: why China and Asia are outperforming Mexico and Central America," International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(1/2/3), pages 67-95.
    9. repec:ilo:ilowps:369852 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Michael Hobday, 1995. "Innovation In East Asia," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 226.
    11. John W Cadogan & Adamantios Diamantopoulos & Charles Pahud de Mortanges, 1999. "A Measure of Export Market Orientation: Scale Development and Cross-cultural Validation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(4), pages 689-707, December.
    12. Giulio Buciuni & Vladi Finotto, 2016. "Innovation in Global Value Chains: Co-location of Production and Development in Italian Low-Tech Industries," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(12), pages 2010-2023, December.
    13. Bernard, Andrew B. & Bradford Jensen, J., 1999. "Exceptional exporter performance: cause, effect, or both?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-25, February.
    14. Coe, Neil M. & Yeung, Henry Wai-chung, 2015. "Global Production Networks: Theorizing Economic Development in an Interconnected World," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198703914, Decembrie.
    15. Sea-Jin Chang & Arjen van Witteloostuijn & Lorraine Eden, 2010. "From the Editors: Common method variance in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(2), pages 178-184, February.
    16. Verreynne, Martie-Louise & Hine, Damian & Coote, Len & Parker, Rachel, 2016. "Building a scale for dynamic learning capabilities: The role of resources, learning, competitive intent and routine patterning," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4287-4303.
    17. Raphael Kaplinsky & Jeff Readman, 2005. "Globalization and upgrading: what can (and cannot) be learnt from international trade statistics in the wood furniture sector?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(4), pages 679-703, August.
    18. Dieter Ernst & Linsu Kim, 2002. "Global Production Networks, Information Technology and Knowledge Diffusion," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 147-153.
    19. Ernst, Dieter & Kim, Linsu, 2002. "Global production networks, knowledge diffusion, and local capability formation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1417-1429, December.
    20. Zhixi Wan & Brian Wu, 2017. "When Suppliers Climb the Value Chain: A Theory of Value Distribution in Vertical Relationships," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(2), pages 477-496, February.
    21. Lee Cronbach, 1951. "Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 16(3), pages 297-334, September.
    22. Golini, Ruggero & De Marchi, Valentina & Boffelli, Albachiara & Kalchschmidt, Matteo, 2018. "Which governance structures drive economic, environmental, and social upgrading? A quantitative analysis in the assembly industries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 13-23.
    23. Valentina De Marchi & Eleonora Di Maria & Stefano Micelli, 2013. "Environmental Strategies, Upgrading and Competitive Advantage in Global Value Chains," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 62-72, January.
    24. Stefan Stieger & Ulf‐Dietrich Reips & Martin Voracek, 2007. "Forced‐response in online surveys: Bias from reactance and an increase in sex‐specific dropout," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 58(11), pages 1653-1660, September.
    25. Ram Mudambi, 2008. "Location, control and innovation in knowledge-intensive industries," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(5), pages 699-725, September.
    26. John Humphrey & Hubert Schmitz, 2002. "How does insertion in global value chains affect upgrading in industrial clusters?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(9), pages 1017-1027.
    27. Azmeh, Shamel & Nadvi, Khalid, 2014. "Asian firms and the restructuring of global value chains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 56666, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    28. Azmeh, Shamel & Nadvi, Khalid, 2014. "Asian firms and the restructuring of global value chains," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 708-717.
    29. Flatten, Tessa C. & Engelen, Andreas & Zahra, Shaker A. & Brettel, Malte, 2011. "A measure of absorptive capacity: Scale development and validation," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 98-116, April.
    30. Cabooter, Elke & Weijters, Bert & Geuens, Maggie & Vermeir, Iris, 2016. "Scale format effects on response option interpretation and use," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 2574-2584.
    31. James D. Westphal & James W. Fredrickson, 2001. "Who directs strategic change? Director experience, the selection of new CEOs, and change in corporate strategy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(12), pages 1113-1137, December.
    32. Khan, Mushtaq H., 2019. "Knowledge, skills and organizational capabilities for structural transformation," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 42-52.
    33. H. Schmitz & P. Knorringa, 2000. "Learning from Global Buyers," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 177-205.
    34. Papadas, Karolos-Konstantinos & Avlonitis, George J. & Carrigan, Marylyn, 2017. "Green marketing orientation: Conceptualization, scale development and validation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 236-246.
    35. Morris, Mike & Staritz, Cornelia, 2014. "Industrialization Trajectories in Madagascar’s Export Apparel Industry: Ownership, Embeddedness, Markets, and Upgrading," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 243-257.
    36. Stephanie BARRIENTOS & Gary GEREFFI & Arianna ROSSI, 2011. "Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: A new paradigm for a changing world," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 150(3-4), pages 319-340, December.
    37. Rossi, Arianna, 2013. "Does Economic Upgrading Lead to Social Upgrading in Global Production Networks? Evidence from Morocco," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 223-233.
    38. Gunasekaran, A. & Patel, C. & McGaughey, Ronald E., 2004. "A framework for supply chain performance measurement," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 333-347, February.
    39. Azadegan, Arash & Wagner, Stephan M., 2011. "Industrial upgrading, exploitative innovations and explorative innovations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 54-65, March.
    40. Gereffi, Gary, 1999. "International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 37-70, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Islam, Mohammad Tarikul & Chadee, Doren, 2023. "Stuck at the bottom: Role of tacit and explicit knowledge on innovation of developing-country suppliers in global value chains," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    2. Andrei G. Shelomentsev & Kseniya S. Goncharova & Igor M. Stepnov & Julia A. Kovalchuk & Do Huong Lan & Roman S. Golov, 2021. "Strategic Innovation as a Factor of Adaptation of National Economies to the Development of Global Value Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.
    3. Mostafiz, Md Imtiaz & Musteen, Martina & Saiyed, Abrarali & Ahsan, Mujtaba, 2022. "COVID-19 and the global value chain: Immediate dynamics and long-term restructuring in the garment industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1588-1603.
    4. Piha, Lamprini & Papadas, Karolos & Davvetas, Vasileios, 2021. "Brand orientation: Conceptual extension, scale development and validation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 203-222.
    5. Choksy, Umair Shafi & Ayaz, Muhammad & Al-Tabbaa, Omar & Parast, Mahour, 2022. "Supplier resilience under the COVID-19 crisis in apparel global value chain (GVC): The role of GVC governance and supplier’s upgrading," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 249-267.
    6. Ali, Imran & Arslan, Ahmad & Chowdhury, Maruf & Khan, Zaheer & Tarba, Shlomo Y., 2022. "Reimagining global food value chains through effective resilience to COVID-19 shocks and similar future events: A dynamic capability perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1-12.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liena Kano & Eric W. K. Tsang & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2020. "Global value chains: A review of the multi-disciplinary literature," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 577-622, June.
    2. Yoruk, Deniz E., 2019. "Dynamics of firm-level upgrading and the role of learning in networks in emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 341-369.
    3. Choksy, Umair Shafi & Ayaz, Muhammad & Al-Tabbaa, Omar & Parast, Mahour, 2022. "Supplier resilience under the COVID-19 crisis in apparel global value chain (GVC): The role of GVC governance and supplier’s upgrading," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 249-267.
    4. Pham, Hanh Song Thi & Petersen, Bent, 2021. "The bargaining power, value capture, and export performance of Vietnamese manufacturers in global value chains," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).
    5. Roman Jurowetzki & Rasmus Lema & Bengt-Åke Lundvall, 2018. "Combining Innovation Systems and Global Value Chains for Development: Towards a Research Agenda," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 364-388, July.
    6. McWilliam, Sarah E. & Kim, Jung Kwan & Mudambi, Ram & Nielsen, Bo Bernhard, 2020. "Global value chain governance: Intersections with international business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    7. Pipkin, Seth & Fuentes, Alberto, 2017. "Spurred to Upgrade: A Review of Triggers and Consequences of Industrial Upgrading in the Global Value Chain Literature," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 536-554.
    8. Lindsay Whitfield & Cornelia Staritz, 2021. "Local supplier firms in Madagascar’s apparel export industry: Upgrading paths, transnational social relations and regional production networks," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(4), pages 763-784, June.
    9. Pasquali, Giovanni & Krishnan, Aarti & Alford, Matthew, 2021. "Multichain strategies and economic upgrading in global value chains: Evidence from Kenyan horticulture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    10. Ziliang Deng & Xufei Ma & Ziyan Zhu, 2022. "Transactional Dependence and Technological Upgrading in Global Value Chains," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 390-416, March.
    11. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Pananond, Pavida, 2023. "The rise of emerging market lead firms in global value chains," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Bhushan Praveen Jangam & Badri Narayan Rath, 2021. "Does global value chain participation enhance domestic value‐added in exports? Evidence from emerging market economies," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1681-1694, April.
    13. Valentina De Marchi & Matthew Alford, 2022. "State policies and upgrading in global value chains: A systematic literature review," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 88-111, March.
    14. Golini, Ruggero & De Marchi, Valentina & Boffelli, Albachiara & Kalchschmidt, Matteo, 2018. "Which governance structures drive economic, environmental, and social upgrading? A quantitative analysis in the assembly industries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 13-23.
    15. Mahmudul Hasan Fouji & Imranul Hoque, 2021. "Supplier Internationalization Through Upgrading in Global Supply Chain: Evidence from the Garments Industry of Bangladesh," International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 116-129, December.
    16. Thomas Bernhardt, 2013. "Developing countries in the global apparel value chain: a tale of upgrading and downgrading experiences," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2013-22, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    17. Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy & Alisa DiCaprio, 2021. "Are Asian least developed countries sidelined in advanced manufacturing production networks?," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 35(1), pages 134-152, May.
    18. Tatiana A. Meshkova & Evgenii IA. Moiseichev, 2016. "Russia’s experience of foresight implementation in global value chain research," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-35, December.
    19. Xinyu Yang & Weidong Liu, 2022. "Agricultural Production Networks and Upgrading from a Global–Local Perspective: A Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Keijser, Charlotte & Belderbos, René & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2021. "Governance and learning in global, regional, and local value chains: The IT enabled services industry in South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:110:y:2020:i:c:p:144-159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.