Countries’ Participation in Global Value Chains: An Example of Consumer Electronics Industry

The research is devoted to the investigation into dynamics of countries’ participation in consumer electronics global value chains caused by operations of its leading manufacturers. Sector that is under study ranks among the most important high-tech industries of the world economy, which generates considerable volume of added value created by producers and suppliers from different countries of origin. This fact lets identify the most important trends of value added redistribution on the global level. The hypothesis states that in spite of outsourcing of standardized operations to developing countries and emergence of leading Asian producers, the distribution of value added within the global consumer electronics sector is biased towards industrialized countries. In the research we study the models of global value chain formation implemented by companies from different countries, we analyze statistics presented by the OECD and the WTO that reflects the movement of value added across borders on the countries’ level, investigate present trends influencing the sector in order to uncover perspective directions of value added distribution between countries. As a result, the suggested hypothesis is confirmed. There was found a concentration of knowledge base accounting for the highest value added in the group of industrialized countries. At the same time, the share of value added originating from developing countries has remained almost unchanged. The findings of the research could be applied both by the authorities to develop effective industrial policies, as well as by separate companies seeking for new competitive advantages.