IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/intlab/v160y2021i4p553-569.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

South Korean first‐tier suppliers in apparel global value chains: Upgrading and labour implications in the Asian context

Author

Listed:
  • Hyunji KWON
  • Sun Wook CHUNG
  • Joonkoo LEE

Abstract

This article traces the historical development of apparel suppliers in the Republic of Korea, particularly the rise of first‐tier suppliers (FTSs). Using the cases of two leading FTSs, the authors examine how they expanded their international presence, especially in Asia, to become large multinationals. Particular attention is paid to the development of these FTSs during the period following the global financial crisis of the late 2000s. This article investigates whether, having rapidly grown to become partners handling a complex business environment, they now occupy a strategic position in the reconfigured apparel global value chains. It also examines their responses to labour issues, considering what their upgrading implies for workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyunji KWON & Sun Wook CHUNG & Joonkoo LEE, 2021. "South Korean first‐tier suppliers in apparel global value chains: Upgrading and labour implications in the Asian context," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(4), pages 553-569, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:160:y:2021:i:4:p:553-569
    DOI: 10.1111/ilr.12212
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12212
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ilr.12212?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Lund-Thomsen, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility: A supplier-centered perspective," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(8), pages 1700-1709, November.
    2. 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.
    3. Gary Gereffi, 2014. "Global value chains in a post-Washington Consensus world," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 9-37, February.
    4. Gereffi, Gary & Frederick, Stacey, 2010. "The global apparel value chain, trade and the crisis : challenges and opportunities for developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5281, The World Bank.
    5. Chikako Oka, 2010. "Accounting for the Gaps in Labour Standard Compliance: The Role of Reputation-Conscious Buyers in the Cambodian Garment Industry," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 22(1), pages 59-78, February.
    6. Nebahat Tokatli, 2008. "Global sourcing: insights from the global clothing industry—the case of Zara, a fast fashion retailer," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 21-38, January.
    7. Azmeh, Shamel & Nadvi, Khalid, 2014. "Asian firms and the restructuring of global value chains," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 708-717.
    8. Sinkovics, Noemi & Hoque, Samia Ferdous & Sinkovics, Rudolf R., 2018. "Supplier Strategies and Routines for Capability Development: Implications for Upgrading," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 348-368.
    9. Gladys Lopez-Acevedo & Raymond Robertson, 2012. "Sewing Success? Employment, Wages, and Poverty following the End of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13137.
    10. 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.
    11. Lindsay Whitfield & Cornelia Staritz & Mike Morris, 2020. "Global Value Chains, Industrial Policy and Economic Upgrading in Ethiopia's Apparel Sector," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(4), pages 1018-1043, July.
    12. Khalid Nadvi, 2008. "Global standards, global governance and the organization of global value chains," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 323-343, May.
    13. Gale Raj-Reichert, 2019. "The role of transnational first-tier suppliers in GVC governance," Chapters, in: Stefano Ponte & Gary Gereffi & Gale Raj-Reichert (ed.), Handbook on Global Value Chains, chapter 22, pages 354-369, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Steve Wood & Neil M. Coe & Iain Watson & Christoph Teller, 2019. "Dynamic Processes of Territorial Embeddedness in International Online Fashion Retailing," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 95(5), pages 467-493, October.
    15. Mark Anner, 2020. "Squeezing workers’ rights in global supply chains: purchasing practices in the Bangladesh garment export sector in comparative perspective," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 320-347, March.
    16. Jeroen Merk, 2014. "The Rise of Tier 1 Firms in the Global Garment Industry: Challenges for Labour Rights Advocates," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 259-277, June.
    17. Chikako Oka, 2010. "Accounting for the Gaps in Labour Standard Compliance: The Role of Reputation-Conscious Buyers in the Cambodian Garment Industry," Post-Print hal-02952241, HAL.
    18. 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.
    19. Solee I. Shin, 2019. "Transforming into Fashion Firms or Multi-Country Suppliers? Accounting for Varied Firm Trajectories in the Deindustrialising Korean Apparel Industry," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(1), pages 1-18, January.
    20. 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)

    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. 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).
    2. Bae, Jinsun & Lee, Joonkoo & Chung, Sun Wook & Kwon, Hyunji, 2025. "Competent suppliers as a missing link: A supplier-centered view on cascading private labor governance in global value chains," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 60(1).
    3. 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.
    4. Giorgos Galanis & Ashok Kumar, 2021. "A dynamic model of global value network governance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(1), pages 53-72, February.
    5. 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.
    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. Chris King-Chi CHAN & Khalid NADVI, 2014. "Changing labour regulations and labour standards in China: Retrospect and challenges," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(4), pages 513-534, December.
    8. 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.
    9. Chikako Oka & Niklas Egels‐Zandén & Rachel Alexander, 2020. "Buyer Engagement and Labour Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Bangladesh Accord and Beyond," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(5), pages 1306-1330, September.
    10. Oya, Carlos & Schaefer, Florian, 2021. "The politics of labour relations in global production networks: Collective action, industrial parks, and local conflict in the Ethiopian apparel sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    11. Giorgos Galanis & Ashok Kumar, 2018. "A dynamic spatial model of global governance structures," Working Papers PKWP1804, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. Oka, Chikako & Egels-Zandén, Niklas & Alexander, Rachel, 2020. "Buyer engagement and labour conditions in global supply chains: the Bangladesh Accord and beyond," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 106695, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Saon Ray & Smita Miglani, 2020. "India's GVC integration: An analysis of upgrading efforts and facilitation of lead firms," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Working Paper 386, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India.
    16. Johanna Gammelgaard & Stine Haakonsson & Sine Nørholm Just, 2021. "Linking Malawi’s agricultural sector to global value chains: The case for community governance," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(4), pages 523-540, December.
    17. Pushp, Pushkar & Ahmed, Faisal, 2023. "The global value chain: Challenges faced by ASEAN least developed countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1223-1245.
    18. López, Tatiana & Riedler, Tim & Köhnen, Heiner & Fütterer, Michael, 2022. "Digital value chain restructuring and labour process transformations in the fast-fashion sector: Evidence from the value chains of Zara & H&M," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 22(4), pages 684-700.
    19. Cornelia Staritz & Mike Morris, 2013. "Local embeddedness and economic and social upgrading in Madagascar’s export apparel industry," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2013-21, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    20. John Pickles, 2012. "South African horticulture: opportunities and challenges for economic and social upgrading in value chains," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2012-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bla:intlab:v:160:y:2021:i:4:p:553-569. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ilounch.html .

    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.