Reimagining the Unimaginable: Law and the Ongoing Transformation of Global Value Chains into Integrated Legal Entities

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-185
Author(s):  
Kevin B. Sobel-Read
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Global Commerce ◽  
Mary Douglas ◽  
Single Category ◽  
Made In

AbstractThere is a growing push to reduce the labour and environmental harms caused throughout the supply chains of large corporations. But very little progress has been made in holding these corporations legally responsible for such harms. This corporate immunity is not caused by shortcomings in the law itself but rather by the limits of the categories through which we make sense of the world. For voters and policymakers alike, regulation is only appropriate for entities that fall into the same category of classification. And so far in our collective understanding, the firms in global supply chains have each inhabited separate legal categories and so each is deemed to have separate legal responsibility. As a result, the chains as a whole have remained free from regulation. But as global commerce becomes more systematised, global value chains are becoming more intimately integrated. This practical integration is likewise transforming our thinking: we are coming to understand chains as discrete entities within a single category. As this transformation solidifies, the regulation of entire chains will no longer be unthinkable but rather inevitable. Drawing on the insight of Mary Douglas and Benedict Anderson, I substantiate these assertions with evidence from corporate accounts, legislation and popular media.

Transforming global value chains amidst the COVID-19 crisis

2021 ◽  
pp. 176-189
Author(s):  
Natalya Jurievna Rodigina ◽  
Ofeliia Andranikovna Azarova ◽  
Maria Vladimirovna Logina ◽  
Vladislav Igorevich Musikhin
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Continuous Production ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Business Entities

The reasons for the decline in the importance of global supply chains for international trade relations may be the creation of the new, politically motivated barriers to international trade and an attempt to replace foreign-made goods with domestic counterparts. Therefore, the issue of reducing global supply chains has been discussed by many experts in recent years. However, despite the decline in their importance, global supply chains are often becoming the subject of various scientifi c research. During the crisis caused by the spread of the coronavirus infection, global value chains are criticized again for the fact that they are not functioning any longer, which, by the way, corresponds to the progressive fi nancial crisis. Amidst this background, greater “reintegration” of production processes into the company’s own network, less emphasis on the just-in-time production and expansion of warehouse capacity become priority measures aimed at ensuring continuous production of products. Of particular importance is the question of the feasibility of returning production facilities to the country of the headquarters in the light of the accelerated and eff ectively implemented robotization of production. All this poses a signifi cant threat to the sustainable economic growth of many developing countries and emerging market economies that depend on the cheap production and export of semi-fi nished products, components and the products of the intermediate use. A coordinated political response, such as that off ered by the United Nations and other multilateral political institutions and organizations, is perhaps the most promising way out of the impending economic recession. Diff erent industries will probably need diff erent time spans to return to the normal functioning. The question if globalization remains as a trend of the development of the international economic relations in the near future, will assess the viability of the concept of the international division of labour, will lead to the transformation of the global value chains, and create incentives for states and business entities for the creation of more stable structures during the forthcoming decade.

Going Green

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Reps ◽  
Boris Braun
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Recent Debate ◽  
Western Perspective ◽  
Green Supply Chains

Going green - environmental upgrading and value chain coordination in the Indian automotive industry. Previous debates have linked environmental upgrading processes in global value chains above all to the influence of powerful lead firms from developed countries. In this paper, we argue that the Indian automobile sector, too, shows a growing tendency for more environmental protection. However, the decisive impetus is often not given by international lead firms.Applying the concept of global value chains, this paper aims to identify both the dominating coordination mechanisms in the Indian automobile chain, and the strategies of different actors for environmental upgrading. The empirical section draws on findings from 130 qualitative interviews with eight vehicle manufactures, 54 component suppliers and several industry experts held between 2009 and 2011. Our results indicate that Indian vehicle manufacturers are presently more pivotal to driving “green” supply chains than international players. Our findings suggest that especially the strong technical and organizational support provided by Indian lead firms is the crucial factor to push component suppliers to improve their environmental performance. On this account, the recent debate on greening of supply chains seems to be led too much from a western perspective. Rather, it appears that many environmental upgrading processes in automobile supply chains occur independently of western lead firms. In fact, they are mostly initiated and implemented by local lead firms.

Asian investments target large Latin American markets

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Latin American ◽  
High Technology ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Automated Manufacturing ◽  
Investment Climate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Technology Investment

Significance Major Japanese and South Korean conglomerates are driving adoption of automated manufacturing, digitalisation of supply chains and other technologies critical to the region’s competitiveness. However, the pandemic forced many investors, especially mid-sized firms, to refocus on Asian markets. Increasingly, Latin America’s investment climate will be shaped by growing US-China rivalries. Impacts Investment from Japanese and Korean companies is critical for the region’s competitiveness in increasingly digitalised global value chains. Smaller economies risk missing out on the benefits of high-technology investment from Japan and Korea, concentrated in Brazil and Mexico. US efforts to try to decouple global value chains from China have sparked interest in investing in the region, but to date lack substance.

scholarly journals Are Multinational Companies Responsible for Working Conditions in Their Supply Chains? From Intuition to Argument

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Dänzer
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Support Programs ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Promising Strategy ◽  
Supply Chain Governance ◽  
Prospective Responsibility

AbstractAlthough many people seem to share the intuition that multinational companies (MNEs) carry a responsibility for the working conditions in their supply chains, the justification offered for this assumption is usually rather unclear. This article explores a promising strategy for grounding the relevant intuition and for rendering its content more precise. It applies the criteria of David Miller's connection theory of remedial responsibility to different forms of supply chain governance as characterized by the Global Value Chains (GVC) framework. The analysis suggests that the criteria for identifying MNEs as remedially responsible for bad working conditions in their direct suppliers are fulfilled in many cases, even though differentiations are required with regard to the different supply chain governance structures. MNEs thus have a duty to make sure currently bad working conditions in their suppliers are changed for the better. Moreover, since production in supply chains for structural reasons continuously generates remedial responsibility of MNEs for bad working conditions in their suppliers, it puts the prospective responsibility on them to make sure that their suppliers offer acceptable working conditions. Further, it is suggested that the remedial responsibility of MNEs might require them to make financial compensation to victims of bad working conditions and in grave cases initiate or support programs to mitigate disastrous effects suffered by them.

Conceptual Approaches to Managing in Emerging Markets

2018 ◽  
pp. 34-54
Author(s):  
Robert Grosse ◽  
Klaus E. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
International Business ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
International Network ◽  
Demand Patterns

This chapter raised two issues as a basis for structuring our thinking about international business in emerging markets. First, the question is raised regarding whether new theory is needed to study IB in emerging markets, or if existing theories can be extended to cover these geographic and institutional environments adequately. Second, the chapter presents the perspective of emerging markets fitting into global value chains, demonstrating how they fit into both supply chains and demand patterns. So, thinking about strategies for operating a foreign MNE in an emerging market and fitting an EM firm into an international network are both enhanced by looking at the firm(s) in the context of global value chains.

scholarly journals Minimizing risks of integrating Ukrainian industry into global value chains

2021 ◽  
pp. 64-75
Author(s):  
Оksana Kushnirenko ◽  
Olga Zarudna
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Technological Gap ◽  
Development Levels ◽  
High Level

Relevance of the research topic Global value chains (GVC) are the dominant element of world trade, which incorporated various stages of processing into global supply chains of different development levels countries. The potential to include of Ukrainian producers into the GVC is very high, but not fully exploited now. Only innovative, technologically equipped, certified companies with a reliable business reputation have a chance to enter GVC. Formulation of the problem. The challenges of the coronavirus pandemic increase the importance of justifying new approaches to opportunities for Ukrainian industry, in particular, for successful integration into the GVC. Selection of unexplored parts of the general problem. Changes in the organization of world trade have occurred in the context of the coronary. This is due to disruption of intermediate processing supply chains, shifting to shorter chains and control increasing over the quality and safety of products in compliance with sanitary standards. This opens up new opportunities for Ukrainian producers, while the problem of reducing risks and removing obstacles remains insufficiently studied. Setting the task, the purpose of the study. The study aims to highlight key risks and development of a set of measures to minimize them while integrating Ukrainian industry in GVC. Method or methodology for conducting research. The work used general scientific methods: system analysis, abstract logical, expert assessments, as well as special research methods: statistical comparisons, groupings, sampling (to risk identification in the GVC integration process). Conclusions. Analysis of the development of GVC in the context of post-pandemic constraints made it possible to identify key risks and obstacles for Ukrainian producers, included among them are a high level of vulnerability was established from tightening control conditions and strict restrictions on supplies; The digital and technological gap in accordance with world standards; excessive concentration of the import component in selected product categories, causes dependence on foreign suppliers; a huge shortage of capital; decrease in profitability; deterioration of financial stability and solvency.

Manufacturing and value-added dynamics in global value chains: the case of Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-470
Author(s):  
Chiara Burlina ◽  
Eleonora Di Maria
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Trade In Value Added ◽  
Revealed Comparative Advantage Index ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Made In

Purpose This paper aims to provide a snapshot of various countries’ contributions to value produced along global value chains (GVCs). It focusses on manufacturing activities and their evolution over time, in the context of GVC regionalisation. Design/methodology/approach The Trade in Value Added (TiVA) and World Integrated Trade Solution databases for the period of 2005-2015 were used to explore the case of Italy and its industries’ specialisations (Made in Italy): fashion, furniture, automotive and machinery traditionally organised into clusters. Various analyses were used to show the dynamics of gross import–export and imported–exported value-added. Moreover, the revealed comparative advantage index was computed to test whether the Made in Italy sector remains a source of competitive advantage for Italy within GVCs. Findings The results highlight how the geography of value-added is changing over time, with growing importance placed on the countries close to Italy and with a different pace according to each considered GVC. Originality/value The paper applied new methods to compare trade and analyse value-added dynamics through a recent database released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development within the TiVA initiative that is useful for scholars and policymakers.

Made in the World? Global Value Chains in the Midst of Rising Protectionism

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Miroudot ◽  
Håkan Nordström
Keyword(s):  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
The World ◽  
Made In

Law, Global Value Chains and Upgrading in the Mining Industry: A Case Study on Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 521-550
Author(s):  
Ndinawe Mtonga Ruppert ◽  
Kevin Sobel-Read ◽  
Blake Pepper
Keyword(s):  
Structural Transformation ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Copper Mining ◽  
Economic Success ◽  
Global Commerce ◽  
Policy Suggestions ◽  
The Relationship

The increasingly interconnected nature of global commerce has caused dramatic structural transformation. Global value chains (GVCs) are crucial to understanding the resulting consequences, including the possibilities available today for a country's economic success. Law plays a central role. In this article, we explore GVC upgrading in Africa, focusing on the mining sector in Zambia. We outline three impediments to Zambia's upgrading capacity within the copper-mining GVC and conclude with three policy suggestions that could improve Zambia's position. By shedding light on the relationship between law, development and global value chains, the article provides beneficial insight to Zambia and across Africa.

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