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This paper studies the impact of participation in global value chains (GVCs) on innovation in Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We find that the Vietnamese SMEs that participate in GVCs are more likely to introduce product innovation. We also show that the likelihood of introducing product innovation for firms that participate in GVCs increases when they invest in intangible assets. These findings qualify the learning-by-participating model in GVCs by showing that the gains from GVC participation depend on a firm's internal absorptive capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at contributing to better comprehend the opportunities for innovation in the mining sector that are leveraged by local knowledge-intensive mining suppliers (KIMS) in developing mineral-rich countries. Drawing on the innovation and global value chain (GVC) bodies of literature as well as previous empirical studies on KIMS in developing mining countries, we analytically distinguish among three types of innovation approaches that local KIMS can pursue. Each of them is associated with main sources of innovation opportunities, type of inputs supplied, and prevailing market structures and entry barriers. The distinction among innovation strategies together with an analysis that combines firm- and market-level dimensions helped us to better comprehend the types of innovation opportunities that local KIMS in Argentina are adopting and the nature of challenges they encounter. The empirical analysis is based on the novel fieldwork data collected in 2019 and 2022. The findings of the paper hold significance to inform productive and innovation policies regarding the type of interventions that may be more effective for Argentina in the current technological and market circumstances that the mining industry is facing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Peru is one of the main producers of copper worldwide, the domestic industry has not yet fully taken advantage of the potential that the exploitation of this commodity offers. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges that Peruvian suppliers face in their insertion into the mining global value chain. Our analysis is based on a mixed-methods approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative primary and secondary sources, including semi-structured interviews with key actors in the Peruvian mining sector. Our findings suggest that the weak presence of Peruvian suppliers in a sector dominated by few foreign firms is due to global industry dynamics as well as the underdeveloped capabilities of local firms operating in a fragile local institutional setting. However, their opportunities for their insertion are primarily in areas where new solutions are required, which places a demand on the supplier's innovative capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Great Trade Collapse" triggered by the 2008-2009 crisis calls for a careful assessment of the trade losses from financial crises. We adopt a more detailed perspective by looking at the response of different types of trade (i.e. consumption, intermediate, capital goods, and business services) following various types of financial crises (i.e. debt, banking, and currency crises) in 41 emerging markets. Estimations performed in the 1980-2019 period using a combination of impact assessment and local projections to capture a causal dynamic effect running from financial crises to the trade activity show that the collapse of total trade is long-lasting and mainly driven by the fall of intermediate goods and to some extent capital goods, while trade in consumption goods and business services is more resilient to crises. Therefore, financial crises could lead to considerable disruption of global value chains, as observed during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and easily spill over from one country to another through trade linkages. The examination of heterogeneity reveals that total and sectoral trade is more severely impacted in countries with a lower share of manufacturing exports, less diversified exported products, and trading partners, with lower demand from trading partners and when associated with a deterioration of the domestic and external financial conditions and sudden stops. By contributing to the understanding of the trade effects of financial crises, our analysis provides insightful support for the design and implementation of policies aimed at coping with these effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using multinational input–output data, we analyze how the productivity of countries adjusted for participation in global value chains affects their output growth in manufacturing sectors. Based on parametric and non-parametric methods, we find that value-chain linkages are critical to the productivity–growth nexus and help to explain cross-country differences in sectoral output growth rates compared to the situation where these linkages are ignored. Our results have implications for macroeconomics, where they point to peer effects in productivity as drivers of growth, and for economic development, where they illustrate how the participation in global value chains may outweigh disadvantages in productive performance at the level of individual countries. They may also encourage future empirical tests of replicator dynamics to verify whether global value chains can explain the weak evidence of selection forces at the firm level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diffusion of knowledge is an important determinant of economic development. International trade has been established as a key mechanism in facilitating diffusion. The rise of global value chains (GVCs) has transformed trade in recent years. Yet the role of GVCs in giving rise to knowledge spillovers remains under-explored. In this paper, we study the elasticity of industry-level total factor productivity (TFP) to technology that is imported through intermediate trade in GVCs. To do so, we combine novel input–output decomposition methods with recent insights from the literature on the factor content of trade. We focus on a panel of 32 countries and 39 sectors over the 2000–2014 period using WIOD and OECD data. We find that domestic TFP is elastic to knowledge flows arising from GVCs and that the magnitude of this effect is larger relative to all other knowledge flows. We also find that GVC participation is particularly conducive to technology upgrading in countries that are far away from the technology frontier, and that GVC-related spillovers persist over large geographical distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When do political risks lead to divestment from a profitable market? Existing theories argue both that foreign investors may be sensitive to political tensions, but that they may only be sensitive to violent conflict. Using the crucial case of the US–China Trade War, we outline how political risks increased rates of exit among foreign firms while firm entrenchment mitigated these risks. Using a new dataset on all foreign-invested enterprises registered in China between 2017 and 2019, we implement triple interaction models to isolate the impact of increased political risks, investor national origin, and entrenchment on firm exit. Our findings show that heightened political risks during the trade war did increase firm exits by 34%–3% points over the pre-conflict baseline. Tariffs, the targeted effect of the trade war, increase US firm exits by 1% point. Firm exit is determined by the balance of heightened political risks against the availability of firm-level resources to mitigate these risks. These findings reconcile the conflicting expectations of the ‘business as usual’ and ‘follow the flag’ literatures about how firms respond to political risk, highlighting the tremendous collateral damage tariffs can cause in an age of global value chains.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of global value chain participation (GVCP) on the gains from trade and trade costs of the timber industry and reveal the underlying influence mechanism. The GVCP Index, Novy (2011) method, and WWZ Value Added Decomposition method have been used to measure the degree of GVCP, trade costs, and gains from trade of the timber industry, respectively. The results show that the export gains from trade of the timber industry featured inter-annual sustainability. Further, GVCP has an insignificant impact, suggesting that the industry's degree of GVCP is limited. While the current trade cost and policy barriers to forest product trade harm it. And the cost of export trade has a strong lag effect on gains from trade. The increase of current trade costs reduces the short-term benefits; however, in the long run, the trade costs and benefits show a synchronous growth trend. To maintain and enhance its competitiveness, therefore, the industry will have to change the GVCP degree and mode of the timber industry, reduce short-term trade costs, and improve the quality and legitimacy certification level of timber products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we empirically and theoretically present regenerative regional development in responsible value chains as an alternative to the prevailing traditional, neoliberal economic rationale of globalization. We develop the argument on the back of a longitudinal in-depth case study on actors' engagement in the recurring crises in the maritime industry in Sunnmøre/Norway. The alternative perspective is an agentic response from the business community in the wake of recent crises. It builds on advanced manufacturing capabilities, automation and precision technologies, which promise local economic regeneration while reducing the reliance on low-cost labour, substantially cuts emissions through reduced long-haul transport, use of green energy and more energy-efficient production processes. To succeed, however, it calls for policies that promote the building of local capabilities and penalize practices causing environmental and social harm in global value chains, making it possible to move towards responsible and shorter value chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the relationship between global value chain (GVC) participation, worker‐level routine task intensity (RTI) and wage inequality within countries. Using survey data from 34 countries and instrumenting for GVC participation, we find that higher GVC participation contributes to higher wage inequality in high‐income countries and lower wage inequality in middle‐ and low‐income countries. We distinguish between two opposite‐working channels. First, participation in GVCs directly reduces wage inequality, suppressing wages in offshorable occupations that tend to earn above the country‐specific median, and increasing wages of non‐offshorable occupations. Second, it indirectly widens within‐country wage inequality by increasing the gap in RTI, which is negatively associated with wages, between offshorable and non‐offshorable occupations. The direct effect prevails in most low‐ and middle‐income countries that receive offshored jobs, and the indirect effect prevails in high‐income countries that offshore jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reviews and computes the commonly used Global Value Chains (GVC) positioning indicators found in the empirical literature, providing scholars with a novel and comprehensive global dataset of upstreamness and downstreamness measures. This dataset covers a wide range of countries, including many developing nations, and industries, and spans an extensive timeframe. Specifically, it offers GVC positioning indicators for all economies and industries included in prominent Inter-Country Input-Output tables, such as ADB, EORA, OECD TiVA, WIOD, and Long-run WIOD. This work also delves into the degree of comparability across the different datasets, offering informative comparisons of the GVC positioning measures encompassing overlapping countries and periods, sectors, geographical regions, and income levels. Notably, these indicators are "ready-to-use" and open access, presenting an exceptional opportunity for qualitative and quantitative analyses of various economic dimensions on GVCs and for informing policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the effect of preferential trade agreements and their depth on firm-to-firm ownership, in particular, along global value chains. It measures shareholder–affiliate ownership links at the country-sector-pair level to distinguish between vertical and horizontal links. The findings show that preferential trade agreements boost vertical international investment links (both backward and forward) while reducing horizontal investment. Deep preferential trade agreements stimulate investment particularly for sector pairs, where a high input specificity prevails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of the digital economy, digital transformation is an important strategic choice that firms can make to take advantage of the new technological revolution and new opportunities for industrial transformation. Taking Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2019 as the research sample, we examine the impact and mechanism of digital transformation on firm performance. Evidence shows that digital transformation significantly improves firm performance, and this conclusion remains valid after considering endogeneity issues and conducting robustness tests. Heterogeneity analyses find that the promotional effect of digital transformation on firm performance is more prominent among firms with high industry concentration and a high participation rate in global value chains than others. The mechanism tests show that digital transformation optimizes factor allocation, through substitution, synergy and correction effects, that improve firm performance in turn. Our results provide the micro evidence from China on the economic effects of the digital transformation, which has important policy implications for further releasing digital vitality, encouraging the sharing of digital dividends, optimizing the allocation of factors, and promoting the high-quality development of the real economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the legacy of war on environmental policy, contributing to recent literature on the linkages between armed violence, conservation, rural livelihoods and global value chains. It argues that environmental norms reshape agricultural practices, but also the means by which people claim control over land and labour. Using the case of cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire, this paper examines the impact of ‘zero‐deforestation’ policies on the country's last agricultural frontier: its western forestlands, where migration and deforestation have driven the development of the cocoa economy for years. The region is now feeling the effects of global trade policies such as the European Deforestation‐Free Regulation (EUDR), competition for the last remaining forests and social fault lines inherited from the war. This article traces the origins of the zero‐deforestation policy, its national and local impact and its implications for social struggles over the control of land and labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decarbonization of transport is a key goal facing climate change. The electrification of the powertrain for passenger cars is part of this goal to reduce carbon emissions. This involves a big change in the global supply chain, specifically in countries with a high weight of the traditional automotive sector, such as Spain, where above 10% of the GDP comes from this industry. There is a forecasted shift from the sector of traditional automotive parts to the electric sector, where batteries and electric components will be the major part of the powertrain. This work evaluates socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the changes in the car industry from the ramp‐up of the electric vehicles market in Spain, and also in the European Union and the rest of the world. To do it, we use an environmentally extended multiregional and multi‐sectoral input–output model. Our simulations include the technological change and demand shifts estimated to achieve the penetration of electric vehicles up to 2030 and 2050. The results show significant impacts on employment and economic indicators by 2050, when the share of electric vehicles is expected to increase up to a relevant level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing body of literature exploring governance in regional value chains (RVCs) in Africa. Agro-processing RVCs are of particular interest, as this is where the manufacturing capabilities of most African countries lie. The research on RVCs in Africa highlights governance by lead firms and government actors as an important aspect in determining the structure and outcomes within these RVCs. Using the global value chain (GVC) analytical framework, this article analyses governance in the poultry RVC in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The paper finds that the poultry RVC is a bilateral oligopoly, where the lead firms are supermarkets and large poultry producers with exclusive rights to multi-territorial breeding rights. The article highlights that both large producers and the supermarkets play an important role in the formation and structure of the poultry RVC, with important implications for regional integration and industrialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we evaluate how supply shocks in global value chains, such as the lockdown in China during the coronavirus pandemic, affected firm-product-level export performance in Bangladesh, which is a least-developed country where domestic inputs are inadequate due to capacity constraints. Transaction-level customs data on the universe of Bangladeshi apparel manufacturing firms are used in the analysis. We apply a triple difference-in-differences approach to compare the woven apparel exports of the firms that relied on China for inputs before and after the lockdown with those of knit apparel and firms that depended on the rest of the world as a comparison group. The results show that firms exposed to the Chinese input supply shock experienced a 36.5% decline in woven apparel exports after the lockdown. A plausible explanation for the decline in exports is the reduced shipment size driven by the constrained production capacity due to the shortage of inputs from China. We also find that exposed firms whose exports were highly concentrated in the European Union and the United States incurred an additional 18% decline compared to other firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This text explores the relationship between technology, power, and politics in the digital age. It discusses the increasing role of states in regulating the digital world and the competition surrounding digital technologies. The text reviews three books that delve into these topics, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. It emphasizes the need to understand the political and geopolitical dimensions of technology to comprehend contemporary conflicts and competition. The text also discusses Anu Bradford's book, "Digital Empires," which analyzes three dominant models of building the digital future. It highlights the importance of government oversight and protection in the emerging geo-tech world and acknowledges the power dynamics between the US and China. The text concludes by emphasizing the importance of managing interdependence and the fight over ideas in the geo-tech world. [Extracted from the article]

Amidst heightened global power rivalries, the geopolitical aspects of the energy transition are taking centre stage, with even liberal-minded countries growing wary about foreign investment in the energy sector and the dependencies created by global value chains of green technologies. Building on current debates on the 'geopoliticization' of foreign economic policies, this paper sets out a conceptual framework to assess the extent to which the energy transition is becoming geopoliticized in the European Union (EU) and its impact on international energy relations. Theoretically, the paper makes the case for considering geopoliticization as a missing link in the study of politicization and securitization in International Relations, allowing for a more fine-grained diagnosis of current trends and their likely evolution. Empirically, the analysis identifies structural geopoliticizing dynamics in the EU's framing of the energy transition, although to different degrees depending on the concrete issue at hand. While demands for factoring in the geopolitical consequences of the energy transition are ever louder, normatively, the paper raises a note of caution against the adverse consequences geopoliticization may have for the global transition to low-carbon energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Global value chains (GVCs) are facing unprecedented pressures arising from structural changes in the global economy and exogenous shocks including military conflicts and the aftermath of COVID-19. Considering the importance of value chain analysis in the current environment, the purpose of the study is to provide an up-to-date overarching global value chain literature review study that offers suggestions for research and practice to ensure resilient value and supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: The authors provide a comprehensive review of literature of the value chain, commodity chain and production network research based on a systems overview of 5,628 publications to identify the extent of research on vulnerabilities and resilience of value chains globally and gaps therein. To provide the systems overview, the authors use scientometric content co-occurrence analysis methods to analyze and identify gaps within the existing literature. Findings: Based on this overarching review of the literature, the authors identify gaps in the literature primarily related to the issue of unpreparedness of value chains to exogenous shocks. The authors suggest future research directions and propose an integrative model along with recommendations for restructuring value chains for resilience amidst exogenous shocks. Originality/value: This study carries out an overarching study of interdisciplinary GVC literature in the age of geopolitical and societal challenges and is thus able to offer holistic insights and propositions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) has been declining both in absolute terms and as a share of world GDP due to various factors such as changes in industrial organization, rising trade barriers, and a decrease in M&A activity. While greenfield FDI projects have shown a positive trend in recent years, with investments shifting away from China to other Asian economies and the US, the overall impact on growth remains uncertain. The slowdown in FDI is seen as a sign of 'slowbalisation,' indicating a shift from rapid globalization to a more subdued global economic environment. [Extracted from the article]

The editorial "Using the difference-in-differences design with panel data in international business research: progress, potential issues, and practical suggestions" by Jiatao Li and Han Jiang discusses the popular design of causal inference in social science research known as Difference-in-Differences (DID) design. The article highlights the importance of identifying a particular event that influences some subjects but not others and compares the differences in outcomes before and after the treatment. The text emphasizes the need for caution when applying DID design with panel data, as violations of key assumptions can lead to biased estimations. Practical recommendations are provided to enhance the rigor of future research using DID design with panel data in the field of international business. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Journal of International Business Studies is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we study the asymmetric effects of different types of capital-embodied technological change, as proxied by tangible and intangible assets, on relative wages (high- to medium-skilled, high- to low-skilled and medium- to low-skilled workers), relying upon the technology-skill complementarity and polarization of the labor force frameworks. We also consider two additional major channels that contribute to shaping wage differentials: globalization (in terms of trade openness and global value chains participation) and labor market institutions. The empirical analysis is carried out using a panel dataset comprising 17 mostly advanced European economies and 5 industries, with annual observations spanning the period 2008–2017. Our findings suggest that software and databases—as a proxy for intangible technologies—exert downward pressure on low-skilled wages, while robotics is associated with a polarization of the wage distribution at the expense of middle-skilled labor. Additionally, less-skilled workers' relative wages are negatively affected by trade openness and global value chain participation, but positively influenced by sector-specific labor market regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability risks in aquaculture are increasingly addressed through forms of assurance that rely on the use of digital technologies. By bringing in new actors and informational processes, these forms of digital sustainability assurance challenge existing notions of how global value chains are governed. Based on in‐depth interviews with experts, we find that the growing use of digital technologies to mediate assurance is shaped by the digital codification of informational processes designed to support sustainability, which in turn increases the complexity of sustainability claims and changes the capabilities needed by value chain actors to comply. Furthermore, we find that digital sustainability assurance represents a new form of value chain coordination by a new set of extra‐transactional "digital lead actors." As these lead actors become more prominent, their control over digital data flows constitutes a new form of value chain governance with the potential to have greater impact on steering toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on research into medical gloves global value chains (GVCs), this article examines the interacting roles that states differently positioned in GVCs have played in preventing and eliminating forced labour. Our case study, based on a worker survey and semi-structured interviews across GVC actors, focuses on forced labour in the Malaysian medical gloves sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, linking production in Malaysia, end markets in the UK (primarily through procurement for the National Health Service) and migrant-sending countries, especially Nepal. We analyze the intermeshing effects of the different roles of states, operating at either the horizontal or vertical level of GVC governance, in terms of contributing to issues of forced labour. We identify three state roles in the Malaysia–UK medical gloves chain: producer state (Malaysia), migrant-sending state (Nepal) and regulator-buyer state (UK). We also identify some of the most persistent barriers to resolving forced labour in the value chain. Our research illustrates that Malaysia's complex regulatory, political and institutional dynamics most directly influence forced labour in gloves production, but Nepal's migration policies and the UK's healthcare procurement practices also create forced labour risk in Malaysia. Advancing Gereffi and Lee's (2016: 25) notion of "synergistc governance" and Jessop's (2016) strategic-relational approach (SRA) to the state, we thus argue that the creation of sustained and positive regulatory synergies among states differently positioned in GVCs is necessary for the prevention and elimination of forced labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the literature is rich in anecdotal cases of firms going through nearshoring strategies, understood as the relocation of production inputs in a geographically closer area, a study on the macroeconomic effects of nearshoring at regional level, in terms of both growth and regional inequalities, is still missing. Instead, understanding the potential regional variations in the outcomes of nearshoring practices is crucial for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to strike a balance between the imperative of strategic autonomy and the need to address existing regional disparities. The paper picks up such a challenge and, once nearshoring has been defined at the macroeconomic level as a process according to which the EU relative to extra‐EU inputs ratio increases, compared with a reference period in the past, it analyses regional inequality effects of such a phenomenon in Europe. The results show that nearshoring turns out to be notably diverse and contingent upon the efficiency gains the target regions offer. In some cases, it produces potential adverse consequences, going against the already complex process of decreasing regional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, there has been a notable increase in linkages of services in decoupling global value chains (GVCs) and a surge in regulatory mechanisms embedded in service provisions in trade agreements. Existing literature tried to empirically link the impact of such service provisions on GVC‐related services, but none focused on identifying relevant service provisions. This study is a novel attempt in this direction using a machine learning algorithm augmented in gravity modelling. Building on the identified service provisions, the study quantifies their impact on GVC‐related services conditioned on the countries' income levels. The study also conducts the general equilibrium analysis by simulating a scenario incorporating identified service provisions in the India‐ASEAN trade agreement. The analysis finds that few service provisions exist that enhance the share of foreign service inputs in manufacturing exports of the countries involved in GVC‐related service participation. Moreover, the impact is heterogeneous regarding benefits to the developing countries as a destination of service‐value added. Finally, the study shows that introducing selected service provisions in existing trade agreements can potentially increase welfare and service trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates whether and how the level of GVC integration of a given market may explain the presence of foreign‐owned firms. Using firm‐level data from 28 European Union countries during the period 2008–2014, we provide evidence that a greater country‐sector‐level GVC participation, via both backward and forward linkages, exerts a positive effect on a firm's likelihood to receive FDI. These findings appear particularly strong for new EU Member States and services industries when looking at the differences across countries and sectors. Interestingly, when exploring the role of country‐sector position along the GVC, we find that FDI gains from backward GVC integration are more prominent if the markets are associated with the final stages of the supply chain, whereas those from forward GVC integration are greater when the markets are associated with the initial stages, in line with the smile curve hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops new insights into the spillover effects of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) on local firms' export market entry, using the case of Vietnam—a notable global manufacturing hub located in Southeast Asia. The empirical analysis is based on a disaggregated firm‐level panel dataset of 25,032 observations of Vietnamese food processing firms during the period 2011–2016. The food processing industry is an essential part of the country's thriving manufacturing sector, with enormous potential for exports. The random‐effects Probit estimation results suggest that the presence of foreign MNEs significantly raises the likelihood that private local firms become exporters and thereby start integrating into global value chains. Further regressions reveal that foreign presence is also linked to higher export intensity among domestic firms, and that the magnitude of the estimated spillover effects is conditional on the specific measures of foreign MNE presence, the ownership structure in local industry, and the size of local firms. The findings highlight the considerable potential for foreign MNEs to influence local firms' export prospects and validate the policy efforts to attract foreign direct investment inflows to the examined industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In international business (IB), the discussion of COVID-19-related global value chain (GVC) models driving resilience has taken momentum since May 2020. The purpose of this study is to uncover insights that the pandemic provided as a unique research opportunity, holistically, revealing the significant role of non-lead firms in GVC outcomes and resilience. This allows to extend theory as the authors critically identify impact criteria and assess interdependence and valence, thus progressing the traditional (pre-pandemic) IB view of GVC governance and orchestration. Design/methodology/approach: This study opts for an integrative review to help create a much-needed extension of IB theory by means of a critical perspective on GVC theory. The authors examine the extant body of IB literature as the relevant stock of collective IB knowledge prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, uncovering contributions – with a focus on the role of non-lead firms in orchestration and resilience – that allows to clarify what was not evident pre-pandemic. With this, the authors move the theory from its efficiency focus to a better recognition of the interdependencies of power and profit outcomes stemming from asymmetries of interrelationships. By design, the authors focus on the unique research period of the pandemic and orchestration complexities along the development of configurational arguments beyond simple correlations (Fiss, 2011), revealing key dependencies as key themes. The authors highlight further research avenues following Snyder (2019) that are called upon to strengthen that understanding and that helps extend theory. Findings: This research provides a critical perspective on the application of the traditional IB views for GVC governance (designed for efficiency, cost and proximity to markets with pre-dominance for just in time), which has shifted during the pandemic to accommodate for adaptation and adjustment to resilience and just in case considerations. The holistic review reveals not only the key country- and multinational enterprise (MNE)-dependencies with residual impact determining the balance between just-in-time and just-in-case. Also, the authors advance the understanding of the (un)balance of the traditional GVC – focused on just-in-case rather than just-in-time through a lead and non-lead GVC participation and power lens yet rarely observed. The authors find that governance should not be construed as "management" such that it resolves into decisions undertaken in lead firms for execution in subordinate GVC participants. Autonomy allows to subsidiary units by MNE lead firms and/or exercised by (mainly, innovative) non-subsidiary GVC participant firms, is uncovered as a key driver in this. Greater delegation capacity appears to help provide resilience to loss in profit, with a recognition that there may be a dynamic trade-off between power and profit. In addition, the authors are able to identify correlations with innovation, demand elasticity, digital uptake, investment and other, that the authors trust will set the scene for additional research deepening and extending the findings. Research limitations/implications: Integrative literature reviews include a problem formulation (i.e. that is limited to published topics around an emerging theme) and are hence very focused in nature and approach. This applies to this paper. Data analysis in this method is not typically using statistical methods in contrast to meta-analyses. Also, the authors limit the sample to a relatively short time period with 33 publications analysed, purposefully focusing on the most prompt and "acute" insights into GVCs during the pandemic. Practical implications: The traditional GVC governance model is designed for efficiency, cost and proximity to markets with pre-dominance for just in time. The authors reveal dependencies that are instrumental to better understand lead and non-lead interaction and relative autonomy, with a focus on residual impact determining the balance between just-in-time and just-in-case that, if in the sought equilibrium and agile, can allow alignment with context and this resilience. This paper specifically provides practical insights and visualization that highlights stages/"ripple" effects and their impact and the questions to ask as stakeholders look for GVC resilience. This includes, int.al., firms and their role as strategic agents, prompting participants through the learnings from exogenous shock to realign their strategies, redistributed manufacturing of production across subsidiary and non-subsidiary non-lead firms, greater competition and hence power for suppliers leveraging resilience and innovation, greater understanding of localization and regionalization of production of essential supplies, interaction with governments, and of investment impacts abroad especially to secure GVC participation. Social implications: The insights provided through this extension of theory with its literature review reveal the importance of aligning IB research into GVCs to factors that became visible through alternative or unusual settings, as they have the power to reveal the limitations of traditional views. In this case, a mainly efficiency-led, just-in-time focused GVC governance model is reviewed through the literature that emanated during the pandemic, with a critical perspective, which helped uncover and underline the complexities and evolution of GVC governance, providing fundamental support to solutioning the continuing global supply chain challenges that started as a result of the pandemic and are yet again accelerated by the Ukraine and Middle Eastern wars and its impact with, int.al., concerns over possible severe global food, labour/migration and resources crises. IB holds a social responsibility to help identify critical challenges from the disciplinary perspective and help advance resilience for social benefit. Originality/value: This paper supports the original IB theory development by extending GVC theory into the lead – non-lead dynamics that may, under certain conditions, provide a "Resilience wall" for GVCs. The value created through insights stemming from a unique period of time for GVC is significant. It allows us thus also to pave the way to an emerging and critical research adaption looking into equilibrium, nuancing demand elasticity, better understanding trade and investment impacts along GVCs and more. By examining views on the sources of pandemic risks in a possibly unique setting, the authors offer added value from extant IB research insights by combining them, revealing the importance for GVCs to investigate not only key dependencies between the exogenous shock, i.e. context, and the impacts assessed through this literature but to further use their inherent value to create a framework for further conceptualization and extension of the traditional IB view on GVC governance. This work illustrates the urgency and importance for IB to take a timely and possibly more critical approach to the investigation of governance models that have, to date, shown some significant limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of trade facilitation factors on trade flows, with a particular focus on Global Value Chains (GVCs) in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. Using the structural gravity model of international and intra-national trade and data covering the period from 2006 to 2018, we analyze the influence of maritime connectivity and cross-border trade-facilitation factors on trade in final and intermediate goods. Our findings indicate that both factors play pivotal roles in both agricultural and manufacturing subsectors’ trade. First, maritime connectivity has a heterogeneous effect on trade across sectors. It positively affects imports of final goods in textile products, basic metals, motor vehicles, and other machinery and equipment, as well as imports of intermediate inputs for fishing, rubber, machinery and equipment, and motor vehicles. Second, cross-border trade-facilitation factors have a significant influence mostly on trade of final goods in the manufacturing sector and agricultural intermediates showing also differential effects across subsectoral categories. This reveals that policies that improve maritime connectivity and reduce paperwork, time delays and transport costs promote trade integration within GVCs in the analyzed sectors. These findings underscore the sector-specific implications of trade facilitation measures and highlight the need for targeted policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global Value Chains (GVCs) significantly influence international trade and environmental outcomes. Despite the economic benefits of GVCs, their impact on the environment remains under-examined. This study analyzes the effects of GVC participation (considering forward and backward positions) on total carbon emissions embodied in exports (TEEE) and imports (TEEI). Utilizing panel data from 65 economies spanning 1995 to 2018, we apply input-output matrices and the system generalized method of moments (GMM-SYS) approach. Our results indicate that GVC participation generally is associated with reductions in TEEI and increases in TEEE, with backward participation exerting a more substantial impact. Furthermore, we observed asymmetrical impacts of GVC participation between developed and developing countries. Developed nations tend to reap greater benefits from GVC in terms of diminished CO2 emissions associated with imports, as well as notable CO2 reductions in both exports and imports, particularly when forward participation is the focal point. Conversely, developing countries grapple with heightened environmental burdens stemming from their engagement in backward linkages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has implemented a whole array of industrial policy programmes over the past decade to bolster the competitiveness of selected knowledge-intensive industries and to induce a digital and green transition. Responding to shifting competitive challenges in global capitalism, and the adoption of industrial strategies by other major economies, the new EU industrial policy seeks to onshore manufacturing capacity in sectors of geoeconomic importance, and simultaneously reduce dependencies on global value chains. Drawing on a historical materialist perspective, this article historizes and contextualises the financing strategies adopted within EU industrial policy. Faced with tight budgetary constraints, and deficit spending not being an option at the EU level, unlocking private investment takes centre stage, such as by tapping into capital markets or using member state aid or EU structural funds as a precursor, as well as by incentivising private investments through risk-absorbing financial instruments that rely on the EU budgetary resources. As will be shown, the EU has been experimenting with such risk-absorbing financial gimmicks for industrial policy purposes since the 1990s; yet, their usage has reached unprecedented levels with the heightened geoeconomic tensions since the 2008 and Covid-19 crises. The article demonstrates moreover that organised factions within financial and industrial capital have actively advocated for public safeguards, and that their deployment thus is not merely a functionalist response to shifting power dynamics or a desperate last resort in the absence of a supranational fiscal policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at investigating the intensity of environmental regulation on firm's share of domestic value-added in gross exports in China. An unbalanced firm-level panel data from 2000 to 2014 is adopted to estimate 10 two-way fixed effects models suggested by Hausman test for the entire sample of 648,801 and subsamples of three trade patterns, three types of ownership and three regions. The primary finding of this study is that for the entire sample and subsamples of general trade, mixed trade, non-state-owned and foreign-owned enterprises and enterprises in the eastern region, the intensity of environmental regulation has a "U-shaped" influence on firm's share of domestic value-added in gross exports in China, meaning that this influence is negative first and then turns to positive after the intensity of environmental regulation reaches a certain level. This conclusion is reasonable and consistent with our expectation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semiconductor global value chain (GVC) which was established by global lead companies and their strategic suppliers is now facing significant disruption because of geopolitical tensions between the US and China. As semiconductor production became offshored to East Asia, China’s growing market for semiconductors associated with its role as a major electronics assembly location facilitated its integration into the global value chain for lower value added functions such as assembly and packaging. Together with its high level of optimisation, the GVC is also characterised by significant oligopolies of intellectual property resulting in an overall asymmetric interdependence between locations in advanced and emerging regions. Because of the vital role of the semiconductor sector in areas of national security and within the technology sector more widely, China seeks to develop greater self-reliance in semiconductors at a time when its integration in the global value chain is facing significant threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the positive impact of service outsourcing in Chery and other enterprises on human resources, this paper explores the impact of service outsourcing on labor income share. This paper introduces a framework to analyze how value added is distributed between capital and labor along the mix of inputs from different countries and sectors participating in global value chains and examines the effect of service outsourcing on the labor share income. Using the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) and OECD Inter-Country Input-Output (OECD- ICIO) table, this paper utilizes the WWZ decomposition method of global value chains (GVCs) to quantify labor share income. The results show that: (1) service outsourcing significantly contributes to the increase in labor share income; (2) Offshore outsourcing had a statistically stronger effect on labor share income after the financial crisis, both compared to the past and to onshore outsourcing; (3) Offshore outsourcing has a higher coefficient in countries with low technology. For ease of comparison, only onshore outsourcing shows a statistically significant difference among various service types; (4) The analysis using Chinese data reveals that the coefficient of offshore outsourcing is negative and statistically significant, indicating that industries with higher levels of service outsourcing have a lower labor share income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy transitions break geographic monopolies on fossil fuel resources and are expected to redistribute economic benefits to new actors, from local communities to developing countries. At the same time, basing energy systems around renewables increases the importance of intangible assets such as data and artificial intelligence (AI). As different IPE approaches have shown, such intangibles can be monopolized by lead firms and especially Big Tech, which increasingly provide crucial digital infrastructures. This paper therefore asks what role Big Tech firms may play in energy systems, and whether their access to intangibles enables them to expand to the energy sector. The case study of Amazon illustrates that data-driven intellectual monopolies are well-positioned to expand into energy, benefitting from their position as providers of data infrastructures, and capacities in data harvesting and analysis. Amazon is both developing and marketing its own innovations, and investing in energy systems businesses. As intangibles gain importance in energy systems, possible implications for the IPE of energy include power and economic value flowing towards Big Tech, rather than countries or communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Many believe that the Big Four are simply global accounting firms with a large menu of additional services. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we show that their role in the world political economy extends much beyond such description. We argue that the Big Four play a coordinating role in the organization and expansion of global value chain (GVC) in multiple territories, value‐chain segments and at multiple scales. Building on the literature of the multidimensionality of power in the GVC, we investigate the multiple dimensions through which the power of the Big Four is exercised. Uncovering the power manifestations of the Big Four as global actors, the article contributes both empirically and conceptually to the dialogue among the literatures on the international political economy, critical accounting and GVC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution to the history of theory, the origins of the global value chains (GVC) paradigm are revisited. Some critics have argued that GVC research has been mainstreamed from an originally critical approach, and thus having been made fit for a neoliberal development discourse. This contribution discusses how the early GVC concept has integrated the radical traditions of the development paradigm and the world-systems analysis. It argues that the author broadly accepted as eminent for the formation of the GVC paradigm, Gary Gereffi, had introduced these traditions into a mainstream development discourse. In this process, these traditions have been operationalized and formalized in a way that seems to run counter to their intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid hydrogen is a promising energy carrier in the global hydrogen value chain with the advantages of high volumetric energy density/purity, low operating pressure, and high flexibility in delivery. Safe and high-efficiency storage and transportation are essential in the large-scale utilization of liquid hydrogen. Aiming at the two indicators of the hold time and normal evaporation rate (NER) required in standards, this paper focuses on the thermal behaviors of fluid during the no-vented storage of liquid hydrogen and thermal insulations applied for the liquid hydrogen tanks, respectively. After presenting an overview of experimental/theoretical investigations on thermal behaviors, as well as typical forms/testing methods of performance of thermal insulations for liquid hydrogen tanks, seven perspectives are proposed on the key challenges and recommendations for future work. This work can benefit the design and improvement of high-performance LH2 tanks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of foreign investment, through acquisitions and mergers of local firms, on leading industrial clusters. While previous research has highlighted the increasing involvement of cluster firms in internationalization and knowledge globalization, the role of foreign investment requires further investigation. Power asymmetries between MNEs and partner firms are prevalent in global value chains, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, shaping the contemporary global economy. By analysing two clusters specialized in ceramic tile production (Castelló, Spain, and Sassuolo, Italy), this study aims to evaluate the impact of foreign investment on leading clusters, specifically distinguishing between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and investment funds. The research examines the perceived effects through a qualitative analysis, capturing the subjective impressions of local actors involved in acquired firms, independent local firms, technological suppliers, and supporting institutions. This paper contributes to the literature by addressing contradictory findings and providing insights into the balance between knowledge absorption and spillovers from MNEs or investment funds to local firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development corridors have become a key tool of economic policy in the Global South. Yet, it appears that many of these mega-projects already fail at the stage of implementation. The article deals with three problems that corridors face. Corresponding ideas are drawn from existing literature, and confirmed and expanded against the backdrop of a case study on the Bioceanic Corridor, which connects the central west of Brazil via Paraguay and Argentina to the north of Chile. First, there is a tendency to focus on opportunities and neglect challenges. Corridors often reflect unrealistic grand visions for the future. Second, these initiatives depend on territorial rescaling to sub- and supranational levels, but national governments bundle too much power. Third, being a means to facilitate integration into global value chains, corridors provoke disputes over gains. Each country – and even subnational entities – strives to maximise its benefits at the expense of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper contributes to the structuralist growth literature, by studying the macroeconomics of GVCs. • We develop a typology of growth regimes associated with external integration, productive structure and income distribution. • Growth dynamics vary across geographical regions and globalisation has intensified processes of uneven development worldwide. • We employ causal econometric analysis to estimate the impact of the three regimes (integration, structure and distribution) on economic growth. • Industrial policy in developing countries should prioritise the combined effect of the three regimes on economic growth, not any one dimension in isolation. This study investigates the macroeconomic interactions between productive structure and income distribution in the context of Global Value Chains (GVC). Our research goes beyond the traditional scope by presenting a detailed typology that examines how globalisation has amplified uneven development processes on a global scale. This in-depth exploration provides valuable insights into the intricate interplay between global economic integration and regional development disparities, thereby contributing to the broader understanding of growth and distribution in the context of globalisation. We propose a theoretical framework inspired by the Structuralist literature to identify three distinct regimes in globalised production chains: (1) a structure/diversification regime based on the Balance of Payments Constrained Model (BPCM) literature, (2) an integration regime derived from the GVC literature, and (3) a functional income distribution regime in open economies. We use Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to create indices (proxies) for each regime to then identify country patterns within a structured typology. We then analyse growth trajectories and estimate the causal relationship between these regimes and per-capita growth using multiple regression models – fixed effects (FE), instrumental variables (IV), and generalised method of moments (GMM). Our dataset includes data from 60 countries between 1995 and 2018, sourced from the World Development Indicators (WDI), World Input-Output Database (WIOD), Trade in Value Added (TiVA), and the Penn World Tables (PWT). This study significantly enhances the understanding of structuralist growth models by offering a comprehensive and unified narrative on the variety of economic growth regimes within Global Value Chains (GVCs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]