In the last three decades, the organisation of production has undergone major transformations, characterised by the movement from vertical integration towards de-verticalisation, with the increasing of outsourcing and internationalisation of production. Among the most important consequences of the recent re-structuring of global production organisation, we can find, on the one hand, the creation of new opportunities for developing countries to participate in the international market and obtain access to the new GVCs and, on the other, the development of new contractual practices and new models of collaboration among firms, including networks. Through a case study of the commercial aircraft industry in Brazil, this paper has, as its aims, (i) an analysis of the role of contractual networks, in particular, the contractual network of multilateral contracts, as an instrument to promote the access of developing countries' SMEs to the GVC, and increase the benefits that they can derive from it, and (ii) to examine the problems regarding the lack of the proper legal tools to regulate the different forms of inter-firm collaboration represented by contractual network.

This report is the first comprehensive framework on how to facilitate SMEs and LIDCs access to and upgrading within global value chains. It identifies policy interventions at the global level needed to support domestic reforms.

Global value chains (GVCs) are evolving in light of technological developments, such as robotics, big data and the Internet of Things. These technologies are reshaping GVCs and effecting changes on labor markets in developed and developing economies and on supply chain management. This report discusses how technological developments are creating new opportunities for the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in global value chains and reviews issues related to GVC measurement. The report is a follow-up to the first Global Value Chain Development Report, which revealed the changing nature of international trade when analyzed in terms of value chains and value-added trade. This report is co-published by the World Trade Organization, the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Research Center of Global Value Chains headquartered at the University of International Business and Economics (RCGVC-UIBE), the World Bank Group, and the China Development Research Foundation.

Does enterprise participation in global markets ensure sustainable income growth? Policies have often been designed in the belief that this is true, but competitiveness and participation in international markets may take very different forms, and developing countries do not always benefit. This book presents a series of rich and original field studies from Latin America, conducted by the authors with the same consistent methodological approach, and represents a theory-generating exercise within clusters and economic development literature. The main question addressed is how Latin American small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may participate in global markets in ways that provide for sustainable income growth, the “high road” to competitiveness. In contrast, the “low road” is often typically followed by small firms from developing countries, which often compete by squeezing wages and revenues rather than by increasing productivity, salaries, and profits.

A collection of papers by some of the world's leading specialists on global value chains (GVCs). It examines how GVCs have evolved and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. The approach is multi-disciplinary, with contributions from economists, political scientists, supply chain management specialists, practitioners and policy-makers. Co-published with the Fung Global Institute and the Temasek

The international trade is one of the key concepts of developing countries to enhance economy through value addition. Global value Chain is the main platform which contribute to economy in the world while engage with Small Medium Enterprises. The developing countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam was taken as the model countries to evaluate GVCs involvement in SME development. The study identified several key factors contribute to the performance of SMEs through engaging with GVCs. Higher level of human capital, better foreign networks, high production capacity, more asset, more investment in research and development of SMEs are some identified factors. Moreover, the linkage with GVCs involved in earning high profit in most SMEs than not related firms. The review also showed the direct exportation was more efficient in earning profit than indirect exportation from SMEs. Furthermore, capital assets, number of workers, sales revenue of firms, human capital and types of SMEs also affect the performances of SMEs. The review mentioned some factors; high level of human capital, better foreign networks, high production capacity, more asset, more investment in research & development are some factors which improve the linkage with GVCs. Government, private organizations and policy makers of developing counties can be involved by identifying key components to develop SMEs by creating platform to enhance linkage with GVCs.

The international fragmentation of economic activities - from research and design to production and marketing - described through the lens of the global value chain (GVC) approach impacts the structure and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) agglomerated in economic clusters. The consolidation of GVCs ruled by global lead firms and the recession of 2008-09 exacerbated the pressures on cluster actors that based their competitive advantage on local systems, spurring an increasing heterogeneity, both across and within clusters, that is still overlooked in the literature. Drawing on detailed studies of different industries and countries, Local Clusters in Global Value Chains shows the co-evolutionary trajectories of clusters and GVCs, and the role of firms and their strategies in organizing manufacturing and innovation activities in the context of ongoing technological shifts. The book explores the tension between place-based variables and global drivers of change, and the possibility for territories containing such clusters to prosper in the new global scenario. By adopting insights from the GVC framework and management studies, the book discusses how the internationalization strategies of firms create opportunities as well as constraints for adaptive upgrading in clusters. This book is of interest to both researchers and policy-makers who are interested in the dynamic sources of competitive advantage in the global economy.