Africa and Sustainable Global Value Chains
Africa and Sustainable Global Value Chains

Author: Regina Frei

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-03-11

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 3030787915

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This book contains a collection of studies on the interactions between businesses in Africa and Global Value Chains (GVCs) in terms of social, environmental and economic sustainability. This is particularly pertinent given the asymmetrical power distribution between the global buyer and the African supplier, their governance relationships and the ongoing competitive pressures to reduce costs and increase flexibility to meet GVC demands. Rather than focusing on the sustainability of a single organization, GVCs address the sustainability of inter-firm value chains and global industries as a whole. With little differentiation between value chain creation and social / environmental degradation extending to people and raw material extraction (upstream) and disposal or recycling (downstream), sustainability issues need to be at the forefront of African business research interests. Nowadays, sustainability is considered a competitive advantage for a firm looking to join a GVC. Whether sustainability is approached from the viewpoint of an exporting firm motivated to join a GVC in its respective industry or whether a firm’s continuing contractual or collaborative relationship with a buyer depends on its compliance with sustainability standards, both approaches focus on the ability of firms in Africa to benefit from joining sustainable GVCs.

Global Value Chains, Flexibility and Sustainability
Global Value Chains, Flexibility and Sustainability

Author: Julia Connell

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-05-04

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 9811089299

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This book provides a conceptual framework of global value chains, flexibility and sustainability, supported by research projects, case applications and models in various related areas organized into three parts. In the first part of the book, various authors discuss how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of global value chains through various types of analyses. While the focus is on cluster management, and mergers and joint ventures, the legal aspects of control and liability concerning the integration of value chains, is also examined in one of the contributions. The second part includes chapters concerning ‘Strategy and Flexibility’. Strategies concern topics such as inventory management, talent management, strategic alignment, decision making, behavioural change and HR systems. The third and final part of the volume concerns the topic of ‘Sustainability’, wherein the contributions focus on various initiatives intended to promote sustainability across respective value chains bearing in mind the concept of flexibility. The book is a valuable resource for a varied audience, ranging from management students and researchers, to practicing business managers, as well as for professional institutions, consultants, and corporate organizations.

Sustainable Value Chain Management
Sustainable Value Chain Management

Author: Michael D'heur

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-02-28

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 3319121421

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This book introduces the integrated management concept of "Sustainable Value Creation", which delivers sustainability ‘inside-out’ from the core business. It is based on the premise that sustainability can provide a platform for growth, if it is implemented in a company’s products, services and supply chains (combined also known as the 'Value Chain'). Managing the Value Chain from the outset with a sustainability mindset subsequently allows profitable economical, ecological and societal growth. It combines the need for increased sustainability and its implementation in the operations of a company. The book addresses the following issues: How do economic, environmental and societal factors impact the value-creation process of a company? What requirements and expectations need to be met to balance economic, ecologic and societal value creation? What are the building blocks and measures that can be utilized on the journey towards building a sustainable value chain? What benefits can be achieved through sustainable value chains? What are the practical examples of sustainable value chains in leading companies that can inspire others to follow? The book includes contributions from the following organisations and companies: Beiersdorf, SAP, Klenk und Hoursch, VAUDE, Infineon Technologies, Independent Capital Management, BASF, Nanogate, the Federal German Council for Sustainable Development, Henkel, Symrise, shared.value.chain, Siemens, Fairphone and Thin Air Factory

Global Value Chains in a Changing World
Global Value Chains in a Changing World

Author: Deborah Kay Elms

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 9789287038821

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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 Circular Economy and Its Implications on Sustainability and the Green Supply Chain
The Circular Economy and Its Implications on Sustainability and the Green Supply Chain

Author: Akkucuk, Ulas

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2019-01-18

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 1522581103

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In the modern world, solid and liquid waste deposits are mounting due to increasing populations and wealth. Businesses are therefore being put under pressure to pay attention to the environmental and resource consequences of the products they produce and the services they deliver. The Circular Economy and Its Implications on Sustainability and the Green Supply Chain is a collection of innovative research on methods of extending biological cycles found in nature to technological cycles where goods, when disposed properly, are converted into new products in an environmentally efficient way. It examines current research on how to deal with the waste resulting from human activities, the relationship between environmental and human health, and international legislation on waste management. This book is ideally designed for economists, managers, practitioners, academicians, researchers, and students.

Developing Sustainable Food Value Chains
Developing Sustainable Food Value Chains

Author: David Neven

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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Using sustainable food value chain development (SFVCD) approaches to reduce poverty presents both great opportunities and daunting challenges. SFVCD requires a systems approach to identifying root problems, innovative thinking to find effective solutions and broad-based partnerships to implement programmes that have an impact at scale. In practice, however, a misunderstanding of its fundamental nature can easily result in value-chain projects having limited or non-sustainable impact. Furthermore, development practitioners around the world are learning valuable lessons from both failures and successes, but many of these are not well disseminated. This new set of handbooks aims to address these gaps by providing practical guidance on SFVCD to a target audience of policy-makers, project designers and field practitioners. This first handbook provides a solid conceptual foundation on which to build the subsequent handbooks. It (1) clearly defines the concept of a sustainable food value chain; (2) presents and discusses a development paradigm that integrates the multidimensional concepts of sustainability and value added; (3) presents, discusses and illustrates ten principles that underlie SFVCD; and (4) discusses the potential and limitations of using the value-chain concept in food-systems development. By doing so, the handbook makes a strong case for placing SFVCD at the heart of any strategy aimed at reducing poverty and hunger in the long run.

Sustainability in Global Value Chains
Sustainability in Global Value Chains

Author: Michael Henke

Publisher: Kogan Page Publishers

Published: 2021-02-03

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 178966263X

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Sustainability can create greater efficiency and cost savings in the supply chain. Supply chains, which are more complex and global than ever before, are full of both risks and opportunities. The risks range from inconsistent or poor quality, supply disruptions and health and safety concerns, to corruption. Businesses face pressure to adopt sustainable supply chain practices from various stakeholders and motivations typically come from one or more of four sources: customers, compliance, costs, competitive advantage. Sustainability in Global Value Chains is the guide to understanding all aspects and approaches of sustainable supply chains using in-depth research from leading academics from sixteen different universities. Sustainability in Global Value Chains focuses on how to make supply chains sustainable, with an emphasis on new technologies and digitization. The research featured covers topics such as KPIs in production and supply chains, the role of standards, blockchain technology and algebraic models. This comprehensive book presents real world issues, problems in implementing sustainability in the supply chain and examples of best practice.

Local Clusters in Global Value Chains
Local Clusters in Global Value Chains

Author: Valentina De Marchi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-28

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1351723995

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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.

The Routledge Companion to Global Value Chains
The Routledge Companion to Global Value Chains

Author: Renu Agarwal

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-30

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1351847570

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This Companion provides a review of global value chains (GVCs) and the megatrends that are shaping them and will continue to reshape them in deep-set trajectories of change over the next few decades. Megatrends herald both challenges and opportunities. With the growing interest among business leaders and researchers in GVCs, this is a reference work which fills a gap in current literature by focusing on the new features of GVCs, including the shift of global purchasing power towards developing economies, the significance of emerging technologies and data analytics, the increasing tensions between globalisation and de-globalisation, and the role of micro-multinationals, start-up entrepreneurs, the public sector and middle markets in a fast-changing global economy. The early chapters are essentially intradisciplinary in character, with the first seeking to explore some historical aspects of GVCs. Subsequent chapters cover the theory and practice of operations and supply chain management, emerging supply chain technologies, and the impact of inter-firm collaboration across sectors and economies. The final chapters take a more interdisciplinary approach and examine topics at the interface of GVCs with the economy, society, culture and politics. This comprehensive handbook provides a timely analysis of leading-edge global megatrends and practices in one volume.

World Development Report 2020
World Development Report 2020

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2019-11-19

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 1464814953

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Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled an unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth. New technologies could draw production closer to the consumer and reduce the demand for labor. And trade conflicts among large countries could lead to a retrenchment or a segmentation of GVCs. World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains examines whether there is still a path to development through GVCs and trade. It concludes that technological change is, at this stage, more a boon than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that developing countries implement deeper reforms to promote GVC participation; industrial countries pursue open, predictable policies; and all countries revive multilateral cooperation.