The Routledge Companion to Global Value Chains

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 globalization and de-globalization, and the role of micro-multinationals, start-up entrepreneurs, the public sector and middle markets in a fast changing global economy. The early sections are essentially intradisciplinary in character, with the first seeking to explore some historical aspects of GVCs. Subsequent sections 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 section takes a more interdisciplinary approach and examines 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--