Supply chain

Machine learning

Macroeconomics

Conceptual framework

Sociology

Business

International trade

Economics

Marketing

Management

International business

Protectionism

Value (mathematics)

Microfoundations

Global value chain

Financialization

Market economy

Social science

Corporate governance

Industrial organization

Computer science

Supply chain management

Comparative advantage

Discipline

Journal of International Business Studies

This article reviews the rapidly growing domain of global value chain (GVC) research by analyzing several highly cited conceptual frameworks and then appraising GVC studies published in such disciplines as international business, general management, supply chain management, operations management, economic geography, regional and development studies, and international political economy. Building on GVC conceptual frameworks, we conducted the review based on a comparative institutional perspective that encompasses critical governance issues at the micro-, GVC, and macro-levels. Our results indicate that some of these issues have garnered significantly more scholarly attention than others. We suggest several future research topics such as microfoundations of GVC governance, GVC mapping, learning, impact of lead firm ownership and strategy, dynamics of GVC arrangements, value creation and distribution, financialization, digitization, the impact of renewed protectionism, the impact of GVCs on their macro-environment, and chain-level performance management.

Global value chains: A review of the multi-disciplinary literature