IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v55y2023i8p1859-1883.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Embeddedness beyond the lead firm in global production networks: Insights from Kenyan horticulture

Author

Listed:
  • Aarti Krishnan

Abstract

Recent research on embeddedness in global production networks (GPNs) has begun to move beyond the dominant perspective on how lead firms embed into host countries to investigate how non-lead firms embed across multiple scales in a GPN. This paper builds on such work by examining both processes of how, and the extent to which, different Southern suppliers embed into GPNs, detailing the contestation, struggles, and synergies faced. Empirical evidence is provided through a case study of Kenyan horticulture. Using a mixed-method approach of interviews and surveys, the paper finds that Kenyan farmers and Kenyan export firms (KEFs) have varied ways in which they embed, with farmers more embedded (highly dependent on network relationships and participation in a GPN) and KEFs simultaneously less embedded (having a low degree of commitment towards farmers) in GPNs. Overarchingly, the results demonstrate the need to account for the complex ways in which non-lead firm actors like Southern suppliers embed in GPNs.

Suggested Citation

  • Aarti Krishnan, 2023. "Embeddedness beyond the lead firm in global production networks: Insights from Kenyan horticulture," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(8), pages 1859-1883, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:55:y:2023:i:8:p:1859-1883
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X231170194
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308518X231170194
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0308518X231170194?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. C. Dolan & J. Humphrey, 2000. "Governance and Trade in Fresh Vegetables: The Impact of UK Supermarkets on the African Horticulture Industry," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 147-176.
    2. Elizabeth Havice & Liam Campling, 2013. "Articulating Upgrading: Island Developing States and Canned Tuna Production," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(11), pages 2610-2627, November.
    3. Oliver E. Williamson, 2000. "The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 595-613, September.
    4. Neil M. Coe & Yong-Sook Lee, 2006. "The Strategic Localization of Transnational Retailers: The Case of Samsung-Tesco in South Korea," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 82(1), pages 61-88, January.
    5. Stefan Ouma, 2010. "Global Standards, Local Realities: Private Agrifood Governance and the Restructuring of the Kenyan Horticulture Industry," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 86(2), pages 197-222, April.
    6. Neil M. Coe & Peter Dicken & Martin Hess, 2008. "Global production networks: realizing the potential," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 271-295, May.
    7. Schmitz, Hubert, 1999. "From ascribed to earned trust in exporting clusters," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 139-150, June.
    8. Matthew Alford & Stephanie Barrientos & Margareet Visser, 2017. "Multi-scalar Labour Agency in Global Production Networks: Contestation and Crisis in the South African Fruit Sector," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 48(4), pages 721-745, July.
    9. Mike Morris & Cornelia Staritz, 2017. "Industrial upgrading and development in Lesotho’s apparel industry: global value chains, foreign direct investment, and market diversification," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 303-320, July.
    10. Stefan Ouma, 2010. "Global Standards, Local Realities: Private Agrifood Governance and the Restructuring of the Kenyan Horticulture Industry," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 86(2), pages 197-222, April.
    11. Tim Rowley & Dean Behrens & David Krackhardt, 2000. "Redundant governance structures: an analysis of structural and relational embeddedness in the steel and semiconductor industries," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 369-386, March.
    12. Gavin Bridge, 2008. "Global production networks and the extractive sector: governing resource-based development," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 389-419, May.
    13. Lavlu Mozumdar & Geoffrey Hagelaar & Valentina C. Materia & S. W. F. Omta & Mohammad Amirul Islam & Gerben Velde, 2019. "Embeddedness or Over-Embeddedness? Women Entrepreneurs’ Networks and Their Influence on Business Performance," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1449-1469, December.
    14. Nadvi, Khalid, 1999. "Collective Efficiency and Collective Failure: The Response of the Sialkot Surgical Instrument Cluster to Global Quality Pressures," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(9), pages 1605-1626, September.
    15. Stanislav Kolenikov & Gustavo Angeles, 2009. "Socioeconomic Status Measurement With Discrete Proxy Variables: Is Principal Component Analysis A Reliable Answer?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(1), pages 128-165, March.
    16. Aarti Krishnan & Chistopher Foster, 2018. "A Quantitative Approach to Innovation in Agricultural Value Chains: Evidence from Kenyan Horticulture," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(1), pages 108-135, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giger, Markus & Mutea, Emily & Kiteme, Boniface & Eckert, Sandra & Anseeuw, Ward & Zaehringer, Julie G., 2020. "Large agricultural investments in Kenya’s Nanyuki Area: Inventory and analysis of business models," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. McWilliam, Sarah E. & Kim, Jung Kwan & Mudambi, Ram & Nielsen, Bo Bernhard, 2020. "Global value chain governance: Intersections with international business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    5. Jim Ormond, 2015. "New Regimes of Responsibilization: Practicing Product Carbon Footprinting in the New Carbon Economy," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 91(4), pages 425-448, October.
    6. Anne Ulrich, 2014. "Export-Oriented Horticultural Production in Laikipia, Kenya: Assessing the Implications for Rural Livelihoods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-12, January.
    7. Gachukia, Martin Kang'ethe W., 2016. "Value Chain Governance and Governmentality of Horticultural Exporters by Developing Economies: A perspective of Kenya’s Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Export Sector," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, January.
    8. Giovanni Pasquali & Shane Godfrey & Khalid Nadvi, 2021. "Understanding regional value chains through the interaction of public and private governance: Insights from Southern Africa’s apparel sector," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(3), pages 368-389, September.
    9. Susanne Freidberg, 2023. "Metrics and Mētis: work and practical knowledge in Agri-food sustainability governance," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 245-257, March.
    10. Valerie Nelson & Anne Tallontire, 2014. "Battlefields of ideas: changing narratives and power dynamics in private standards in global agricultural value chains," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(3), pages 481-497, September.
    11. Prince B. Annor & Simeon Kaitibie & Michael C. Lyne, 2023. "Heterogeneous impacts of GlobalGAP adoption on net income in small‐scale pineapple farming in Ghana: Does farm size matter?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1199-1216, October.
    12. Subervie, Julie & Vagneron, Isabelle, 2013. "A Drop of Water in the Indian Ocean? The Impact of GlobalGap Certification on Lychee Farmers in Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 57-73.
    13. Peter Dannenberg & Tobia Lakes, 2013. "The use of mobile phones by Kenyan export-orientated small-scale farmers: insights from fruit and vegetable farming in the Mt. Kenya region," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 15(3), pages 55-75.
    14. Luca Salvatici & Silvia Nenci, 2017. "New features, forgotten costs and counterfactual gains of the international trading system," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 44(4), pages 592-633.
    15. Margareet Visser & Matthew Alford, 2024. "Governance and Power Across Intersecting Value Chains: The Case of South African Apples," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 69-86, January.
    16. Glückler Johannes & Panitz Robert & Hammer Ingmar, 2020. "SONA: A relational methodology to identify structure in networks," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 64(3), pages 121-133, November.
    17. Krone Madlen & Dannenberg Peter, 2018. "Analysing the effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the integration of East African farmers in a value chain context," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 62(1), pages 65-81, March.
    18. Giovanni Pasquali & Matthew Alford, 2022. "Global value chains, private governance and multiple end-markets: insights from Kenyan leather," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 129-157.
    19. Isaac Maina Kariuki & Jens‐Peter Loy, 2016. "Contractual Farming Arrangements, Quality Control, Incentives, and Distribution Failure in Kenya's Smallholder Horticulture: A Multivariate Probit Analysis," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 547-562, November.
    20. Fredrick Ajwang, 2020. "Responsive Regulation and Its Implications for Smallholder Participation in the Kenyan Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Export Value Chain," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 1288-1311, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:55:y:2023:i:8:p:1859-1883. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.