IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v30y2021i6s0969593121000573.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital power: Value chain upgrading in an age of digitization

Author

Listed:
  • Oliveira, Luis
  • Fleury, Afonso
  • Fleury, Maria Tereza

Abstract

We investigate whether and how digitization may affect the power relationships that constrain the upgrading of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in global value chains (GVCs). Combining GVC literature and Resource Dependency Theory, we examine the three features that shift upgrading constraints: asset-specificity, market disintermediation, and innovation sources. The outcomes of a multiple case study encompassing Brazilian firms intentionally sampled from the Digital Games Industry refine our propositions, leading to the concept of digital power as the potential difference in the power imbalance that a supplier may experience in relation to lead firms when performing similar functions in value chains with different digitization degrees. We contribute to International Business literature regarding the relatively unaddressed effects of digital technologies on power relationships in value chains, and deepen the extant understanding of value chain upgrading as a phenomenon. For practitioners, our results inform ways of benefiting from digital industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Oliveira, Luis & Fleury, Afonso & Fleury, Maria Tereza, 2021. "Digital power: Value chain upgrading in an age of digitization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:30:y:2021:i:6:s0969593121000573
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101850
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593121000573
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2021.101850?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Margherita Pagani, 2013. "Digital Business Strategy and Value Creation : Framing the Dynamic Cycle of Control Points," Post-Print hal-02313107, HAL.
    2. Broekhuizen, Thijs L.J. & Lampel, Joseph & Rietveld, Joost, 2013. "New horizons or a strategic mirage? Artist-led-distribution versus alliance strategy in the video game industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 954-964.
    3. Gary Gereffi, 2019. "Economic upgrading in global value chains," Chapters, in: Stefano Ponte & Gary Gereffi & Gale Raj-Reichert (ed.), Handbook on Global Value Chains, chapter 14, pages 240-254, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Neil M Coe & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2019. "Global production networks: mapping recent conceptual developments," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(4), pages 775-801.
    5. Marc Bogdanowicz & Giuditta de Prato & Daniel Nepelski & Jean-Paul Simon & Wainer Lusoli, 2010. "Born Digital / Grown Digital: Assessing the Future Competitiveness of the EU Video Games Software Industry," JRC Research Reports JRC60711, Joint Research Centre.
    6. Magnani, Giovanna & Zucchella, Antonella & Strange, Roger, 2019. "The dynamics of outsourcing relationships in global value chains: Perspectives from MNEs and their suppliers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 581-595.
    7. Tobias Kollmann & Julia Christofor, 2014. "International entrepreneurship in the network economy: Internationalization propensity and the role of entrepreneurial orientation," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 43-66, March.
    8. David Tilson & Kalle Lyytinen & Carsten Sørensen, 2010. "Research Commentary ---Digital Infrastructures: The Missing IS Research Agenda," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 748-759, December.
    9. Buckley, Peter J., 2009. "The impact of the global factory on economic development," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 131-143, April.
    10. Christopher Foster & Mark Graham & Laura Mann & Timothy Waema & Nicolas Friederici, 2018. "Digital Control in Value Chains: Challenges of Connectivity for East African Firms," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 94(1), pages 68-86, January.
    11. Louis A. Lefebvre & Robert Mason & Élisabeth Lefebvre, 1997. "The Influence Prism in SMEs: The Power of CEOs' Perceptions on Technology Policy and Its Organizational Impacts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(6), pages 856-878, June.
    12. Youngjin Yoo & Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen & Ann Majchrzak, 2012. "Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1398-1408, October.
    13. Satish Nambisan, 2017. "Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 1029-1055, November.
    14. Catherine Welch & Rebecca Piekkari & Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki & Eriikka Paavilainen-Mantymaki, 2011. "Theorising from case studies: Towards a pluralist future for international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(5), pages 740-762, June.
    15. Yong Kyu Lew & Rudolf R Sinkovics & Mo Yamin & Zaheer Khan, 2016. "Trans-specialization understanding in international technology alliances: The influence of cultural distance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(5), pages 577-594, June.
    16. Sinkovics, Noemi & Hoque, Samia Ferdous & Sinkovics, Rudolf R., 2018. "Supplier Strategies and Routines for Capability Development: Implications for Upgrading," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 348-368.
    17. Liena Kano & Eric W. K. Tsang & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2020. "Global value chains: A review of the multi-disciplinary literature," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 577-622, June.
    18. Coe, Neil M. & Yeung, Henry Wai-chung, 2015. "Global Production Networks: Theorizing Economic Development in an Interconnected World," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198703914.
    19. Fletcher, Margaret & Zhao, Yang & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella & Buck, Trevor, 2018. "Three Pathways to Case Selection in International Business: A Twenty–Year Review, Analysis and Synthesis," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 755-766.
    20. Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2011. "Global Value Chains Meet Innovation Systems: Are There Learning Opportunities for Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1261-1269, July.
    21. Thanyaporn Soontornthum & Lin Cui & Vinh N. Lu & Jiafu Su, 2020. "Enabling SMEs’ Learning from Global Value Chains: Linking the Logic of Power and the Logic of Embeddedness of Interfirm Relations," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 543-571, August.
    22. Golini, Ruggero & De Marchi, Valentina & Boffelli, Albachiara & Kalchschmidt, Matteo, 2018. "Which governance structures drive economic, environmental, and social upgrading? A quantitative analysis in the assembly industries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 13-23.
    23. Jiatao Li & Liang Chen & Jingtao Yi & Jiye Mao & Jianwen Liao, 2019. "Ecosystem-specific advantages in international digital commerce," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1448-1463, December.
    24. Jennifer Johns, 2006. "Video games production networks: value capture, power relations and embeddedness," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 151-180, April.
    25. Yi, Jisu & Lee, Youseok & Kim, Sang-Hoon, 2019. "Determinants of growth and decline in mobile game diffusion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 363-372.
    26. Davi Nakano & Afonso Fleury, 2017. "Recorded music supply network reconfiguration: the dual effect of digital technology," International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 31(1/2/3), pages 153-175.
    27. Elitsa R Banalieva & Charles Dhanaraj, 2019. "Internalization theory for the digital economy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1372-1387, October.
    28. Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran & Gomes, Emanuel & Collinson, Simon & Parry, Glenn & Bustinza, Oscar F., 2018. "Selling digital services abroad: How do extrinsic attributes influence foreign consumers’ purchase intentions?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 173-185.
    29. John Humphrey & Hubert Schmitz, 2002. "How does insertion in global value chains affect upgrading in industrial clusters?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(9), pages 1017-1027.
    30. Gyrd-Jones, Richard I. & Kornum, Niels, 2013. "Managing the co-created brand: Value and cultural complementarity in online and offline multi‐stakeholder ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1484-1493.
    31. Nambisan, Satish & Wright, Mike & Feldman, Maryann, 2019. "The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    32. Grace Gu & Feng Zhu, 2021. "Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(2), pages 794-807, February.
    33. Arun Kumaraswamy & Ram Mudambi & Haritha Saranga & Arindam Tripathy, 2012. "Catch-up strategies in the Indian auto components industry: Domestic firms’ responses to market liberalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(4), pages 368-395, May.
    34. Marchand, André & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, 2013. "Value Creation in the Video Game Industry: Industry Economics, Consumer Benefits, and Research Opportunities," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 141-157.
    35. Liena Kano & Eric W. K. Tsang & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2020. "Correction to: Global value chains: A review of the multi-disciplinary literature," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(8), pages 1353-1353, October.
    36. Youngjin Yoo & Ola Henfridsson & Kalle Lyytinen, 2010. "Research Commentary ---The New Organizing Logic of Digital Innovation: An Agenda for Information Systems Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 724-735, December.
    37. Murphree, Michael & Anderson, John (Andy), 2018. "Countering Overseas Power in Global Value Chains: Information Asymmetries and Subcontracting in the Plastics Industry," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 123-136.
    38. Timothy Sturgeon & Johannes Van Biesebroeck & Gary Gereffi, 2008. "Value chains, networks and clusters: reframing the global automotive industry," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 297-321, May.
    39. Margherita Pagani & Catherine Pardo, 2017. "The impact of digital technology on relationships in a business network," Post-Print hal-02312032, HAL.
    40. Henry Chesbrough & Richard S. Rosenbloom, 2002. "The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from Xerox Corporation's technology spin-off companies," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(3), pages 529-555, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Khurana, Indu & Dutta, Dev K. & Singh Ghura, Amarpreet, 2022. "SMEs and digital transformation during a crisis: The emergence of resilience as a second-order dynamic capability in an entrepreneurial ecosystem," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 623-641.
    2. Qiong Xu & Xin Li & Fei Guo, 2023. "Digital transformation and environmental performance: Evidence from Chinese resource‐based enterprises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1816-1840, July.
    3. Rammal, Hussain G. & Rose, Elizabeth L. & Ferreira, João J., 2023. "Managing cross-border knowledge transfer for innovation: An introduction to the special issue," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    4. Strange, Roger & Chen, Liang & Fleury, Maria Tereza Leme, 2022. "Digital Transformation and International Strategies," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    5. Stylianos Ioannidis & Christos Karelakis & Zacharias Papanikolaou & George Theodossiou, 2022. "Exploring Digitalisation Adaptation of Agro-food Firms: Evidence from Greece," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 15(1), pages 94-104, July.
    6. Andrei G. Shelomentsev & Kseniya S. Goncharova & Igor M. Stepnov & Julia A. Kovalchuk & Do Huong Lan & Roman S. Golov, 2021. "Strategic Innovation as a Factor of Adaptation of National Economies to the Development of Global Value Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.
    7. Coral, Claudia & Mithöfer, Dagmar, 2023. "The backbone of agrifood value chain resilience: Innovation in the Ecuadorian banana value chain from a historical perspective," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).

    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. Liena Kano & Eric W. K. Tsang & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2020. "Global value chains: A review of the multi-disciplinary literature," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 577-622, June.
    2. 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).
    3. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Pananond, Pavida, 2023. "The rise of emerging market lead firms in global value chains," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    4. Soliman, Salma & Papanastassiou, Marina & Saka-Helmhout, Ayse, 2023. "The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): An institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    5. Cheng, Cong & Wang, Limin, 2022. "How companies configure digital innovation attributes for business model innovation? A configurational view," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    6. Ron Boschma, 2021. "Global Value Chains from an Evolutionary Economic Geography perspective: a research agenda," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2134, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2021.
    7. Verbeke, Alain & Hutzschenreuter, Thomas & Pyasi, Nishant, 2021. "The dark side of B2B relationships in GVCs – Micro-foundational influences and strategic governance tools," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 816-828.
    8. Zhou, William Chongyang & Yan, Daying & Sun, Sunny Li, 2022. "Climbing the Ladder: Inward Sourcing as an Upgrading Capability in Global Value Chains," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(3).
    9. Jiatao Li & Liang Chen & Jingtao Yi & Jiye Mao & Jianwen Liao, 2019. "Ecosystem-specific advantages in international digital commerce," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1448-1463, December.
    10. Bohnsack, René & Kurtz, Hannes & Hanelt, André, 2021. "Re-examining path dependence in the digital age: The evolution of connected car business models," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    11. Cong Cheng & Hongfang Cui, 2024. "Combining digital and legacy technologies: firm digital transformation strategies—evidence from Chinese manufacturing companies," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Satish Nambisan & Yadong Luo, 2021. "Toward a loose coupling view of digital globalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(8), pages 1646-1663, October.
    13. Ancillai, Chiara & Sabatini, Andrea & Gatti, Marco & Perna, Andrea, 2023. "Digital technology and business model innovation: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    14. Ron Boschma, 2024. "An evolutionary approach to regional studies on global value chains," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(7), pages 1492-1500, July.
    15. Zahoor, Nadia & Khan, Zaheer & Shenkar, Oded, 2023. "International vertical alliances within the international business field: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(1).
    16. Zahra, Shaker A. & Liu, Wan & Si, Steven, 2023. "How digital technology promotes entrepreneurship in ecosystems," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    17. Keith D. Brouthers & Liang Chen & Sali Li & Noman Shaheer, 2022. "Charting new courses to enter foreign markets: Conceptualization, theoretical framework, and research directions on non-traditional entry modes," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2088-2115, December.
    18. Yu, Honglan & Fletcher, Margaret & Buck, Trevor, 2022. "Managing digital transformation during re-internationalization: Trajectories and implications for performance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    19. Godfrey Yeung, 2024. "Competitive dynamics of lead firms and their systems suppliers in the automotive industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(2), pages 454-475, March.
    20. Petr Pavlínek, 2023. "Transition of the automotive industry towards electric vehicle production in the east European integrated periphery," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 35-73, February.

    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:eee:iburev:v:30:y:2021:i:6:s0969593121000573. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    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.