IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/unumer/2021007.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Deepening or delinking? Innovative capacity and global value chain participation in the ICT sectors

Author

Listed:
  • Lema, Rasmus

    (Aalborg University, and University of Johannesburg)

  • Pietrobelli, Carlo

    (UNU-MERIT, and University Roma Tre)

  • Rabellotti, Roberta

    (University of Pavia, and Aalborg University)

  • Vezzani, Antonio

    (University Roma Tre)

Abstract

Innovation trajectories in global value chains can take highly differentiated pathways. Firms and other organisations operating in a sector in a given country may gain or lose innovative capacity over time compared to their peers in other countries. In this paper we address the question: do stylised trajectories emerge from the analysis of countries' relative innovative capacity and global value chain participation? We draw explorative insights from a cluster analysis of 45 countries on the subsectors of the information and communication technology industry: hardware and software. Our analysis uncovers remarkable differences across sectors and countries. We identify different trajectories and discuss the sub-sectoral specificities which contribute to explaining these differences. The association between the strengthening of innovative capacity and deeper insertion in global value chains applies to only a handful of countries and only in the software subsector. These findings raise questions for future research on innovation in global value chains.

Suggested Citation

  • Lema, Rasmus & Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta & Vezzani, Antonio, 2021. "Deepening or delinking? Innovative capacity and global value chain participation in the ICT sectors," MERIT Working Papers 2021-007, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2021007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2021/wp2021-007.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric von Hippel, 1986. "Lead Users: A Source of Novel Product Concepts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(7), pages 791-805, July.
    2. Lema, Rasmus & Quadros, Ruy & Schmitz, Hubert, 2015. "Reorganising global value chains and building innovation capabilities in Brazil and India," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1376-1386.
    3. Jan Fagerberg & Bengt-Åke Lundvall & Martin Srholec, 2018. "Global Value Chains, National Innovation Systems and Economic Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 533-556, July.
    4. Altenburg, Tilman & Schmitz, Hubert & Stamm, Andreas, 2008. "Breakthrough China's and India's Transition from Production to Innovation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 325-344, February.
    5. Andrea Morrison & Carlo Pietrobelli & Roberta Rabellotti, 2008. "Global Value Chains and Technological Capabilities: A Framework to Study Learning and Innovation in Developing Countries," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 39-58.
    6. 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.
    7. Giuliani, Elisa & Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2005. "Upgrading in Global Value Chains: Lessons from Latin American Clusters," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 549-573, April.
    8. Gaulier, Guillaume & Sztulman, Aude & Ünal, Deniz, 2020. "Are global value chains receding? The jury is still out. Key findings from the analysis of deflated world trade in parts and components," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 219-236.
    9. Rasmus Lema & Roberta Rabellotti & Padmashree Gehl Sampath, 2018. "Innovation Trajectories in Developing Countries: Co-evolution of Global Value Chains and Innovation Systems," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 345-363, July.
    10. Andrea Morrison & Roberta Rabellotti & Lorenzo Zirulia, 2013. "When Do Global Pipelines Enhance the Diffusion of Knowledge in Clusters?," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 89(1), pages 77-96, January.
    11. João Amador & Sónia Cabral, 2016. "Global Value Chains: A Survey Of Drivers And Measures," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 278-301, April.
    12. Timothy J. Sturgeon, 2002. "Modular production networks: a new American model of industrial organization," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(3), pages 451-496, June.
    13. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    14. Franco Malerba & Sunil Mani (ed.), 2009. "Sectoral Systems of Innovation and Production in Developing Countries," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13634.
    15. Pavitt, Keith, 1984. "Sectoral patterns of technical change: Towards a taxonomy and a theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 343-373, December.
    16. Parrilli, Mario Davide & Alcalde Heras, Henar, 2016. "STI and DUI innovation modes: Scientific-technological and context-specific nuances," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 747-756.
    17. Lucia Tajoli & Giulia Felice, 2018. "Global Value Chains Participation and Knowledge Spillovers in Developed and Developing Countries: An Empirical Investigation," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 505-532, July.
    18. Hobday, Mike, 1995. "East Asian latecomer firms: Learning the technology of electronics," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(7), pages 1171-1193, July.
    19. Md. Salamun Rashidin & Sara Javed & Lingming Chen & Wang Jian, 2020. "Assessing the Competitiveness of Chinese Multinational Enterprises Development: Evidence From Electronics Sector," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(1), pages 21582440198, January.
    20. Hummels, David & Ishii, Jun & Yi, Kei-Mu, 2001. "The nature and growth of vertical specialization in world trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 75-96, June.
    21. Paus, Eva, 2014. "Latin America and the middle-income trap," Financiamiento para el Desarrollo 36816, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    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. Xu, Lu & Jing, Jing & Wu, Chenyu, 2024. "Impact of financial development on the position in global value chain: An analysis from the perspective of R&D intensity," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Nenci, Silvia & Fusacchia, Ilaria & Giunta, Anna & Montalbano, Pierluigi & Pietrobelli, Carlo, 2022. "Mapping global value chain participation and positioning in agriculture and food: stylised facts, empirical evidence and critical issues," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 11(2), July.
    3. Caliari, Thiago & Ribeiro, Leonardo Costa & Pietrobelli, Carlo & Vezzani, Antonio, 2023. "Global value chains and sectoral innovation systems: An analysis of the aerospace industry," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 36-48.

    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. Nenci, Silvia & Fusacchia, Ilaria & Giunta, Anna & Montalbano, Pierluigi & Pietrobelli, Carlo, 2022. "Mapping global value chain participation and positioning in agriculture and food: stylised facts, empirical evidence and critical issues," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 11(2), July.
    2. F. Colozza & R. Boschma & A. Morrison & C. Pietrobelli, 2021. "The importance of global value chains and regional capabilities for the economic complexity of EU-regions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2139, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2021.
    3. Rasmus Lema & Roberta Rabellotti & Padmashree Gehl Sampath, 2018. "Innovation Trajectories in Developing Countries: Co-evolution of Global Value Chains and Innovation Systems," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 345-363, July.
    4. Binz, Christian & Gosens, Jorrit & Hansen, Teis & Hansen, Ulrich Elmer, 2017. "Toward Technology-Sensitive Catching-Up Policies: Insights from Renewable Energy in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 418-437.
    5. Ketan Reddy & Radeef Chundakkadan & Subash Sasidharan, 2021. "Firm innovation and global value chain participation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1995-2015, December.
    6. Valentina De Marchi & Elisa Giuliani & Roberta Rabellotti, 2018. "Do Global Value Chains Offer Developing Countries Learning and Innovation Opportunities?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 389-407, July.
    7. Padmashree Gehl Sampath & Bertha Vallejo, 2018. "Trade, Global Value Chains and Upgrading: What, When and How?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 481-504, July.
    8. Lorenzo Cresti & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2023. "Weak sectors and weak ties? Labour dependence and asymmetric positioning in GVCs," LEM Papers Series 2023/10, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    9. Lema, Rasmus & Quadros, Ruy & Schmitz, Hubert, 2012. "Shifts in Innovation Power to Brazil and India: Insights from the Auto and Software Industries," MPRA Paper 49591, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Akçomak, Ibrahim Semih & Bürken, Serkan, 2019. "The middle-technology trap: The case of the automotive industry in Turkey," MERIT Working Papers 2019-006, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    11. Zicheng Ma & Liang Wang & Xin Zheng & Jianqi Zhang, 2022. "National Innovation Systems and Global Value Chain Participation: The Role of Entrepreneurship," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(2), pages 897-920, April.
    12. Eduardo Hernandez-Rodriguez, 2024. "Technological diversification through global value chains in European regions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2429, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2024.
    13. 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.
    14. Keijser, Charlotte & Belderbos, René & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2021. "Governance and learning in global, regional, and local value chains: The IT enabled services industry in South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    15. Yoshimichi Murakami & Keijiro Otsuka, 2020. "Governance, Information Spillovers, and Productivity of Local Firms: Toward an Integrated Approach to Foreign Direct Investment and Global Value Chains," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 58(2), pages 134-174, June.
    16. Roman Jurowetzki & Rasmus Lema & Bengt-Åke Lundvall, 2018. "Combining Innovation Systems and Global Value Chains for Development: Towards a Research Agenda," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 364-388, July.
    17. Andrzej Cieślik & Jan Jakub Michałek & Krzysztof Szczygielski & Jacek Lewkowicz & Jerzy Mycielski, 2021. "Foreign Ownership and Within-MNEs GVC Participation as Determinants of Innovation Activities: A CIS-Based Firm-Level Analysis," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 13(2), pages 189-211, June.
    18. De Marchi, Valentina & Giuliani, Elisa & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2015. "Local innovation and global value chains in developing countries," MERIT Working Papers 2015-022, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    19. Anna Giunta & Domenico Scalera & Francesco Trivieri & Jeffrey B. Nugent & Mariarosaria Agostino, 2011. "Firm Productivity, Organizational Choice and Global Value Chain," Working Papers 2011R09, Orkestra - Basque Institute of Competitiveness.
    20. Carlo Pietrobelli & Cornelia Staritz, 2018. "Upgrading, Interactive Learning, and Innovation Systems in Value Chain Interventions," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 557-574, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Global value chains; Innovation capacity; Innovation trajectories; Hardware; Software; ICT;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:unm:unumer:2021007. 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: Ad Notten (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/meritnl.html .

    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.