Call for Papers—Special Issue of Manufacturing & Service Operations Management: Value Chain Innovations in Developing Economies

Abstract

Motivation As the world becomes more globalized, the value chains of most companies span over many continents, and increasingly, developing economies constitute important parts of the supply side of these value chains. The supply could be in the form of sourcing of natural resources and materials, or manufacturing operations in which these economies provide low cost of labor. The supply can also be in the form of intellectual capital as some of these economies develop their design and innovation capabilities. Similarly, these economies are becoming sources of demand, as even the bottom of the pyramid had huge demand needs and so they can be potentially big markets. While they form parts of the global value chains, most of these economies faced challenges of extreme poverty. About 1.2 billion people in the world still live below US$1.25 per day. Hence, innovations in the value chains of these developing economies, while benefiting global enterprises, can also play a role in the alleviation of poverty. This special issue is M&SOM’s call to stimulate research in how value chain innovations can make a difference in developing economies.