Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate modern production systems in which coordination and control among companies have become widespread globally. In particular, the authors aim to test the Global Value Chain (GVC) governance theory empirically with a focus on the state of Apple’s GVC governance. More specifically, the authors attempt to determine whether the relationships theoretically explained in Gereffi, Humphrey and Sturgeon (2005) can be observed in Apple’s GVC and contribute toward understanding Apple’s state of coordination. This study shows the state of coordination in Apple’s GVC does not necessarily correspond to the theoretical types. Simply put, the three determinants do not reflect the state of coordination in Apple’s GVC. This paper adopts augmenting and complementary explanations from the resource-dependence perspective to elucidate Apple’s GVC governance by empirically illustrating how Apple’s GVC governance are achieved through the accompanying asymmetric power relationships between the company and its suppliers.
Highlights
Since the 1990s, the mass production structures of large-scale companies have become increasingly globalized
This is in line with Gereffi et al (2005), who state that in modular governance, while the complexity of transactions is high, there is superior ability to codify information and complex information is exchanged without explicit coordination
According to the extant global value chain (GVC) literature, the manner in which the internationally dispersed chain of activities by numerous independent companies is functionally integrated raises a governance issue, it offers an effective perspective on the control and coordination of entities composing the value chain
Summary
Since the 1990s, the mass production structures of large-scale companies have become increasingly globalized. A substantial number of transactions among these production sites take place via cross-border markets, wherein diverse products are mass-produced under the condition of fluctuating demand. Such production structures are a new feature that have become commonplace, and it can be inferred that exceedingly complicated management has become critical in such mass production structures. Research on the globalized mass production at the company level remains insufficient. Against the backdrop of these gaps, this study uses a global value chain (GVC) framework critically to evaluate the state of governance in the new production structure that has expanded globally
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