Global value chains in the electronics industry: characteristics, crisis, and upgrading opportunities for firms from developing countries

Abstract

In this paper, we apply global value chain (GVC) analysis to study recent trends in the global electronic hardware industry and their implications for upgrading opportunities for firms from developing countries. We identify three key firm level actors - lead firms, contract manufacturers, and platform leaders. Company, cluster, and country case studies are presented to illustrate how supplier capabilities in various places have developed in the context of electronics GVCs. The findings identify some of the persistent limits to upgrading experienced by even the most successful firms in the developing world. Four models used by developing country firms to overcome these limitations are presented: emerging multinationals, contract manufacturer spinoffs, platform brands and emerging factory-less start-ups. Each of these new models has been enabled, to a greater or lesser degree, by the rise of new markets and new kinds of consumers in developing countries.