The impact of pressure groups on inter-firm competition in the cigarette-manufacturing sector: A global value chain approach

Abstract

Global commodity chain, global value chain and global production network scholars have established the importance of studying lead firms and their business strategies to understand how new competitive pressures impact the organization of supply chains. In this analysis of the tobacco commodity chain, the author examines internal strategic planning documents for major cigarette manufacturers from 1960 to 2010 and identifies moments in which the lead firms shift competitive strategies. The article argues that these changes in inter-firm competition are linked, in part, to the changing demands, successes, and failures of the tobacco control movement. During each period, the movement shaped the particular opportunities and constraints facing Big Tobacco, which in turn changed the competitive dynamics amongst these firms, with important implications for other supply chain actors. This historical case of inter-firm competition among cigarette manufacturers reveals the importance of including powerful and enduring pressure groups in the study of global value chain governance – particularly global health movements and environmental movements that may have direct and indirect effects on global value chains above and beyond specific targeted campaigns.