Value Chain Approach Research Articles

Influence of property rights on performance of community-based forest devolution policies in Honduras

Devolution refers to shifting responsibility of forest management to community organizations, in contrast to public decentralization to local state institutions. Research on community forestry policies can aid in determining how property rights affect local governance structures. The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of property rights on the application of devolution policies related to community-based forestry. The study included four sites in non-indigenous Honduras where forestry cooperatives were operating. Common property theory was used to interpret data gathered via value chain and sustainable livelihoods approaches. Results show that historical policy changes regarding land tenure recognition have affected community-based forestry initiatives. Recent policies have focused on the promotion of community-based forestry, which has resulted in an expansion in the area of devolved land. Nonetheless, de facto land tenure arrangements continue despite formal assignment of land. It was also found that these initiatives have been developed in areas where agricultural activities are less important. Strategies for inclusion of communities in forest management should not be based solely on the recognition of formal property rights. De facto ownership should also be considered when it is respected among local residents, as part of a local governance approach to forest management.

Agrifood value chain assessment in developing countries: a case of Indonesia’s cashew sector

A value chain approach is increasingly used in the agrifood sector to help respond to the globalised food system. However, the agrifood value chain in many developing countries faces additional challenges to address any changes regarding the prevalence of smallholder players. Meanwhile, value chain studies are still limited in many developing countries, such as in Indonesia. Therefore, this paper aims to assess agrifood value chain in a developing country context. A qualitative methodology was applied in Indonesia’s cashew sector, specifically in the Sumenep Regency of Madura Island. A value chain mapping tool was used by focusing on governance (vertical-horizontal coordination and information flow) and value addition (safety, quality, and value orientation). The results showed that value chain mapping is a powerful tool to draw the complex interaction within the dynamics between different value chain actors. The exploration in Indonesia’s cashew sector showed that there is a gap in practices between actors in terms of governance and value addition. Therefore, it is recommended that smallholders’ governance participation and value adding activities be improved in order to minimize the gap of practises. The potential follow-up research is to address the maturity level of value chain practice to obtain a rigorous improvement route.

Value chain approach to develop craft village tourism – case study of Que Son cassava noodle, Quang Nam province

In recent years, craft villages are one of the attractive cultural resources to be exploited for tourism activities. Many localities have taken advantage of this resource to develop tourism in order to enhance people's livelihood. This paper opts for cassava noodle artisanal production in Que Son district, Quang Nam province, as a case study. Que Son's cassava noodle traditional village was established quite a long time ago; however, this special resource has not been yet effectively exploited to create tourism products. Using the value chain analysis method, the authors aim to study how stakeholders involve in tourism activities' implementation and operation. The value chain approach will contribute to both sectors, agriculture and tourism. In addition, the authors also use an in-depth interview method with the local government and enterprises to collect opinions about a model to develop craft village tourism. The findings show the potential for cassava noodle village to become a touristic site by linking stakeholders, under the coordination of Caromi – a cassava noodle factory. This paper also proposes the value chain framework to indicate the stakeholders' role and benefits when participating in craft village tourism.

Difficulties and Solutions for the Family Doctor Team in Preventing and Managing Public Health Emergencies: a Study Using the Value Chain Approach

Background: Currently, the family doctor team still faces many obstacles in managing public health emergencies as the gatekeeper. However, there is little research on the difficulties of family doctor teams in the prevention and management of public health emergencies. Objective: To explore the difficulties of family doctor teams in the prevention and management of public health emergencies, providing a theoretical basis and recommendations on ensuring the highly efficient performance of family doctor teams in preventing and managing the emergencies. Methods: Convenience sampling was used to select frontline healthcare workers from 25 primary healthcare institutions of Guangzhou to complete an online survey using a self-administered questionnaire conducted in June 2020 for investigating the implementation of essential public health services, essential medical services and prevention and management of public health emergencies in their hospitals between February and June 2020. Interviews were conducted with some of the healthcare workers who volunteered to be interviewed. Results: According to the questionnaire survey, during February to June 2020, of the 25 institutions, 19 had halted the delivery of some or all essential public health services, 6 had no capacities and channels to transfer suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases to designated COVID-19 hospitals, 24 had implemented the emergency response plan for the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 had offered COVID-19-related health education, 9 had not set up the infectious diseases and public health emergencies reporting and managing system, 10 had not established the fever clinic, and 11 had operated all the clinics as usual. Value chain analysis of the interviews indicated that difficulties faced by the family doctor team in preventing and managing public health emergencies were: insufficient in-hospital support, unsuccessful communication and collaboration between hospitals or between the hospital and other institutions, poor monitoring and early warning effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, insufficient COVID-19-related health education, residents' unmet needs of essential medical services, inadequate emergency response infrastructure, lack of public health professionals, discrepancy between the construction of various information systems, inappropriate emergency procurement system. Conclusion: To make the community a solid fortress for the prevention and management of public health emergencies to ensure residents' health and safety, the authors suggest that efforts shall be made to address the barriers to the implementation of essential medical services first, then to solve issues existing in the implementation of auxiliary services. Copyright © 2021 by the Chinese General Practice.

Value Chain Analysis for Karlang (Xanthosoma sagittifolium L. Schott) in Selected Aquatic and Agricultural Systems Communities in Sogod, Southern Leyte, Philippines

Emerging market demand has redefined the importance of the Philippine root crop karlang as an alternative livelihood among selected aquatic and agricultural systems (AAS) communities in Sogod, Southern Leyte, Philippines. The study aimed to identify effective upgrading strategies for improving the profitability of karlang farming enterprise, using the value chain approach. Detailed value chain mapping showed the karlang market chain network reaching Cebu City Carbon market as the primary demand point. Retailers and consumers’ feedback revealed that karlang from Southern Leyte have varietal and locational quality premium. A closer look at the data showed that there is 46% excess demand for karlang in the market. Chain performance analysis also showed high value-adding potential at the farmers’ node. Participatory Systems Analysis (PSA) identified poor transport infrastructure and inadequacy of production capital as priority constraints to higher farm production across study sites. Recommended upgrading strategies included; improvement of farm transport infrastructure, capacity building/training of producer groups as value chain hub, including the processing of high value-adding karlang products where the poor and marginalized sectors in the selected AAS communities can participate.

Policy review for biomass value chains in the European bioeconomy

The main aim of this paper is to review existing European policies relevant to the biomass value chains and examine how their main objectives support or align with the five core objectives (pillars) identified under the 2018 Bioeconomy Strategy. The paper also discusses key challenges that restrict the compliance of the policies to the Strategy, identifies policy gaps and provides recommendations for future policy formation.A structured review was conducted of over ninety policies relevant to the biomass, bioprocessing and biobased products. The value chain approach was used as a tool to harmonise these sectors under a common bioeconomy framework and provides an understanding of how key activities and challenges are being addressed. Several gaps were identified in relation to these challenges in each stage, at land use stage a lack of European-wide harmonised characterisation of marginal land and integration among sectoral policies targeting soil quality and financial measures incentivising the uptake of sustainable soil improvers. At the biomass production stage, inadequate policy support was found for waste mobilisation and valorisation. Furthermore, there is a lack of policy provisions and financial support improving collaborations among value chain actors to overcome the complexity associated with harmonising biomass logistics and conversion processes. Finally, regarding the end use stage, policy interventions targeting the distribution and standardisation of the wide, available range of biobased products and services remain limited. Based on this gap analysis, a set of recommendations was produced outlining ways in which policy measures can be updated through introducing either financial, regulatory or information provisions, or formulating novel policies altogether. These recommendations were made following the value chain analysis approach, which addresses specific challenges in relation to the five core objectives of the Bioeconomy Strategy, with the aim of further increasing the level of coherence among sectoral policies.

Value chain approaches to reducing policy spillovers on international business

Government policy can add to the costs of doing international business. It can distort the construction of and raise the costs of operation of global value chains (GVCs), to the detriment of the participating economies. Given rising technological and market-driven headwinds confronting GVCs, countries seeking to attract GVC activities have greater incentives to identify and address policies that negatively affect international business investment. Cooperation of businesses with regulators, analysts, and researchers has the scope to develop better policy. This paper suggests principles for the design and operation of such cooperation, drawing on the experience with multi-stakeholder value chain partnerships and the policy responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Future and recent developments in the retail vegetable category – a value chain and food systems approach

In this study, the value chain perspective was combined with a food systems approach to assess food system responses in the value chain and external drivers from environmental and socioeconomic perspectives. The research object was the Swedish value chain for vegetables, with the aim of providing a comprehensive picture of current trends and drivers and identifying future developments important for vegetable growers, producer organizations, wholesalers and retailers. The empirical data is based on in-depth interviews with key-decision makers in the Swedish value chain, constituting a single case. The point of departure is that key actors in this chain, from producer organizations to retailers, can provide a comprehensive picture on the category’s past development and future directions. A combined food systems and value chain approach has been applied. Drivers and chain responses have been identified and categorized into six main categories related to: (1) health; (2) consumer interest for food and variation; (3) convenience; (4) origin; (5) sustainability; and (6) urbanization. Value chain responses and future challenges as well as aspects on value chain dynamics and sustainability issues in the food system are presented and discussed.

Brand Aid and coffee value chain development interventions: Is Starbucks working aid out of business?

In spring 2016, Starbucks launched its first single-origin specialty coffee from South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This coffee was produced with support from a partnership known as Kahawa Bora—a value chain development intervention (VCDI) combining a coffee corporation (Starbucks), a celebrity (Ben Affleck) and a development agency (USAID). Moving from disengaged cause-marketing to engaged development interventions, these types of partnerships promise to help beneficiaries, provide good feelings to consumers and promote the brands of corporations and NGOs. This paper applies a value chain approach to the concept of ‘Brand Aid’ as a modality of development intervention to parse the possibilities and limitations of involving corporations and celebrities in development interventions and to address a considerable research gap on the local effects that Brand Aid partnerships have on their intended beneficiaries in the global South. On the basis of original data from fieldwork in DRC, a desk study and interviews with stakeholders of the project, we compare Kahawa Bora’s formation, development and outcomes to those of a more traditional and less glitzy VCDI that has been operating in the same areas of Eastern Congo. We find that Kahawa Bora has attracted considerably more attention than other VCDIs, with little to show in terms of coffee supply and tangible benefits to farmers. We conclude that while Brand Aid forms of VCDIs promise to ‘work aid out of business’, they actually serve the interests of business and celebrities, while their actual impact on the ground is limited and uncertain.

An Innovation Value Chain in Project Based Companies: A Study of Indonesian Contractors

Innovation is one of the key success factors of contractors to achieve sustainable business. However, studies about innovation cannot be generalized to all business sectors. Therefore, special study about innovation that focuses on contractors in Indonesia is needed. The study is aimed to explore the process of innovation development in contractors, based on innovation value chain (IVC) approach. The qualitative analysis on the data that is collected from in depth interview with top managers of big contractors in Indonesia is carried out. This study found that innovations are generated mainly by project teams because they are involved directly in the project activities. The next phase is to test the idea of innovation in the selected projects in order to assess whether the innovation works well or not. Finally, the selected innovations will be set as a company standard and will be implemented in the subsequent projects.

An Analysis of the Trade Structure in Korean Food Industry using a Global Value Chain Approach

An Analysis of the Trade Structure in Korean Food Industry using a Global Value Chain Approach

Labeling Nutrition-Sensitive Food Chains: A Consumer Preference Analysis of Milk Products.

While nutrition-sensitive value-chain approaches are strongly advocated, studies on consumer preferences for such interventions are lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by examining a nutrition-sensitive chain labeling scheme, using the Ugandan dairy sector as a case. A survey was conducted among 250 consumers, primarily eliciting perceptions of the importance of a nutrition-sensitive chain label compared to nutrition claims/facts. In addition, a choice-based conjoint experiment was designed with nutrition label, brand, fat content, and price as attributes. Findings show that nutrition-sensitive chain labeling was more positively perceived by consumers than by nutrition claims/facts. Ordered logistic regression analysis indicated that BMI, nutrition knowledge, and label use influenced consumers' perceived importance of a nutrition-sensitive chain label relative to sex, age, children, and milk purchase frequency for nutrition claims/facts. This is confirmed by the higher utilities for the nutrition-sensitive chain label in our conjoint experiment. Future research should focus on the integration of nutrition-sensitive chain labeling with existing labels in a way that promotes candid interpretation by consumers. Industrial and policy actors in the agri-food sector can use these findings to innovate and regulate appropriate labeling schemes in the context of nutrition-sensitive value chains.

The hidden costs of environmental upgrading in global value chains

Sustainability has become important in the operation of the global economy and its regulatory structure, leading significant shifts in the way powerful ‘lead firms’ in global value chains approach sustainability. In this paper, I argue that private, value chain-oriented forms of sustainability governance are not addressing the environmental problems they are putatively designed to solve. Through the analysis of how lead firms stimulate environmental upgrading along their value chains, I show that the mainstreaming of sustainability in business operations has allowed global buyers to accumulate ‘green’ profits and capital in ways that extract value from suppliers – especially those based in the global South. Drawing from analyses of the wine and coffee value chains, I show how lead firms push the hidden costs of sustainability compliance and related risks upstream towards producers. These processes have important redistributive repercussions as they raise entry barriers for smaller, less organized and/or more marginalized actors. Under the mantle of achieving environmental sustainability, lead firms in value chains stealthily capture value for themselves, while extracting more demands from their suppliers and promoting a further consolidation of their supply base. In the meanwhile, serious environmental challenges remain unaddressed.

Enhancing socioeconomic resilience and climate adaptation through value chain development of mountain products in Hindu Kush Himalayas

The aim of this study is to examine and understand the dynamics of households’ income in Hindu Kush Himalayan region in the face of changing climate and to explore the value chain development of two unique mountain products (yak and sea buckthorn) as potential strategies to increase socioeconomic resilience for enhanced adaptive capacity. The study seeks to answer that how local people perceive climate change and its impact on their household income and to what extent value chain development of mountain products prove to be a potential strategy for building climate resilience among local people? This study contributes to the existing scholarship on climate adaptation by proposing non-conventional and innovative livelihood strategies for enhancing climate resilience of local communities in four valleys of northern Pakistan. The research relies on both primary and secondary data. A field survey was carried out to collect data from 443 households using a structured questionnaire. This study shows that the mountain communities consider climate-induced natural hazards as major causes of change in households’ income. To enhance the socioeconomic resilience against these climate vulnerabilities, cultivating sea buckthorn, breeding yak and developing value chains for related products has been suggested. Breeding yaks are both less labor intensive and climate resilient. Products made from yak hair and dung have the potential for high return if their value chains are established. Likewise, sea buckthorn is also considered less labor intensive and insensitive to extreme weather conditions. It could generate by-products used for food, medicine, cosmetics and construction. In order to improve socioeconomic resilience of local communities and enhance their adaptive capacity against effects of climate change, a value chain approach for yak and sea-buckthorn products has been proposed.

Restaurant Industry Practices to Promote Healthy Sustainable Eating: A Content Analysis of Restaurant Websites Using the Value Chain Approach

The purpose of this study is to help researchers and restaurant owners gain an understanding of healthy sustainable initiatives within restaurant businesses. This study applied a content analysis of 93 restaurant chains’ websites with a systematic coding procedure. The study identified fifteen healthy sustainable initiatives under a value chain framework, four of which follow value chain dimensions: sourcing, production, marketing, and service. The most frequently mentioned healthy sustainable practice was presenting nutrition-related information, followed by providing healthy menu options and using organic/natural produce. Sit-down restaurants were more likely to engage in healthy sustainable eating initiatives than were fast-food restaurants (e.g., increasing the availability of healthy options, smaller/reduced portion sizes, using fresh and local food, and using healthy cooking methods). This study contributes to the restaurant/foodservice management and food marketing literature by showing a comprehensive picture of what U.S. restaurant chains are doing to promote healthy sustainable eating. The findings can be used as a benchmark tool for practitioners to evaluate and develop healthy sustainable restaurant initiatives and as the foundation of measurement items for scholars.

Value chain approach in tourism development study

Value chain approach is popularly applied in economic researches in order to effectively bring out products to the market. This kind of method plays a meaningful role in stable and sustainable manufacture of products and services. Although the concept and approach of value chain have been used commonly in many economic branches, in the tourism area – a multi-service industry with high connections, this approach has not been widely applied. The value chain of tourism products is expressed in a journey in which tourists move within a number of linked services. These services can be (and are often) offered by different providers. Consequently, the value chain of tourism is different from other tangible products and is very important in the analysis to enhance the product value, to meet customers’ need and to promote benefits for all stakeholders. Through mentioning the approach to analyze the value chain and its potential application in the field of tourism, this article aims at introducing, considering and analyzing value chain as an effective approach in tourism development study. Applying value chain analyzing to tourism industry and activities will provide both generalized and specific vision of all direct and indirect subjects in order to enhance the quality, efficiency and added value of the tourism products/services and to promote the economic-social interest of all stakeholders.

Characteristics of changeable systems across value chains

Engineering changes (ECs) are inevitable for businesses due to increasing innovation, shorter lifecycles, technology and process improvements and cost reduction initiatives. The ECs could propagate and cause further changes due to existing system dependencies, which can be challenging. Hence, change management (CM) is a relevant discipline, which aims to reduce the impact of changes. EC assessment methods form the basis of CM that support in assessing system dependencies and the impact of changes. However, understanding of which factors influence the changeability across value chains (VCs) is limited. This research adopted a VC approach to EC assessment. Dependencies in products and processes were captured, followed by risk (i.e. likelihood x impact) assessment of ECs using change prediction method (CPM). Four industrial case studies were conducted (3x automotive, 1x furniture manufacturing) to identify design (product) and manufacturing (process) elements with high risk to be affected by ECs. Based on the case results, characteristics were identified that influence changeability across VC. This contributed to the CM domain while businesses could also use the results to assess ECs across VC, and improve the design of products and processes by increasing their changeability across VC e.g. by proactive decoupling or reactive handling of system dependencies.

Striving for sustainable value chain establishment: a multiple feasibility analysis approach

PurposeOver the last decade, value chain for development has shown its bias towards global value chain approaches. This article proposes a holistic framework to carry out feasibility analysis for the establishment of a value chain.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach was used to collect and analyse data from a wide range of stakeholders potentially involved in establishment of a global cut-foliage value chain based on wild harvesting of ornamental ferns in New Caledonia.FindingsMultiple feasibility analyses revealed issues that need to be addressed, priorities for different stakeholders and possible ways forward in the establishment of a value chain.Research limitations/implicationsThe framework supports businesses, entrepreneurs, investors, donors and governments in proceeding with value chain establishment with significant consideration of social, economic and environmental drivers for sustainability.Originality/valueRelevant concepts in several fields are integrated into a single framework that can guide feasibility analysis of value chain establishment.

Understanding Film Co‐Production in the Era of Globalization: A Value Chain Approach

AbstractThe film industry is closely linked to the nation’s culture and economy. With globalization, however, it has become more engaged in international operations through film co‐production. Paradoxically, this instrument emerged as a type of discriminatory measure as well as reflected growing interest in regionalism, notably among European countries facing the dominance of US films. To strengthen this scheme, state subsidies have been widely offered, which has led to it being positively adopted in Europe and beyond. Given this political context, the double‐facet of co‐production should be carefully understood when this scheme is implemented to promote the film industry. In this regard, it is important to understand clearly how co‐production functions and crucially its real impact on the film industry. This paper reveals that in contrast to the common perception, co‐production leads easily to cultural paucity, rather than cultural diversity across various aspects. Additionally, subsidies to promote co‐production distort it further and make it easier to be exploited. Therefore, such a consideration should be taken into account when redesigning the co‐production scheme if governments wish to help promote the national film industry and cultural diversity in the era of globalization.

A Value Chain Approach to Characterize the Chicken Sub-sector in Pakistan.

The chicken industry of Pakistan is a major livestock sub-sector, playing a pivotal role in economic growth and rural development. This study aimed to characterize and map the structure of broiler and layer production systems, associated value chains, and chicken disease management in Pakistan. Qualitative data were collected in 23 key informant interviews and one focus group discussion on the types of production systems, inputs, outputs, value addition, market dynamics, and disease management. Quantitative data on proportions of commodity flows were also obtained. Value chain maps were generated to illustrate stakeholder groups and their linkages, as well as flows of birds and products. Thematic analysis was conducted to explain the functionality of the processes, governance, and disease management. Major chicken production systems were: (1) Environmentally controlled production (97–98%) and (2) Open-sided house production (2–3%). Broiler management systems were classified as (I) Independent broiler production; (II) Partially integrated broiler production; and (III) Fully integrated broiler production, accounting for 65–75, 15–20, and 10–15% of commercial broiler meat supply, respectively. The management systems for layers were classified as (I) Partially integrated layer production and (II) Independent layer production, accounting for 10 and 80–85% in the egg production, respectively. The share of backyard birds for meat and eggs was 10–15%. Independent, and integrated systems for chicken production could be categorized in terms of value chain management, dominance of actors, type of finished product and target customers involved. Integrated systems predominantly targeted high-income customers and used formal infrastructure. Numerous informal chains were identified in independent and some partially integrated systems, with middlemen playing a key role in the distribution of finished birds and eggs. Structural deficiencies in terms of poor farm management, lack of regulations for ensuring good farming practices and price fixing of products were key themes identified. Both private and public stakeholders were found to have essential roles in passive disease surveillance, strategy development and provision of health consultancies. This study provides a foundation for policy-makers and stakeholders to investigate disease transmission, its impact and control and the structural deficiencies identified could inform interventions to improve performance of the poultry sector in Pakistan.