Evolving Clusters Within Global Value Chains

This book explores how the international fragmentation of economic activities – from research and design to production and marketing – across countries in different industries (described through the lenses of the Global Value Chains (GVCs) approach) impacts the structures and performance of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) agglomerated in economic clusters. By adopting the Global Value Chain (GVC) framework, the book enriches the debate on the evolution of the cluster model and on the linkages between SMEs and GVCs, with particular emphasis on the lenses offered by studies of economics and management. The consolidation of GVCs ruled by international players and the recession of 2008-09 exacerbated the competitive pressures on firms that based their competitive advantage on local systems, spurring an increasing heterogeneity, both across and within clusters, which is still overlooked in the literature and that is the key topic of the book. Innovation and manufacturing activities are interconnected and reinforce one another due to co-location. Based on the analysis of different industries (footwear, textile, tiles, furniture, jewelry, eyewear, and others) and countries, the book shows the evolutionary processes of clusters in GVCs and the role of firms (multinational as well as SMEs, suppliers, producers or brand vendors) and their strategies in organizing manufacturing and innovation activities at the geographical level, also taking into account current technological changes.

Valentina De Marchi is Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Padova, Italy. Her research focuses on the managerial implications of environmental innovations and on the evolution of industrial districts within global value chains

Eleonora Di Maria is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Padova, Italy. Her research focuses on internationalization, innovation and sustainability strategies of firms and local economic systems, as well as on evolutionary trends of knowledge- intensive business services.

Gary Gereffi is Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of the Center on Globalization, Governance, & Competitiveness at Duke University. He published numerous books and articles on globalization and social and economic development; he is one of the originators of the global value chain framework.