Purpose

Amidst burgeoning attention for global value chains (GVCs) in international business (IB), this paper aims to identify a clear “missing link” in this literature and discusses implications for research and corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy-making and implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper combines an overview of relevant literature from different (sub)disciplinary fields, with insights from practitioner and expert interviews and secondary data.

Findings

Because IB GVC research stems from a focus on lead firms and their producing suppliers, it lacks attention for intermediary actors that may significantly impact the organization of production in general, and firms’ CSR commitments in particular. Import intermediaries are often “hidden” in GVCs. This paper indicates the emergence of GVC parallelism with “frontstage” chains managed by lead firms and increasingly exposed to public scrutiny following calls for transparency and CSR, and “backstage” ones in which buyers and intermediaries operate more opaquely.

Practical implications

This study points at salient yet little known practices and actors that influence the organization of production and the implementation of CSR policies in various ways, and therefore offers ground for reflection on the design of proper supply chain and CSR policies.

Originality/value

This study exposes a hitherto neglected category of actors in GVCs and broader IB research and discusses implications, relevance and areas for further investigation. An illustrative example explicates the importance of carefully considering this “missing link”. The study emphasizes the need for further study into ways in which both lead firms and intermediaries deal with contradicting demands of implementing CSR policies and offering competitive prices with short lead times.

中文翻译：

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发现全球价值链研究中的缺失环节——以及对企业社会责任和国际业务的影响

目的

在国际商业 (IB) 对全球价值链 (GVC) 的迅速关注中，本文旨在确定该文献中一个明确的“缺失环节”，并讨论对研究和企业社会责任 (CSR) 政策制定和实施的影响。

设计/方法/方法

该论文结合了来自不同（子）学科领域的相关文献的概述，以及来自从业者和专家访谈的见解以及二手数据。

发现

由于 IB 全球价值链研究源于对领先企业及其生产供应商的关注，因此它缺乏对可能对一般生产组织，特别是企业的 CSR 承诺产生重大影响的中介行为者的关注。进口中间商往往“隐藏”在全球价值链中。本文指出了全球价值链并行的出现，由领先公司管理的“前台”链随着透明度和企业社会责任的呼吁而越来越多地受到公众监督，而“后台”链则买方和中介机构的运作更加不透明。

实际影响

本研究指出了以各种方式影响生产组织和 CSR 政策实施的显着但鲜为人知的实践和参与者，因此为思考适当的供应链和 CSR 政策的设计提供了基础。

原创性/价值

本研究揭示了全球价值链和更广泛的 IB 研究中迄今为止被忽视的一类参与者，并讨论了影响、相关性和进一步调查的领域。一个说明性的例子说明了仔细考虑这个“缺失的环节”的重要性。该研究强调需要进一步研究领先企业和中介机构如何应对实施企业社会责任政策和在较短的交货时间内提供有竞争力的价格的矛盾需求。