Purpose

Drawing on organizational learning and dynamic capabilities literature, this study aims to explore how suppliers from traditional emerging economies (STEE) can acquire, assimilate and use new knowledge essential for the development of production and marketing capabilities. These capabilities then facilitate suppliers in climbing the value chain from B-to-B to B-to-C.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a longitudinal and multiple case study design to examine the practices of suppliers operating in a traditional emerging economy setting. This study selected Pakistan textile industry as an empirical setting, which is a predominantly supplier market for global buyers. Data sources entail semi-structured interviews with top executives and senior-level managers in four case firms and secondary data obtained from diverse sources.

Findings

The study identified transitionary phases of capabilities development that are facilitated by boundary-spanning knowledge acquisition and transformation in a dynamic manner. These capabilities are essential for a supplier’s entry into downstream international markets (i.e. launching its own products/brands in the end consumers’ market).

Practical implications

The findings could help managers in STEEs to understand the strategic importance of supply chain ties in their learning and capabilities development. It also provides strategic insights on what, how and why involved parties do engage over an extended period of time. Moreover, the findings of this study could help other firms to know and adopt the right type of technology(s) and systems that can help them reduce the technological gap in producing and marketing market-winning products.

Originality/value

This study advances the recent academic discussion that focusses on learning by supplying and the value-chain movement of suppliers (i.e. B-to-C) from their B-to-B engagements. The findings identified the vital and beneficial role of long-term relationships with global value chain partners in learning and capabilities development that led to value creation in the traditional emerging economy.

中文翻译：

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从供应中学习以攀登价值链：供应商从 B-to-B 到 B-to-C 的转变

目的

本研究利用组织学习和动态能力文献，旨在探索传统新兴经济体 (STEE) 的供应商如何获取、吸收和使用对发展生产和营销能力至关重要的新知识。然后，这些能力有助于供应商从 B-to-B 向 B-to-C 攀登价值链。

设计/方法/方法

该研究采用纵向和多案例研究设计来检查供应商在传统新兴经济环境中运营的做法。本研究选择巴基斯坦纺织业作为实证环境，该行业是全球买家的主要供应商市场。数据来源需要对四家案例公司的高管和高级管理人员进行半结构化访谈，以及从不同来源获得的二手数据。

发现

该研究确定了能力发展的过渡阶段，这些过渡阶段由跨越边界的知识获取和动态转换所促进。这些能力对于供应商进入下游国际市场（即在最终消费者市场推出自己的产品/品牌）至关重要。

实际影响

这些发现可以帮助 STEE 的管理人员了解供应链关系在他们的学习和能力发展中的战略重要性。它还提供了有关各方在很长一段时间内参与的内容、方式和原因的战略见解。此外，本研究的结果可以帮助其他公司了解和采用正确类型的技术和系统，从而帮助他们缩小生产和营销赢得市场的产品的技术差距。

原创性/价值

本研究推进了最近的学术讨论，该讨论侧重于通过供应来学习和供应商（即 B 到 C）从 B 到 B 参与的价值链运动。调查结果确定了与全球价值链合作伙伴的长期关系在学习和能力发展方面的重要和有益作用，这导致了传统新兴经济体的价值创造。