Informality and lead firm dominance in the sub-contracting chain: The case of Tanzanian trucking firms

Sial, Farwa

doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.03.011

Geoforum

2020

DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.03.011

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Informality and lead firm dominance in the sub-contracting chain: The case of Tanzanian trucking firms

Farwa Sial

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Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Considering that most operational activities across the GVC thus seems to be hidden from MNEs, the discussion about what they can effectively control, influence and shape becomes even more pertinent. This issue is further compounded by large numbers of informal arrangements that exist across the lower tiers of the GVCs (Narula, 2019; Sial, 2020). These arrangements are often orchestrated by bonified tiered GVC suppliers and involve subcontracting to firms within their social or business network.…”

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confidence: 99%

Persistence of wicked problems in opaque global value chains

Dindial,

Voss

2024

CPOIB

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Purpose This paper engages with the important work of Raškovic (2023). The authors agree with Raškovic’s (2023) argument that international business (IB) policy is well positioned to inform and address many of society’s wicked problems, including modern slavery. Beyond supporting this position, the purpose of this paper is to highlight IB’s internal and ongoing debate regarding multinational ownership and control, and how this unresolved theoretical issue can hinder the contribution of IB policy in addressing wicked problems. Design/methodology/approach By leveraging prior literature, this paper synthesises opposing views on the extent of control that multinational enterprises (MNEs) exert across global value chains (GVCs). The authors then demonstrate why these conflicting perspectives should be resolved to fully realise the task that Raškovic (2023) has laid out for IB policy. Findings This study argues that IB is steeped in a tradition where ownership has been a proxy for meaningful control. Rising GVCs have complicated this relationship, and while IB recognises this, the field remains short of explicating a set of robust conditions that can detect control in the absence of ownership. Given that responsibility is often based on an assumption of who has control, this ongoing and unresolved debate limits IB’s utility in advancing appropriate policy interventions to tame wicked problems. Originality/value This paper makes a contribution by bringing together diverse perspectives on the ongoing debate regarding MNE control in GVC. It demonstrates how this seemingly abstract debate can have significant implications for IB’s role in addressing society’s grand challenges. The authors further suggest that embracing interdisciplinarity and novel analytical tools can assist in demystifying the opaqueness of GVCs and resolving the control “fuzziness” that confuses responsibility boundaries across the GVC.

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confidence: 99%

Persistence of wicked problems in opaque global value chains

Dindial,

Voss

2024

CPOIB

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Testing three views about the determinants of informal economy: New evidence at global level and by country groups using the CS-ARDL approach

Salinas

Ortíz

Changoluisa

et al. 2023

Economic Analysis and Policy

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How informality affects habitual improvisation in firms: insights from the Nigerian movie industry

Uzo

Mair

2021

International Studies of Management & Organization

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Informality and lead firm dominance in the sub-contracting chain: The case of Tanzanian trucking firms

Cited by 4 publications

References 40 publications

Persistence of wicked problems in opaque global value chains

Persistence of wicked problems in opaque global value chains

Testing three views about the determinants of informal economy: New evidence at global level and by country groups using the CS-ARDL approach

How informality affects habitual improvisation in firms: insights from the Nigerian movie industry

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