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

Abstract

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.

Towards poor‐centred value chain for sustainable development: A conceptual framework

“…An enabling environment is defined as a set of policies, institutions, support services and other conditions that collectively create a business environment in which the chain functions and develops, influencing the chain actors' ability to participate (Christy et al, 2009; Trienekens, 2011). Enabling environment analysis focuses on crucial factors such as legislation, public capacities and services and socio‐cultural embeddedness that set boundaries to the value chain operation (Herman & Minh, 2020).…”

“…As there is a growing consensus on importance of poor‐centred VCD interventions (Devaux et al, 2018; Rob & Cattaneo, 2021; Stoian et al, 2012; Werner et al, 2014), it is essential to explicitly pursue poverty reduction goals. It requires greater attention to the poor's needs and circumstances (Donovan et al, 2015; Herman & Minh, 2020; Stoian et al, 2012) and incorporation of rural development into VCD (Challies & Murray, 2011; Stoian & Donovan, 2020; Neilson & Shonk, 2014). In line with these contentions, this article argues that VCD requires an additional poor‐centred approach that directly reaches the poor, targets their meaningful participation and anchors on their livelihood diversity and capabilities.…”

Winner-takes-all no more: radical transparency for sustainable specialty coffee value chains

“…Lemeilleur et al, 2020;Poole and Donovan, 2014) and the sustainability literature more broadly (e.g. Herman and Thai, 2020) for both practitioners and academics. As sustainability is inherently an interdisciplinary field of study, we have drawn on research beyond the scope of coffee.…”

Sustainable and inclusive scaling of irrigation technologies and services in Ethiopia

“…One reason for this is that many interventions end at the piloting stage, with the assumption that scaling will occur spontaneously. For sustainable and inclusive innovation scaling to take place, an enabling environment is needed in which a set of conducive policies, informal institutions and support services bring together value chain actors in a cooperative manner (Herman and Minh 2021). Furthermore, many scaling efforts have overemphasized technical replication and reaching high numbers of end users, neglecting critical 'softer elements' ).…”