Which Way is “Up” in Upgrading? Trajectories of Change in the Value Chain for South African Wine

Ponte, Stefano; Ewert, Joachim

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.03.008

Cited by 294 publications

(259 citation statements)

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“…In the recent literature on global agricultural value chains, upgrading has mainly, but not exclusively (see e.g., [18,19]), been analysed through the lens of Humphrey and Schmitz (2002), i.e., product, process, functional upgrading and inter-sectoral upgrading, though the categories have been criticised on several points [20] (For example Ponte and Ewert (2009) [20] analyse upgrading trajectories in the South African wine industry through the categories put forward by Humphrey and Schmitz (2002) [8]. These categories, however, are criticised on several points, notably with regard to the problems of placing various real processes unambiguously in one or the other category (e.g., should complying with food safety standards be classified as product or process upgrading?).…”

Section: Conceptualising Upgrading In Global Agricultural Value Chainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These categories, however, are criticised on several points, notably with regard to the problems of placing various real processes unambiguously in one or the other category (e.g., should complying with food safety standards be classified as product or process upgrading?). Ponte and Ewert (2009) suggest a more detailed understanding of upgrading possibilities in agro-food GVCs, including processes usually considered to be downgrading in the GVC literature, e.g., selling lower value products on a larger scale [20].) Several agri-food GVC studies discuss how lead firms facilitate or restrict the prospects for upgrading farms and companies in the Global South (e.g., [9,[21][22][23][24]).…”

Section: Conceptualising Upgrading In Global Agricultural Value Chainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustaining Upgrading in Agricultural Value Chains? State-Led Value Chain Interventions and Emerging Bifurcation of the South Indian Smallholder Tea Sector

Larsen

2016

Sustainability

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Abstract:The Global Value Chain (GVC) approach has emerged as a novel methodological device for analysing economic globalization and international trade. The suitability of the chain metaphor and strategies for moving up the ladder of GVCs ("upgrade") is widely echoed in international development agencies and public agencies in the Global South. Most of the existing GVC studies focus on new forms of firm-to-firm relationships and the role of lead firms and chain governance in defining upgrading opportunities. This paper examines the role of the state and local institutional initiatives in promoting upgrading in agricultural GVCs originating in rural areas of the Global South. The paper draws on research conducted in the South Indian smallholder tea sector. The paper argues that successful forms of state-led chain interventions not only contribute to upgrading of the smallholder-brought leaf factory strand of the GVC originating in the South Indian tea sector, but might also result in increasing bifurcation of smallholders integrated into high-margin markets through prominent bought leaf factories and a mass of "others" outside this tightly coordinated strand of the tea value chain.

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Section: Conceptualising Upgrading In Global Agricultural Value Chainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conceptualising Upgrading In Global Agricultural Value Chainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustaining Upgrading in Agricultural Value Chains? State-Led Value Chain Interventions and Emerging Bifurcation of the South Indian Smallholder Tea Sector

Larsen

2016

Sustainability

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“…Rather than following one road from low value to higher value activities firms assume different roles and pursue a variety of strategies simultaneously and may end up with different positions in different GPNs (Pickles et al 2006;Tokatli 2013). This is related to different demands of specific product mixes, end markets and buyers, and, more broadly, to upgrading efforts and processes being complex and contested affairs and involving risks and uncertainty (Bair 2005;Ponte/Ewert 2009;Gibbon 2008). These differentiated forms of upgrading depend on 1 We use the word 'transition' in brackets as it is criticized in the literature for its perception of a linear transition from state socialism to one specific -Anglo-American -version of capitalism.…”

Section: Institutional Context Macro Policies and Upgrading Compleximentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of CEE this issue is of high relevance as these countries had disposed of broader industrial capabilities producing for the domestic market and Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) markets but their integration into Western European production networks did generally not draw on and use these broader capabilities (Begg et al 2003;Pickles et al 2006). Functional or product downgrading may however also be more voluntarily adopted by some firms particularly to reduce risks associated with functions such as input sourcing, design or branding and a focus on high value, low volume products (Gibbon 2008;Ponte/Ewert 2009). …”

Section: Institutional Context Macro Policies and Upgrading Compleximentioning

confidence: 99%

Global competition, institutional context and regional production networks: up- and downgrading experiences in Romania’s apparel industry

Plank¹,

Staritz²

2015

CAMRES

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in Index of Figures and Tables AbstractRegional suppliers still play an important role in the global apparel industry. By studying the experience of Romania's apparel sector, the paper highlights, first, the importance of multiscalar institutional, macro and policy contexts in analyzing the articulation of and up-and downgrading experiences in global production networks. These include the Multi-Fibre Arrangement, EU trade agreements and accession, the global economic crisis, and the specific institutional and policy context of post-Socialism. Second, the paper stresses the existence of diverse, non-linear and uneven up-and downgrading trajectories and of reactive adaptation rather than pro-active firm strategies. This questions the ideal upgrading account often portrayed in chain and network research.

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“…Nevertheless, big companies, international investors, wholesalers and supermarkets have strengthened their market power in many countries, and have come into competition or conflict with wine producers [29]. The opposition between local and global governance has been studied for many wines, including Champagne, Porto, Western Cape and Mendoza [30][31][32][33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Local or Global about Wine? An Attempt to Objectivize a Social Construction

2016

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What is a "local" food chain as opposed to a "global" chain? Are local food chains more sustainable than global chains? In the context of market globalization and the proliferation of local alternatives, these questions have taken on a new aspect, which has been addressed by the GLAMUR (Global and Local food chain Assessment: a Multidimensional performance-based approach) project. Using an analysis of three archetypal wine chains in the south of France, and considering food chains as embedded social constructions, we will first attempt to objectivize which aspects of wine are local, and which are global, using a multidimensional analytical approach. As local vs. global characteristics seem to be strategic assets or constraints, and not structural components, we will then outline an evaluative approach to wine chain sustainability by valuing qualitative indicators to be scored and benchmarked by experts. We will discuss our findings from a scientific and operational perspective by highlighting how a local vs. global approach produces new sustainability issues and practical solutions. Nevertheless, as concrete chains often mix global and local characteristics, further research must be done in order to assess how this combination may be sustainable for different types of actors, depending on their values, capacities, networks and constraints.

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Which Way is “Up” in Upgrading? Trajectories of Change in the Value Chain for South African Wine

Cited by 294 publications

References 29 publications

Sustaining Upgrading in Agricultural Value Chains? State-Led Value Chain Interventions and Emerging Bifurcation of the South Indian Smallholder Tea Sector

Sustaining Upgrading in Agricultural Value Chains? State-Led Value Chain Interventions and Emerging Bifurcation of the South Indian Smallholder Tea Sector

Global competition, institutional context and regional production networks: up- and downgrading experiences in Romania’s apparel industry

What Is Local or Global about Wine? An Attempt to Objectivize a Social Construction

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