Global value chains in Africa and development of opportunities by poor landholders
Vermeire, Jacob Bruton, Gary Li, Cai
Vermeire, Jacob
Bruton, Gary
Li, Cai
Citations
Altmetric:
Publication Type
Journal article
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2017
Journal
Review of Social Economy
Book
Publication Volume
75
Publication Issue
3
Publication Begin page
280
Publication End page
295
Publication Number of pages
Collections
Abstract
In an effort to help address severe levels of poverty, multinational firms are increasingly seeking to include African smallholders in their global value chains (GVCs). Despite efforts of multinationals to provide such opportunities, the number of successful inclusions remains limited. We draw from the entrepreneurship domain to approach this important issue from an opportunity perspective. At the heart of our effort to develop a greater theoretical understanding is the insight that opportunities can both be discovered and created by smallholders. The key implication of this insight is that multinationals will gain more from their efforts to include small landholders in their GVCs if they adapt their value chain systems in ways that also accommodate joint creation of opportunities with smallholders rather than expect that all smallholders adapt to the systems developed by the large global firms for their large suppliers.
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Multinational Firms, Global Value Chains, Small Landholders, Opportunity, Rural Africa