Integration,Adaptation And Growth In Global Value Chains

Global Value Chains(GVCs)have become ubiquitous in international trade today,and there has therefore been growing interest around the international expansion of firms by integrating them into GVCs.In fact,many developing countries are increasingly adopting GVC participation as a development strategy.In this context,GVC analysis has emerged as the instrument of choice for identifying constraining and enabling factors of GVC participation,devising integration strategies for new GVC participants and improving the competitive positions of already participating actors.Regrettably,all such analyses have been conducted for developed and economically advanced countries,while developing and especially African countries have received very scant attention in this domain.Such analyses could bring forth rich implications that could significantly reshape insertion and participation strategies for these countries and their enterprises.This thesis therefore conducts ground-breaking research to lay out an enabling framework for the GVC participation of Cameroonian enterprises(especially SMEs),the factors that condition this possibility and the competitive positions of these enterprises within the framework of international trade theories.Using survey data and applying Hierarchical Regression Analysis to explore the data,this research conveys that,the GVC participation of Cameroonian enterprises is mostly prohibited by factors within the business environment.Contrary to our predictions,firm-specific obstacles did not constitute significant barriers to the international expansion of Cameroonian enterprises.Our results also establish coopetition and government support as key enabling factors for SMEs to integrate GVCs.Moving forward,this study explores the opportunities and challenges of adaptability and growth by Cameroonian SMEs in GVCs.Taking innovation and financial constraints as the perfect representation of the opportunity-challenge trade-off,and using survey data,we conducted Structural Equation Modelling(SEM)using IBM SPSS AMOS 26.0.Our wholistic model conceptualizes innovation both in terms of inputs(R&D investments)and outputs(product,organizational and marketing innovations),while taking into consideration the financial constraints faced by SMEs,which act as a major challenge to the ability for SMEs to seize the opportunities of GVC participation.The results indicate that,R&D investments significantly drive product and marketing innovations which in turn determine adaptability in GVCs,while financial constraints pose a significant challenge to the innovative ability of SMEs in Cameroon.Moreover,our study went on to analyse the actual competitive position of Cameroonian enterprises in GVCs so that upgrading trajectories can be identified and strategies devised.For the competitiveness analysis,it was necessary to focus on one sector(one GVC).For this purpose,we choose the wooden furniture value chain because it involves a large proportion of intermediate trade,thereby making it suitable for analysis within the context of GVCs.In addition,the wooden furniture sector is a resource intensive industry which going by traditional trade theories in which this study is deeply rooted represents an advantageous sector for resource rich developing countries like Cameroon.The results reveal that,the availability of forest resource endowment does not necessarily translate to comparative advantage in wooden furniture production.The study also establishes that,despite its relative factor abundance,Cameroon has remained uncompetitive in the global wooden furniture value chain.The implications of this study span beyond the specific context of the wooden furniture value chain,and even the context of Cameroon.Our study therefore covers the various aspects of GVC analysis,going from the integration driving factors,to the opportunities and challenges of adaptability in GVCs,and finally determining the actual competitive position of enterprises in GVCs.