Theoretical Framework of Global Value Chains Analysis Applied to the agribusiness: Concepts and issues

Abstract

This article analyzes the epistemological evolution of the construct of Global Value Chains (GVC) that underlie a framework for studying globalization (Bair, 2008). Specifically, it highlights, through this theoretical framework, the challenges of this globality of value chains in the production processes, which now operate in several national geographic spaces and connect through networks of companies to the planetary scale. By explaining the theory of global governance of value chains developed by Gereffi, Humphrey and Sturgeon (2005), the article shows the specific types of linkages that could occur between globalized pilot companies and their influences on market access for supplier companies from developing countries. Precisely, the article examines the literature on the sectors of the agribusiness system by studying the main theoretical research models using the framework of global value chains. Against this background, the article examines the different methodological approaches resulting both from trends institutional economics, as well as from the contributions of the sociology of organizations. We conclude by accenting the implications of GVC theory for our understanding of firm strategies and the way they structure the governance of value chains, the weaknesses in the conceptual and semantic segregation used as well as some research perspectives in the agriculture and the food sectors.