Upgrading in global value chains from suppliers’ perspective: cases of Bangladeshi tier-1 suppliers

Zaman, S. S. (2026) Upgrading in global value chains from suppliers’ perspective: cases of Bangladeshi tier-1 suppliers. PhD thesis, University of Reading. doi: 10.48683/1926.00129062

Abstract/Summary

This thesis takes a granular approach to investigate the objectives and strategies of tier-1 suppliers for achieving economic and non-economic (social and environmental) upgrading. The extant global value chain (GVC) literature predominantly takes a ‘top-down’ view to study economic upgrading as an outcome based on how GVCs are governed by lead firms, albeit with the recent increasing interest in taking a bottom-up perspective. However, the bottom-up upgrading studies do not take the objectives of suppliers into account and only focus on economic upgrading without paying much attention on social and environmental upgrading, when studying upgrading from the suppliers’ perspective. Using multiple case studies of eight Bangladeshi apparel tier-1 suppliers – categorised into two broad groups: internalised and non internalised suppliers – the dissertation highlights the importance of objectives of suppliers and incentives in shaping the perception (and thus behaviour) of tier-1 suppliers in the context of conflicting social and economic requirements from external sources. The thesis highlights three key findings. First, tier-1 suppliers develop several strategies associated with their economic objectives (broadly explained by objectives related to increasing revenue and decreasing costs) that align with their primary goal of profit maximisation. These strategies are related to how they pursue economic upgrading. Second, suppliers’ strategies related to social and environmental upgrading are also motivated by their economic objectives. Third, the sustainability (social and environmental) practices of Bangladeshi tier-1 suppliers are driven by external pressure and/or internal objectives. The motivation to comply is shaped by compliance being either an order-qualifying or order-winning criterion. The perception that compliance is a cost burden with low incentives increases the likelihood of sustainability violations among tier-1 suppliers, which intensifies further when these suppliers lack internal objectives. When facing external pressure, tier-1 suppliers develop upgrading strategies aligned with their economic objectives, shaped by the extent of incentives they receive. The results show that there is heterogeneity among how tier-1 suppliers respond to external compliance pressures, categorised into four distinct patterns of behaviour among tier-1 suppliers, differentiated by the level of incentives (high versus low): proactive behaviour, compensating behaviour, responsive behaviour and irresponsible behaviour. Among the two broad groups, the evidence shows the internalised tier-1 suppliers adopting voluntary social and environmental strategies, in contrast to non-internalised tier-1 suppliers. This thesis contributes to GVC and IB literature by shifting the focus to tier-1 suppliers to understand their perception and behavioural response to MNE-driven cascading compliance; by integrating economic and non-economic upgrading (social and environmental upgrading) from the supplier's perspective; and by developing a conceptual framework that explains how suppliers' economic objectives shape their strategic responses when balancing external pressure and internal goals.

Item Type	Thesis (PhD)
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129062
Identification Number/DOI	10.48683/1926.00129062
Divisions	Henley Business School
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