Social Sustainability
Value Chain Upgrading
The process by which firms and countries move into higher-value activities within global value chains — better processes, products or functions.
Definition
Value chain upgrading, from global value chain analysis (Gereffi, Humphrey and Sturgeon), describes how producers improve their position within chains: process upgrading (producing more efficiently or with better technology), product upgrading (moving into more sophisticated products), functional upgrading (taking on higher-value functions such as design or branding), and inter-chain upgrading (entering new chains). Upgrading is the main mechanism by which participation in global trade translates into development.
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