ABSTRACT
In the past decade or two, research on technology and industrial development in developing countries has revealed the role of global value chains (GVCs) in pulling their export forward and helping them climb the technology ladder – moving from assembly, to manufacturing, to engineering, to design and, increasingly, research and development (Gereffi et al., 2005; Ernst and Kim, 2002; Evans et al., 2006; Imai and Shiu, 2011; Kawakami, 2011; Oikawa, 2011; Sturgeon and Kawakami, 2011; Yeung, 2009). In particular, the rise of the Asian electronics industry has attracted a great deal of research interest, highlighting the inter-connection with lead firms (e.g. global brand buyers or transnational corporations, TNCs) via GVCs which has contributed to the fostering of export-led growth in Asia (Ernst and Kim, 2002; Gereffi, 1998; OECD, 2012).
