ABSTRACT
The process of upgrading is central to the global value chain framework. In its earliest formulation, upgrading described the process of firms or sectors taking on more complex and profitable production functions within a value chain. Gereffi’s (1999) work on the clothing industry represented an early blueprint for upgrading; in his research he was able to show how firms initially involved in simple assembly were able to move ‘up the chain’ into the production of entire garments and finally into the design and sale of branded merchandise. For clothing manufacturers each phase of upgrading corresponds to a higher level of value-adding.
