Nimmy Rose Jacob

The study of global value chains (GVCs) has gained significant attention over the past decade, with the global pandemic further accelerating discussions on their resilience and sustainability. This paper contributes to understanding GVCs by examining their bidirectional relationship with sustainability and their interlinkages with firm performance. While existing literature has extensively explored financial metrics, non‐financial performance indicators remain underexamined and often undervalued. To address this gap, this study focuses exclusively on non‐financial firm performance, recognizing its critical role in long‐term value creation. Employing a mixed‐method approach, we first conduct expert interviews to identify key themes through thematic analysis, which then inform the development of a structured questionnaire. Data collected from mid‐ and senior‐level managers is analyzed using PLS‐SEM, ensuring a robust empirical validation of qualitative insights. The findings highlight the significance of Goodwill and technology in enhancing firm performance within GVCs, reinforcing their role in driving sustainable business practices. By integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions, this study provides a holistic perspective on the evolving dynamics of global value chains and their impact on sustainability.

For its promise in enhancing sustainability, the global value chain (GVC) has grown in relevance and sparked many studies. Due to different value activities in multiple countries and industry clusters, the competition and cooperation among value chains have attracted the considerable attention of business leaders and academicians worldwide. GVC-related sustainability research is a niche area despite its widespread presence in the literature. To bridge the gap, we use scientometric analysis in this paper, examining the corpus of 753 articles published in Web of Science journals from 2001 till 2021. This review illuminates the research performance constituents (e.g., most prolific authors, nations, institutions, and journals), the themes and issues that underpin the fields’ intellectual structure, and transforming discoveries. GVC depends on nine basic clusters for sustainability research (i.e., global value chain participation, gendered global production network, repositioning organisational dynamics, labour stands, learning opportunities, Internet era). Future studies can be conducted to generate new knowledge across ten thematic (based on keywords) clusters (i.e., market liberalisation, trade pollution nexus, value chain dynamics, global value chain reconfiguration, non-governmental organisation, multipolar governance). A model that encompasses current knowledge of the global value chain for sustainability is developed, and avenues for future research are provided.