Book chapter

Sustainability in the Globalization Era

Sherwat E. Ibrahim

2019

The topics of globalization and sustainability are very much intertwined. Globalization plays an important role in the redistribution of resources, thereby bringing significant sustainability implications to the involved countries. Each topic on its own is complex to study, and when combined this adds multiple intricacies. Two parallel research streams have developed to address these complexities: global value chains (GVCs) and global supply chains (GSCHs). While both research streams have managed to maintain their separate domains, there is now much-needed convergence, especially when it comes to sustainability. This chapter reviews both research streams, and presents the most common debates and shortcomings of each. Recommendations call for the integration of these research streams, and to assume an emergent network approach, where the final configuration of a value chain largely depends on the network behaviour rather than on deterministic decisions of a lead firm.

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The American University of Cairo