The nature of innovation in global value chains
通过文献回顾，概念性探讨了全球价值链中创新的本质，指出创新活动可随价值链碎片化而分散，并提出了未来研究方向，适合关注全球价值链与创新关系的学者阅读。
Global value chains (GVCs) have revolutionized production processes and many companies no longer produce goods and services entirely in one single country or within their own organizational boundaries. Through offshoring and outsourcing, value chains are sliced up and activities are dispersed to locations and actors where they can be produced or executed most efficiently. The fine slicing of GVCs also implies that innovation activities can be geographically dispersed and separated from other GVC activities. However, there have been inconsistent arguments on the impact of this dispersion on innovations and on the effect of innovations on GVC activities, as research on the topic has been sporadic, inconclusive, and fragmented. Thus, this paper conceptually discusses the nature of innovation in GVCs by reviewing literature and raises important questions that should be addressed. It also outlines a variety of possible research directions and future research foci that can and should be taken to develop the field.