Toward a better understanding of the apparel industry: a critique of the upgrading literature

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Towards a typology of repositioning strategies of GVC/GPN suppliers: the case of functional upgrading and downgrading (2016, methodology): “Consequently, she emphasized the dangers of fetishizing the upgrading concept, especially in the sphere of policy advice, as it is unrealistic to advise all suppliers everywhere to upgrade into high value-added activities, which would be similar to advising every actor in the film industry to move i”
Corporate Social Responsibility in Garment Sourcing Networks: Factory Management Perspectives on Ethical Trade in Sri Lanka (2015, background): “Since cost reduction and increases in productivity were seen as key dimensions in production upgrading, it becomes unreasonable to expect that production upgrading will necessarily lead to better labour outcomes (cf. Bernhardt, 2013; Tokatli, 2013).”
The evolution of power in the global coffee value chain and production network (2019, background): “But an increasing number of studies have found that despite producers’ best efforts, upgrading often fails to lead to improved value capture and regional development (Ponte and Ewert, 2009; Selwyn, 2012; Werner, 2012; Tokatli, 2013; Smith et al., 2014; Selwyn, 2015).”